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Week 3 e-mail: Open Multiple “Money Funds”

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It is Week Three of 2020: The Clarity Project, a yearlong effort to get organized and simplified with your money.

You can read more about The Clarity Project in this overview post here.

This week, I’ve been busy with:

*the start of the semester for my college kids. Family tradition–which we got from the Betsy-Tacy books–is muffins for the first day of school. I make my kinda-famous pumpkin/flax muffins, and they are delicious. Let me know if you want the recipe.

*trying to incorporate more protein in my diet. I keep reading about the importance of this, and I thought I would try easy things to do so this year. I even ordered powdered egg whites, but I’m not really sure how to use them (mixing them into eggs did not work. At all). In smoothies maybe?

*walking in our neighborhood instead of running, since we have had snow and ice here in Illinois, and more is forecast for the next few days. Despite this, we have had some lovely colors in the sunrises and sunsets. I love winter skies. Photos do not do the winter sky justice, but here is one from last week, early morning:

*writing and ordering a talk that I’m giving to a local young moms group next week. The title? “A Mom’s Money Toolbox.” I enjoy this process so much! I will post notes and resources for this, and share once it’s up.

What is new with The Clarity Project?

I intend for these (mostly weekly) e-mails to be quick to read, easy to understand, and simple to implement.

Simple, but not necessarily easy.

The word for January is SAVE.

This Week’s SAVE Challenge: Open up at least one “money fund” and automate savings to the account(s) weekly or monthly.​

The challenge has a blog post with resources and more about the topic.

As with the others, this post follows the 5W1H format–who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Here is my weekly reminder to you: you may be way ahead of a particular challenge, or way behind. It is okay either way.

But you can take some kind of action on the challenge, even if that is just learning about the topic. Studies show that people often have to hear about something seven times before it “sticks.”

This week, I write about why it’s a good idea to have money for different goals and expenses in different accounts, and how to do this. Read it here.

You can reply to this e-mail with any questions, suggestions, or anything else. I love to hear from you!

Remember, you’re doing well with your money, and you can do better.

All the best,

Nancy

Your Money Mom

Seven “Money Funds” You Should Open for Your Goals

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Your challenge: Open up at least one “money fund” and automate savings to the account(s) weekly or monthly.

Time commitment: one half hour to one hour.

I wish I had a better name for “money funds.” Many personal finance websites call these “sinking funds,” but that name just annoys me. If you have a good catchy alternative, let me know.

What are “money funds” and what kind should you have?

A “money fund” is simply a dedicated account to save for a specific planned expense or goal in the near or far future. So, for instance, you could have a “travel fund” to pay for your $2,000 summer vacation. If you put $200 in each month, you will have enough for that vacation in 10 months.

I recommend having multiple money funds for different goals and expenses. Here are seven categories you might consider:

Emergency Fund: 

This is the first, and most important, money account to fund. As covered before, you should start with a bare minimum of $1,000 (and eventually more). Having that separate from your other money funds is a great way to keep the emergency fund “safe” and allow you to spend the money in other accounts guilt free on those goals.

Charity:

A dedicated money fund for giving to charity is a great way to build up the amount of money you have to give away. This can also be helpful if you try to give larger amounts at certain times of the year, such as during Lent or before Christmas. You can use this fund to give to your church or other charity regularly and also give to specific causes.

You can even use this charity account to fund a donor-advised fund, allowing you even more freedom in when you give; tax benefits, and more.. Here is more about donor-advised funds.

Travel:

If you know that you often spending a certain amount of money each year on travel spending—such as visiting in-laws or other families for Christmas, and other vacation plans— have a travel money fund.

For example, if you spend about $3,000 a year on travel, putting aside $250 each month will easily help you cover those costs without being “stretched” when the actual travel is occurring.

Education:

Let me just say that I feel you on this one, since my husband & I have two children in college and one in Catholic high school. It’s so difficult to make a big dent in their college costs (that’s why this Onion article-satire/kinda-is an evergreen favorite), but every bit helps.

