I can understand how difficult it can be to really get a good grasp on every company that you apply to - fortunately, as you mention, it's only really necessary during the interview process. If you're landing too many interviews to adequately research each company, then you still must be doing something right!
Supply side is still correct. The thing about the economy is that you can't use a simple model of it, because there is nothing simple about it. I'm sure you can create a simple model to support whatever preconceived notions you have about it.
Furthermore, if you want to get more money into the hands of the bottom 90%, then take welfare away from them. By forcing them to join the capitalistic system rather than leeching off of it, they will make much more money than they currently receive in handouts.
The funny thing about human nature is that many people are perfectly content just getting by if they don't have to do anything. Once they are forced to do something, they no longer want to just get by.
The capitalist system works. Embrace it instead of trying to tear it down.
I give money and goods to about a half dozen charities including church, United Way, PBS, and the local food bank. I consider giving to be an important component of my budget.
One major unexpected perk of giving to my employer's United Way fund-raiser this past year was that I won a Barnes and Noble Nook, which led to my first date with the man I'll be marrying this May.
We have a certain amount of our budget dedicated to monthly donations to a couple of charities we really like; it's auto-drafted from our account by the charities in question. Easy!
Ha ha ha, brilliant!!! As much as I like being Frugal I like buying stuff for friends so this game is win win for me and sounds fun.... Gotta try it soon.
With the crisis in Japan since I can't help physicially, I will donate money. I usually go to www.charitynavigator.org to determine which charity is most fiscally responsible and where the majority of my money will go directly to the people/cause needing the help and less to overhead.
My wife and I tend to donate money more than time, although I'm hoping to find time to work with Habitat for Humanity sometime in the near future. The hard part with Habitat is that you typically have to schedule months in advance in my area if you want one of their weekend slots.
Aside from tithing to our church, we also support 4 children (3 through World Vision and 1 through a small program through our old church). Last year, we also gave a healthy sum to a local pregnancy counseling center and smaller various other local charities. And we tend to take at least one load to Goodwill or Salvation Army each year (which is also a good way of keeping down the clutter).
I donate to charity by paying taxes. If I didn't have so much of my money stolen from me by the government, I would take that money and donate it to the charity of my choice.
Great tips, and no one would ever equate you with "sub par."
The thoughts on researching companies are on target. I'll add that it is wise to look at LinkedIn profiles to get a feel for the background and preferences of your interviewers.
One of the reasons people may not do the obvious is that they have not narrowed down their prospects and find researching every employment possibility overwhelming, or they have done the research in previous attempts and then encountered the lamest interviewer so it doesn't seem worth the effort. Vetting employers, even in the midst of a so-so economy, is still a good idea.
I always thought it was best to donate cash value over food drops.
A non profit always gets a better deal when dealing with getting food and other products because they dont have to pay sales tax... Also many Non profits have access to buying in bulk, where they can get 3-5 cans of corn to the one can you donated.
I've also donated time for some charities but it always seems like whoever is organizing is clueless on how to run it.
So if I get $200 worth of gift cards for Christmas, I need to factor that into my taxes in April? I thought if it was a gift it is exempt from taxes. In fact, I thought up to $13K could be received as a gift without paying taxes. I'm sure one could argue the $800 my wife received was a gifts and not income.
I give cash primarily, and try to keep it basically to systematic monthly giving. Unfortunately, disasters aren't very good at distributing themselves evenly across months--I'll need to think about how to factor disaster giving into the plan.
Reading this in March 2011 (following a link from another post this morning). If only more people had seen this concise description of where we were headed!
There are so many worthy causes, but I don't make a lot of money so I volunteer my time and participate in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. It's a 200-mile bike-a-thon across the state and all proceeds go to cancer research and treatment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. As a ride I commit to raising $4,200 each year through events, a personal appeal to family/friends and personal contributions. Not only is it a really fun event, but the money I raise goes towards a cause I really care about.
I give in several ways. My largest giving throughout the year goes to my church. It helps support the pastor and I trust them to distribute the rest to my community.
I also choose organizations or individuals that I feel are providing real help or value. Like publicly supported radio stations that I listen to, or the local homeless shelter.
