Giving without Draining your Pocketbook!

We all know the importance of helping others. We all know that it’s part of being a good steward of our money to help others. But what if donating large sums of money just isn’t going to work in your financial situation right now? That’s okay! There are many ways that you can help others without breaking your piggy bank to do so…

…Donate your excess stockpile. We all know that there are items in our stockpile that we can do with less. Do you really need all 20 of those tubes of toothpaste? No, because toothpaste is regularly free so you will always be able to replenish. If you are able to go through your stockpile at the end of each month and clear out excess, then not only will you be doing good for those who can’t afford it, but you will also be making room for the new month’s items that you will no doubt be stocking up on.

Take your excess stockpile to homeless shelters, women’s/men’s shelters, church groups who will be pass it out to those in need, food pantries, or anywhere else in your area that takes donations. Think outside of the box when it comes to donating as well. Often time’s nursing homes will take diabetes testing supplies and OTC medications. Animal shelters welcome pet food, kitty litter and the like with open arms. Daycare centers will always accept donations of laundry detergents, nutritional food items, toys, crayons, and paper (or anything else that you know they commonly use!). You can also give excess stockpile to individuals that you know are in need. Your neighbor lost his job? Put together a box of items for him. Your in-laws are having a tough financial time? Send them a economic care package full of stockpile items that they can use.

…Shop specifically to donate. Often times when I am out deal shopping, when I can get something for free or mere pennies, I get as many as I have coupons. Even if I know never in my whole life could I use all that stuff or it you know it is an item you have no need for! I buy the excess specifically for donating. If it’s free, it might as well go to someone who can use it, right? So when you are out deal shopping, keep an eye out for the freebies and then grab up at much as you can. When you get home put it straight into your donation box to be sure that it gets to those in need before it goes bad.

…Donate your time. Volunteering costs nothing, but it helps others out immensely! Have a few spare hours? Find an organization in your community and volunteer that time! If you are worried that your family time with be sacrificed, don’t! Volunteering can be a great family activity! Spend a few hours at the local nursing home getting to know the tenants (if you can find someone who lived through the depression you can even learn a lot about frugal living from them!), go to the local animal shelter to give a few hours loving the homeless pets, help with natural disaster cleanup effort, or volunteer your time to any shelters or food pantries in your area.

…Donate your expired coupons to military families. Instead of throwing those little money saving machines away, send them to those who can still use them. Military families overseas can use coupons for up to six months after their expiration, and as coupons are oftentimes hard to get a hold of overseas, donate yours to help those in need. For more information, check out The Happy Housewife. This wonderful blogger spearheads a program that sends coupons to military families, you just have to send your expired’s to her and she will take it from there!

…Donate your extra income. If you still really want to give a monetary donation, give out of your extra income. Set a goal for yourself each month that is the amount you wish to donate. Your goal will then be to earn that much in extra income for the month so you aren’t taking out of your paycheck. Be it rebate checks, money from selling household items or money received as a gift, if you never had it you’ll never miss it!

…Automatically withdraw from your paycheck. This is another one of those “if you never had it, you’ll never miss it” ideas. If you have your paycheck direct deposited when you get paid, ask your bank to take a set amount out of each check to place into a special savings account. At the end of the month (or however often you donate) you’ll have money set aside to donate without ever touching it!

There are many ways to help others without using money that is needed to pay down debt or build up a savings. Making sure that you and your family are taken care of first is your first priority, after all. But it is still important to give to others. With a little creativity and the ideas listed above you will be able to help others with no investment out of your checkbook! Happy helping!

To see other great household tips and hints, check out Works for me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family!