A 529 plan for most families is the best way to have this education savings account—but most times, only for college. Some states, but not all, allow parents to use 529 plans for private elementary and high school costs. Illinois is one of those states that do not allow 529 spending for school before college, so we have a separate money fund for high school tuition.

It is hard to give an example in college savings because it’s so variable. Just opening a 529 or other money fund and putting something in there regularly is a good idea.

House: 

This money fund is key for both renters and homeowners. If you are a renter, this account can be earmarked for a downpayment for a house. Even if you’re not sure when this might happen, it’s not a bad idea to have a specific account for this. The money could always be used for home purchases such as furniture or other improvements.

If you are a homeowner, the rule of thumb is to save between 1 to 3 percent of your home’s value each year for repairs. So work to get your savings rate in this fund to this level ASAP.

So, for example, if your home is worth $100,000, plan to save about $1,000 to $3,000 per year. Some years you will spend way less, and some you will spend way more (new roof or furnace).

By the way, the 1 to 3 percent savings guideline is separate from a home renovation project, such as redoing a bathroom or adding a deck.

Auto:

The more you can save here, the better, since car loans are not generally a good idea, or at least keeping that number down as much as possible is ideal.

This fund would be for both the cost of repairs to a current vehicle or vehicles, but you can also figure out your annual costs for registration & insurance here, gas, and any repairs and divide that by 12 months, and save at least that much, if possible.

It’s also a good idea to save for your next vehicle. A good way to do this easily: once you have paid off a car loan, divert that amount of money (and more if possible!) into the auto money fund.

Christmas & Birthdays:

Have you heard of a “Christmas Club”? (and not the Hallmark movie, which is very loosely based on the original concept).

For all you younger readers, banks would have accounts called “Christmas Club” accounts, dedicated to Christmas spending. Account owners would deposit small amounts–actually in person. If you made regular deposits, come Christmas, you would have a good chunk of guilt-free money.

[The origin of Christmas Clubs is semi-interesting, if you’re inclined to learn about it.]

Especially if you have a lot of family to buy gifts for (or gift-giving is one of your love languages), have this kind of money account.

There could be many other types of money funds, but you get the picture.

Why should you open multiple money funds?

You should open multiple money funds for many reasons, but this is mostly a “money mindset” tip. 

Money mindset is much more important than we realize in achieving what we want related to money. This is a great post explaining how you can grow rich thinking about money—not in a “woo-woo” way—but in a way of paying attention and developing intention with your money will lead you to make smarter decisions in your financial life.

You don’t “have to” set up multiple money funds. In fact, we did not for many years—we just one account for everything—emergency fund, etc. You could just keep it all in one account and use as needed. That’s because all of your money is your money. It doesn’t matter whether you won it in the lottery or earned it from your job, or if it’s in an account called “Travel” or not.

But the mere process of “dividing up” between different funds is helpful in seeing your money. If you have $12,000 in a house fund, you are better able to fund a bathroom remodel, or think about a down payment on a house, or buy your next car. For our family, it’s been a truly helpful process to see what we have in different funds, and if we are spending and saving our money based on our highest values.

Having multiple money funds helps you have clarity about your money and then spend with intention.

Now we have accounts in multiple locations, all earning more interest than the typical savings or checking account that earns tiny amounts of interest.

Who should open multiple money funds?

Everyone. For instance, even a teen can set aside $1,000 for an emergency fund, even if they still live and home and parents take care of their housing, etc. And then open several other savings accounts for near-term and far-term goals. 

Ramit Sehti writes about how saving for something you know will probably happen in the future—a wedding, a house purchase—you can easily save up large amounts by small contributions each month from a young age.

For example: If you are 25, and think you’d like to buy a house when you’re 30, you would have $12,000 (more with interest) if you put away just $200 a month towards this goal. Automating it is the way to do this most successfully.

