Frugality to me is doing the best that you can with your money. Making it stretch where you need, saving up to buy important things, budgeting, etc. One important part of frugality for the hubs and I is giving. We both come from the belief that if you always give you will always have. When you dig a little around there is always something you can share with someone else and something you can give. There have been so many times in my life that people have blessed me when I have been in need. There was one time in college that a friend out of the blue gave me a car and $200, another time a stranger gave me $4000 to buy a car and to buy books for school. These times that I have received had been times of great need in my life, those gifts helped me greatly. Through this and through the provision that has always been shown to me I have been shown that the principle of giving is key in our budget. Not to say that you should just go out and give your money to a stranger on the street or even to a homeless person; you do need to be careful. In giving to people I try to reach their needs and determine which needs I am capable of meeting. You could take your money and buy lunches to hand out to homeless in the city or donate (time or money or both!) to a homeless shelter. You still have to use your money wisely in giving and be a frugal giver. There are certain charities that I will not give money too because they support things that I don't want my money associated with. I try to make sure that I'm not just giving money away but hope by investing in companies and organizations that have proven themselves to be frugal and also that use their money for what they say. You have to do research on what you are giving to, many times I research with prayers asking if it is something the Lord would have us do with our money but I also research with a little friend I call Google. Sometimes though giving could just mean buying flowers for a friend thats having a hard time, writing a letter, buying coffee and listenning. You have to find out what it means to you and where you can use your money/time to help benefit the world around you.
Here are just some of the places that the hubs and I feel you can't go wrong in giving too:
Hope Alive Clinic-amazing organization started by one of my friends parents that provides medical, physical, emotional and spiritual relief to Haiti.
Compassion International-provides food, clothing, schooling, etc to over 1 million children in 24 countries.
Sheohannah's Hope whose mission is to care for orphans by engaging the church and helping Christian families reduce the financial barrier to adoption. This is the ministry was started by Steven Curtis Chapman who I spoke about in the last entry. It is his song I posted below as they are especially on my heart right now.
What are you guys up to?
Join in the fun, grab the code below and post your own frugal ideas!
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Found out that Frugal Friday didn't start here-the original is at Biblical Womanhood
4 comments:
Great post Kristi. I've been doing Compassion ever since I signed up at Creation 95 in Hershey Park. It is truly a great way to give and make a huge impact on a child's life. Thanks for your thoughts this Friday!
I love your post. In a weird way it inspired my intangible tip.
I always joked that my career was my gift to charities because I couldn't afford to donate money (and worked for said non-profits). I gave a lot of myself and unbilled time to those places when I worked there. Now I have to settle for writing checks that I can afford and it is way less satisfying. I look forward to being able to at least volunteer again.
good post.
I think it's important to remember that being "frugal" doesn't mean you are stingy or miserly. It just means you are not wasteful or and of course not living beyond your means.
As I read around on the money saving blogs, many of those women are super gererous with their time, talents and even tangible gifts. And heck, the more frugal you are, the more you have to give.
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