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Gifts

Gifts

Use Your Air Miles To Buy Your Christmas Gifts This Year

I received a great money-saving tip from one of my readers that I wanted to pass along to you.  The email went as follows:

“Two years ago my husband and I had a bunch of Air Miles built up, but we knew we wouldn’t be using them in the near future so we used them up to buy gift cards which we then used for gifts for our brothers, grandparents, etc.  I’m not sure if we got the biggest return for the miles (not sure of the rate) but what’s the point in holding onto points for a flight you may never take?  Better to use them up I say.”

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Gifts

How You Can Really Help The Homeless

After reading Under the Overpass I will never look at a homeless person the same way again.  Although in the past I had volunteered in a place where I rubbed shoulders with homeless people, I could never really fully imagine what it might be like to be homeless.  But once I read this book, I was able to get a secondhand glimpse of what it is like to be homeless.  Their life is far from easy, and it’s good to know that there are ways we can help them out.

Under The Overpass is about two young men in the United States who decided to live as homeless people for 5 months in 6 different cities across the U.S.  They came from upper middle class families and decided to discover for themselves what it truly is like to be homeless.  As a result of their experience, they developed a new appreciation for the hardships these folks experience.  You will too, if you read this book.

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Gifts

Shop For Christmas All Year Round

In case you haven’t noticed, Christmas is just around the corner.  Rather than getting all stressed out about your gift shopping and leaving it until the very last minute, why not do your shopping all year round?  By doing so you will have a lot of time to find just the right gift for each family member and you will often find great deals and ideas when you’re not even looking for them!

Although I usually end up still doing some shopping in the overcrowded malls in December, I am happy to say that almost every year I have shopped for at least half the people on my list before the big rush, so it makes shopping much easier.

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Gifts

What Do You Do With Money That Is Given To You?

When someone gives you a gift of money for your birthday, Christmas, or just because, what do you do with it?  Do you treat it as earned income or do you just blow it because you did not have to work for it?

Most of us are likely to treat our gifts of money differently from our earned income.  Rather than just popping it into our savings accounts, we are tempted to spend it, perhaps even on things that we don’t really need.  Why?  Because it’s not as if we are using our own money, or so we think.

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Gifts

Tips For Making Donations

We all want to help those in need.   With the tragic news of the massive flooding in Pakistan, it is only natural for people to want to pitch in and help out.  Just make sure to follow these basic tips before making a donation.

Make sure that the organization you donate to is a legitimate one.  It is safer to select an organization that you have heard of and you know is reputable such as the United Way, UNICEF, World Vision, etc.  These established organizations have the experience in providing cost effective aid.  As well, you will feel safe in knowing that their websites are secure should you choose to donate online.

Avoid donating to smaller organizations, especially if you have never heard of them. Unfortunately there have been cases of criminals pretending to be collecting money to provide aid and it turns out they are only concerned with lining their own pockets.

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