Where should you have your money funds?

Money funds should be in something easy to access—but maybe not too easy, so you’re not tempted to take it out. You should also try to get as much interest as you can. Online banks usually have the best rates.

I am familiar with Discover Savings Accounts and Ally Bank. I also have clients who use Capital One Savings Accounts for their money funds. 

Most online banks allow you to set up easily multiple accounts each with different names. And the interest rate is usually pretty high, comparatively and at much higher rates than at your local or national bank.

How to open multiple money funds

My advice? Make it as easy as possible. Open savings accounts at an online bank or credit card company if you already have a relationship with them.

It is very easy to open a savings account at any of these online banks—here are a few screenshots. If you already have an account (for instance, if you have a Discover credit card), it is even easier. Repeat the process for as many accounts as you want.

Discover

Here is the opening screen of the Discover Banking page.
If you’re a Discover cardholder, the process is even easier, but even for new clients it is easy.

Capital One

Capital One has an easy interface as well, and their API (annual interest rate) is usually the same as Discover.

Ally

Ally’s rates are a little lower, but many people like the ease of using this site.

There are many other online banks and services to choose from, so if none of these is a good fit for you, do some research and choose another. But getting started, and automating your deposits into those accounts (however small), is the most important thing,

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

An Emergency Fund=Priceless

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This post is part of the 2020 The Clarity Project, a yearlong series of challenges to get organized and simplified with money. Read about the project at this introductory post here.

#TheClarity Project January word: SAVE


January’s Clarity Project word theme is SAVE.


This Week’s SAVE Challenge: Get $1,000 (or $1,000 more) into a dedicated, specific emergency fund. Here are the 5W1H (the 5 Ws and the 1 H) to explain about emergency funds.

WHY Should You Have an Emergency Fund?

An emergency fund, or money set aside for unexpected and critical expenses, is a key element of a good money life.

Nearly 40 percent of Americans could not come up easily with $400 to cover an unexpected expense. That is a problem!

This statistic is from an annual survey on economic well-being from the Federal Reserve. It found that in 2018, nearly 40 percent of Americans would not be able to pay for a $400 expense without going into credit card debt or borrowing from friends or family. (This is one of the markers of economic fragility).

You can read the entire survey here.

This may or may not be you, but nearly everyone could use a boost in their emergency fund.

Emergency or large expenses cannot be planned for, but they often happen, and having an account for these can take a lot of pressure off of your money life.

WHEN Should You Create an Emergency Fund?


The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago; the second best time is today.

-proverb

One of the first suggestions I make to coaching clients is to set up or increase their emergency funds. We talk about ways to free up some money to help that happen, and I also walk them through how to create it as a separate account.

WHO Should Have an Emergency Fund?

I think there’s really not too early of an age to start an emergency fund. And if you have responsibility for yourself or anyone else, you should definitely have an emergency fund. But even those who are young and unencumbered should consider having one.

Even though all of our kids still live and home and have the Mom & Dad safety net, I have talked to each of them about setting aside $1,000 even now in an emergency fund. As they set up their financial lives, a $1,000 emergency fund in place before they begin to set up their own households is a great benefit.

WHERE Should Your Emergency Fund Live?

It is important to keep your emergency fund separate from your other money, especially your regular checking account.

I recommend that clients put emergency fund money in a high-yield savings account (usually from an online-only bank), and to have that account be ONLY for emergency expenses.

One of the best things our family has done in recent years is set up multiple savings accounts for different goals—and one of those is the emergency fund.

What I love most about this is that in the past, we had a savings account for everything—savings for our next vehicle, school tuition, a house project, travel, and emergency fund, among other goals. And I always felt bad to spend the money for, say, summer vacation. That is because somehow, I thought about it as all emergency fund money.

Now, there are many positive about having them all separate. I will share some of those later in the month when I walk you through how we set up our savings accounts and how we fund them.