When giving, I think it is very important to include my time as a donation. Sometimes all the money in the world won't help a problem, but one more set of hands will.
I would be interested to hear how to get money into the hands of the 90%. Maybe that could be a follow up article?
Stimulus packages and hand-outs seem like they would only encourage spending beyond one's means. Once the stimulus went away, so would the stabilization.
It couldn't be just a temporary increase in purchasing power. It would need to be an increase in real assets, and increase in real wealth-creating value.
I regularly give time and money to causes I believe in. Most of those are religious organizations. On a monthly basis I support individuals and a few organizations doing work I believe in (pastoring on college campuses, church planting, Bible translation, faith based community development, etc). Many of the individuals I support are friends who have gone into this sort of work. So I have a personal connection and get to hear about what's going on with them and the work I support on a regular basis. And I give to my church, which provides ongoing as well as one-time as needed support for other missionaries and mercy projects.
I'm also involved in my church's "disaster response" ministry. We help out, providing physical and some skilled labor, where we can, in the wake of disasters. I've done clean-up after floods, wildfires and other natural disasters both locally and out-of-state. Last summer I was part of a team which ran a weeklong summer camp program for street children in Mexico in partnership with the long-term ministry to these kids. We'll do that again this summer. It's a hard week but ultimately a very rewarding one.
Because of my ongoing involvement in these types of ministries, I don't generally give in the wake of disasters. But, when I do, I prefer to give to established organizations (usually Red Cross) which I know have the experience and the infrastructure to make a real difference in a way that helps without hurting. I know that the overhead costs are sometimes greater with these larger organizations, but I feel more confident that the organization will be able to assess and meet the needs of the people who need the help, rather than just throwing supplies or money at the problem hoping that it's used well.
It would be impossible to give to every charity that could use the help, so what I decided I needed to do was pick a cause that was the highest priority for me personally. I don't have a lot of extra cash to throw around, but still wanted to donate, so rather than making a single big donation I set up an automatic monthly donation of a small amount - each donation isn't much, but it adds up.
My personal choice was to donate to the V Foundation for Cancer Research (www.jimmyv.org). 100% of personal donations go directly to research, not to some administrator's pocket. They score highly at Charity Navigator and a friend of mine actually knows someone at a lab that received a grant from them, so I know they're legit.
You can set up the option to either donate once or donate monthly, and I sent a small donation to them automatically each month.
There are so many ways. I give first to my church, which gives those in need in the local community help through a food pantry and financial assistance. My daughter has had birthday parties where they didn't bring gifts for her, they brought new books for a local women and children's shelter. We also give to the Red Cross in times of need like Katrina and Haiti and now Japan. The Red Cross knows what is needed, they already have the work started, and I feel that my donations will be best used by them to help the people in the crisis.
My employer sponsors various charitable activities during the year, such as a chili cook-off to benefit a children's hospital, a leukemia walk, and a basketball bracket challenge. Personally, I also support my local PBS station with an annual donation.
I can understand how difficult it can be to really get a good grasp on every company that you apply to - fortunately, as you mention, it's only really necessary during the interview process. If you're landing too many interviews to adequately research each company, then you still must be doing something right!
Supply side is still correct. The thing about the economy is that you can't use a simple model of it, because there is nothing simple about it. I'm sure you can create a simple model to support whatever preconceived notions you have about it.
Furthermore, if you want to get more money into the hands of the bottom 90%, then take welfare away from them. By forcing them to join the capitalistic system rather than leeching off of it, they will make much more money than they currently receive in handouts.
The funny thing about human nature is that many people are perfectly content just getting by if they don't have to do anything. Once they are forced to do something, they no longer want to just get by.
The capitalist system works. Embrace it instead of trying to tear it down.
I donate a lot of clothes and I volunteer once a week.
I donate to higher education directly from my paycheck.
I also donate time through the National Ski Patrol.
I give money and goods to about a half dozen charities including church, United Way, PBS, and the local food bank. I consider giving to be an important component of my budget.