We use Discover Bank because it’s online and I already have a Discover credit card. It made it very easy to use and has one of the highest interest rates for online banks. Some of my clients use Capital One, or Ally Bank. All of those offer relatively high interest returns.

WHAT is an Emergency Fund for?

An emergency fund is not for birthdays, or Christmas presents, the latest sale at your favorite store, or going out for a friend’s birthday.

An emergency fund is also not for reoccurring large expenses, like annual auto insurance premiums or real estate taxes. Those can, and should, be planned for.

An emergency fund is for true emergencies—like a major car problem; a home repair issue; or travel to visit a sick relative. If you have that money set aside, you do not need to take from regular income, or go into credit card debt.

HOW Much Should I Have in my Emergency Fund?

Many money coaches or writers suggest you have from three to six months spending in an easily accessible emergency fund. To this money coach, it is very individual to each family or person. If you have a stable W-2 job, you could probably stand to have less in your account. If you have variable income, a larger emergency fund is a good idea.

It is important, however, to set an emergency fund goal and work diligently to reach that goal. First goal? $1,000. After that, set another goal that works well in your family, and then work towards achieving that. Having that peace of mind is–as the credit card ad goes– “Priceless.”

Bonus One: Money Mindset Tip

If you are saving to add something to an emergency fund, especially if you do not have one yet, tell yourself:

I can have this, but not yet.

-Money Mindset

Delayed gratification is one of the most important tools you can have in your money toolbox.

You may decide that you want to cut out a particular expense, like eating out to lunch once a week—to add money to the emergency fund. Remind yourself that it doesn’t mean you will never eat out again for lunch in your life. You can eat out again—just not yet, or right now.

An easy way to stick with this money mindset is the keep a “purchase wants” list.

I have mine as a a specific note on Google Keep, and have found it invaluable in cutting down on non-essential spending. Just writing down the name or description of the item can have a similar effect to buying it, and I often find that later I look back and think, “Why again did I want to buy this item?” The list also allows me to go back later and find ideas for Christmas and other presents, or purchases I actually need but want to delay.

Bonus Two: Extra Credit Reading

Ever challenge, I will provide some extra reading for further learning and ideas.

Clarus Money Coaching: Five Ways that Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is a Lot Like Money Coaching

This is not exactly related to an emergency fund, but does share an article I wrote about a year ago.

Remember how Marie Kondo’s Netflix show caused a stir and had people cleaning out their spaces and filling up local Goodwills? I talk in this article how Kondo-ing is a lot like money coaching.

Dave Ramsey: Four Quick Ways to Build Your Emergency Fund

I have mixed feelings about Dave Ramsey. On the one hand, I acknowledge he has helped thousands of people get organized with their money. But I do not fully agree with some of his advice beyond “the basics.” (say, beyond babystep #3)

Discover: Four Places to Keep Your Emergency Fund

Later this month, I will talk all about high-yield savings accounts, but this is an interesting. I actually really like the idea of using a Roth IRA as an emergency fund, but I know it’s controversial. And if someone does not have

NerdWallet: Emergency Fund: What it is and Why It Matters

Best take-away from this article: keep your emergency fund SEPARATE from other spending. A dedicated savings account ONLY for emergencies is critical. And then if you have savings for other goals (travel, etc.)

J. Money: Be Proud of Your Emergency Fund!

Whether you have a lot or a little, it’s worth being pleased with any steps that you take related to your emergency fund.

Join 2020: The Clarity Project

Sign up here to get e-mails on monthly money themes.

You’ll get actionable to-dos, encouragement, and resources.

You’re doing well with your money, and you can do better with your money this year!

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    THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

    2020: The Clarity Project: Get Organized and Simplified with Your Money

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    Sign up below for The Clarity Project to get a year’s worth of e-mails with tips and resources for your money.

    Our life is frittered away by detail. … simplify, simplify.

    -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

    2020: The Clarity Project

    This year will be a series of weekly posts to help you simplify and get organized with your money.

    Of course the number 2020 implies clarity (20/20 vision). And my coaching practice, Clarus Money Coaching, begins with Clarus, the Latin word for clarity. Yay for a word doing double duty!

    Each month will have a one-word theme, such as SAVE, or TAXES. (For those who are fellow English majors: yes, some are verbs and some are nouns, which hurts my heart a little, but it is what works.) By the end of the year, you should have a better handle on your money and achieved some goals related to money.

    I plan to send out e-mails approximately every week to a blog post with suggested to-dos, money mindset tips, and helpful resources. You can sign up to get on the e-mail list here:

    Join 2020: The Clarity Project

    Sign up here to get e-mails on monthly money themes.

    You’ll get actionable to-dos, encouragement, and resources.

    You’re doing well with your money, and you can do better with your money this year!

      We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.
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      How The Year of Clarity Works

      Some of the to-dos will be very basic–and some are more advanced–when it comes to money. But I hope that everyone will be able to do something—actually a lot of somethings—to simplify and get more organized with money. That way, when looking back in December, we will see a lot of progress and a lot of clarity.

      I plan to tackle (or re-tackle) all of these themes myself, and I will keep you posted on my progress.

      The Monthly Themes

      January: SAVE

      Week 1: An Emergency Fund=Priceless

      Week 2: Check Your Retirement Savings

      Week 3: Open Multiple “Money Funds”

      Week 4: Calculate Your Savings Rate–and Increase by 1 Percent

      February: TAXES

      Week 5: Get an IRS Identity Protection PIN

      Week 6: Gather What You Need for 2019 Taxes

      Week 7: File Your Taxes (Early)

      Week 8: Do a Paycheck “Check-up”

      March: GIVE

      Week 9: Learn Why It is Good to Give

      Week 10: The Payoff of Giving with Intention

      Week 11: Set Up Online Giving for Your Church or Other Charity

      Week 12: Consider Opening a Donor-Advised Fund

      April: FUTURE

      Week 13: Create a List of 100 Dreams

      Week 14: Plan a Money Health Day

      Week 15: Four Ideas for Your CARES Act Stimulus Money

      Week 16: Teach Your Children Well (about money)


      May: HEALTH

      Week 17: The Big Things Matter Most (but the little things matter, too)

      Week 18: Simple Ways to Increase Your Emergency Fund

      Week 19: Have a No-Spend Week (during a pandemic)

      Week 20: Mind Your Money Mindset (by cultivating a “growth mindset.”)


      June: KIDS


      July: DEBT


      August: CREDIT


      September: GOALS


      October: WORK


      November: DEATH


      December: LOVE

      Coaching Openings Later this Year

      Later in the first half of 2020, I will be accepting new clients for coaching. I will let you know when that happens.

      I truly enjoy and get a lot of energy from working with individual clients and couples.

      Your Ideas & Questions

      I invite your suggestions and feedback of any topics you would like clarity on. You can comment here with any topics, and I will work to incorporate them into one or more of the monthly themes.

      Remember, you’re doing well with your money, and you can do better.

      –Nancy Piccione (Your Money Mom)

      English major note alert: I actually don’t love the longer quote that is from above associated with Henry David Thoreau, but the shorter quote is pretty spot-on in how getting organized and simplifying allows for clarity.

      Here is the full text of Walden online for free at Project Gutenberg—you can search “simplify, simplify” to find the entire long paragraph.

      If you’ve never read Walden, here is a well-designed (and suprisingly faithful) graphic novel version of it.

      Christmas Gift Guide for the Hopelessly Practical Person

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      Shopping for Christmas When You Are (or Love) a Practical Person

      Are you a practical person? A hopelessly practical person? Have I got a Christmas Gift Guide for you!

      I remember being so excited as a girl for new pajamas or socks at Christmastime. As I got older, excited to receive baking pans or other sensible items.

      If gift-giving were my main love language, it would be practical gift giving. My heart warms to give or receive a practical gift, much more so than flowers, jewelry, or other “gifty” gifts.

      I am not quite to the level of Scroogenomics, but my heart warms to a practical gift, whether it’s a useful item like a power washer (truly–more on that below), or a membership to a museum or other local venue, that can be enjoyed all year long.

      Some of the bonuses of giving or receiving practical gifts:

      *gifts are more likely to be used or consumed relative to their value. (see Scroogenomics above.)

      (small digression: The Planet Money podcast has a classic episode that explained the economics of good gift-giving–well worth a listen to understand the concept.)

      *useful gifts are easier to find, and often less expensive, than the “flavor of the year” tchotchke or toy.

      *the gift-giver is often remembered long after the actual season. I still have a pair of kitchen shears (pretty much these ones–hey another practical gift!) that a friend of my mother’s gave me at a wedding shower, and I still use them almost daily and think of Mrs. Gorjanc!

      So, without further ado, here is a gift guide for practical people, in case you are someone like this, or have someone like this in your life. If you have an uber-practical person in your life, you will probably know it. Consider these gold-standard gifts for this category.

      It’s important for me to note that there are affiliate links in this post, which means that I get a small commission if you buy any of the items listed, at no cost to you. But I have purchased or signed up for pretty much everything listed here, with the exception of every single magazine subscription. (We subscribe to Reader’s Digest) I can vouch for the quality of every item.

      WEIGHTED BLANKET

      My husband went to the grocery store and said, “There were weighted blankets at Kroger.” And I thought, perhaps weighted blankets have jumped the shark? But they are still useful and wonderful gifts!

      I need to stand on the record of saying that we had weighted blankets way before weighted blankets were cool or available at Kroger.

      As the prices have come down, I have gradually added to our collection, so that we have enough so that almost everyone can sleep with one. And we do! It does make it hard to get up, because they are so cozy, especially this time of year.

      My quick advice for weighted blankets?

      1. Buy one with a removable cover. The weighted blankets themselves would be difficult to wash (and most have instructions that say spot clean only). The first few I purchased I got without covers, since we had several minky dot duvet covers I had made years ago, and we have just used those. But the ones that come with removable covers are wonderful, since they have ties to attach to the insert.

      2. When in doubt, buy a 15 lb. blanket. Weighted blankets are supposed to be approximately 10 percent of your weight, and this range covers most people.

      This is the most recent blanket that I purchased. It is $109, but with a $40 coupon, it makes it less than $70.

      And here is the one I purchased last year. It is $10 less (and also has a $40 off coupon, making it less than $60), probably because the cover is more minky dot than quilted. Both are lovely.

      POWER WASHER

      I shared a video on Instagram when one of my daughters and I finally broke out the power washer that we bought this fall. And then several friends said that they love them so much, and I replied, why have you been keeping this knowledge from me? It’s so satisfying to use. I purchased mine at HomeDepot.com.

      I honestly did not know the versatility and diverse uses of the power washer until I heard it on the Young House Love podcast.

      AN AUTO-SHIPMENT FROM CHEWY.COM

      This was a game changer in our family’s life. We used to frequently get very close to running out of dog food, or actually would run out of dog food, necessitating a run to the store. Signing up for Chewy.com has solved it!

      Now, we just get an auto-shipment about every six weeks, and we have all we need. It’s WONDERFUL.

      We also get DentaLife sticks for our puppies to help keep their teeth clean. I have also recently begun using Chewy.com for their monthly heart worm & flea medication. So worth it.

      PAJAMAS WITH POCKETS

      Friends, I do not know how I ever lived without pockets in my pajama pants.

      Last year, I got a pair of velour or very soft fleecy pajama pants WITH POCKETS for myself and my daughters, and they are legitimately 100 percent terrific. I am not ashamed to confess that I purchased them at Wal-Mart, so I’ve been on the lookout ever since, especially as it is getting closer to Christmas, to make another purchase like this.

      Sadly, all the fleecy pajama pants or sets at Wal-Mart are pocketless. I still wait in hope, but in the meantime I have been looking for other options online.

      Update: I did find a set at Kohl’s that have pockets, and so I am happy for another year. 🙂

      A MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION

      Amazon has fantastic deals on magazine subscriptions.

      Reader’s Digest

      Family Handyman

      Taste of Home

      Martha Stewart Living

      Pioneer Woman Magazine

      EYEGLASSES

      My latest regular purchase is eyeglasses from online sellers. In our family, we’ve had good luck with Eye Buy Direct, Firmoo, and Glasses USA. I have a high prescription, plus reading progressives, so only a few sites work for me–Firmoo and Glasses USA. (I wish EyeBuyDirect was able to fulfill my prescription, because the frames are plentiful and so cute!).

      If you haven’t tried Glasses USA yet, this link will take you to a code for $10 off.

      Note: I plan to do a much longer post on the how-to of online glasses purchases, and the benefits. I would love your feedback on any sites you use for eyeglasses, and your experiences there.

      GLASS STRAWS

      I got my first set of glass straws several years back as a promotion, and I find them lovely to drink out of at home.

      Over time, since I just throw them in the dishwasher, they will break or chip (not into a million pieces or anything). But they are easy enough to recycle and inexpensive enough to purchase new.

      Your Ideas?

      What are your go-to practical gifts for Christmas? Let me know and I will update this. I am always looking for more good ideas.

      THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

      #GivingTuesday All Year Long

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      A Grateful Heart

      Giving Tuesday is here, and a great day to pause and think about ways to be more generous.

      If you have not read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, I want you to stop reading right now, and download it on your Kindle. (There should be a free version, but I could not find it easily on Amazon. Here is a 99 cent Kindle version, or you can read it for free on Project Gutenberg. The unabridged audiobook is less than two hours long (here is one by Patrick Stewart), so it is an easy quick read.

      “There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,” returned the nephew. “Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”

      –A Christmas Carol in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens

      If you are still here and have not read the classic, consider a surprisingly faithful version of Dickens’ original text, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Our family owns the DVD, and we watch it every year sometime in December. Perhaps Giving Tuesday could be a great time to make that tradition happen.

      As I wrote about previously, Giving Tuesday is a recent thing, but generosity during Advent and Christmas time is a timeless tradition. (see Dickens, above.)

      Ideas for Giving

      Why not take this Giving Tuesday to think about ways that you can be more generous and intentional about your giving all through the year. More on the way about these issues, and the importance of giving:

      *Our Next Life: Free & Cheap Ways to Give In Early Retirement. Tanja and her husband are part of the FIRE community, but her advice about giving is helpful in sparking ideas.

      *Physician on Fire: The Donor-Advised Fund–A Smarter Way to Give. This gives a good overview of what a donor-advised fund is, and why it is a great way to maximize your ability to give.

      Here is an article about the tax benefits of giving to charity, especially in light of the recent tax changes.

      Here is a great post by Laura Vanderkam about how giving makes us happier. This concept is one of my favorite parts of her book All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Wealth.

      *This is annoying. I am sure I have seen in multiple places that families set out snacks and drinks for their UPS/FedEx/other delivery drivers, especially at Christmastime, to thank them for all they.

      Giving is Good Even Without Benefits

      It may seem like I am only advocating giving to charity or to others for self-interest– merely because it is good for you emotionally or spiritually, or you get a tax deduction. This is most certainly not the case. Giving is good, even if you got no tax break, and it had no effect on your health. But the bonus is that it does.

      Do you have any advice for people to be more charitable and giving? I am especially interested in hearing about ideas to involve families in charity.