One major unexpected perk of giving to my employer's United Way fund-raiser this past year was that I won a Barnes and Noble Nook, which led to my first date with the man I'll be marrying this May.
We have a certain amount of our budget dedicated to monthly donations to a couple of charities we really like; it's auto-drafted from our account by the charities in question. Easy!
Ha ha ha, brilliant!!! As much as I like being Frugal I like buying stuff for friends so this game is win win for me and sounds fun.... Gotta try it soon.
What great ideas!! Thank you!! :)
I donate to my church, I donate a lot of clothing/shoes regularly to food clothing drop boxes, and I signed up for SwipeGood!
With the crisis in Japan since I can't help physicially, I will donate money. I usually go to www.charitynavigator.org to determine which charity is most fiscally responsible and where the majority of my money will go directly to the people/cause needing the help and less to overhead.
My wife and I tend to donate money more than time, although I'm hoping to find time to work with Habitat for Humanity sometime in the near future. The hard part with Habitat is that you typically have to schedule months in advance in my area if you want one of their weekend slots.
Aside from tithing to our church, we also support 4 children (3 through World Vision and 1 through a small program through our old church). Last year, we also gave a healthy sum to a local pregnancy counseling center and smaller various other local charities. And we tend to take at least one load to Goodwill or Salvation Army each year (which is also a good way of keeping down the clutter).
I donate to charity by paying taxes. If I didn't have so much of my money stolen from me by the government, I would take that money and donate it to the charity of my choice.
Great tips, and no one would ever equate you with "sub par."
The thoughts on researching companies are on target. I'll add that it is wise to look at LinkedIn profiles to get a feel for the background and preferences of your interviewers.
One of the reasons people may not do the obvious is that they have not narrowed down their prospects and find researching every employment possibility overwhelming, or they have done the research in previous attempts and then encountered the lamest interviewer so it doesn't seem worth the effort. Vetting employers, even in the midst of a so-so economy, is still a good idea.
Oh, that's terrible, Marla. I can't even imagine how the HR person must have dealt with that... I mean, I'm sure that they were polite, but yeesh!
I always thought it was best to donate cash value over food drops.
A non profit always gets a better deal when dealing with getting food and other products because they dont have to pay sales tax... Also many Non profits have access to buying in bulk, where they can get 3-5 cans of corn to the one can you donated.
I've also donated time for some charities but it always seems like whoever is organizing is clueless on how to run it.
So if I get $200 worth of gift cards for Christmas, I need to factor that into my taxes in April? I thought if it was a gift it is exempt from taxes. In fact, I thought up to $13K could be received as a gift without paying taxes. I'm sure one could argue the $800 my wife received was a gifts and not income.
I give cash primarily, and try to keep it basically to systematic monthly giving. Unfortunately, disasters aren't very good at distributing themselves evenly across months--I'll need to think about how to factor disaster giving into the plan.
Reading this in March 2011 (following a link from another post this morning). If only more people had seen this concise description of where we were headed!
There are so many worthy causes, but I don't make a lot of money so I volunteer my time and participate in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. It's a 200-mile bike-a-thon across the state and all proceeds go to cancer research and treatment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. As a ride I commit to raising $4,200 each year through events, a personal appeal to family/friends and personal contributions. Not only is it a really fun event, but the money I raise goes towards a cause I really care about.
I give in several ways. My largest giving throughout the year goes to my church. It helps support the pastor and I trust them to distribute the rest to my community.
I also choose organizations or individuals that I feel are providing real help or value. Like publicly supported radio stations that I listen to, or the local homeless shelter.
When giving, I think it is very important to include my time as a donation. Sometimes all the money in the world won't help a problem, but one more set of hands will.
I would be interested to hear how to get money into the hands of the 90%. Maybe that could be a follow up article?
Stimulus packages and hand-outs seem like they would only encourage spending beyond one's means. Once the stimulus went away, so would the stabilization.
It couldn't be just a temporary increase in purchasing power. It would need to be an increase in real assets, and increase in real wealth-creating value.
I regularly give time and money to causes I believe in. Most of those are religious organizations. On a monthly basis I support individuals and a few organizations doing work I believe in (pastoring on college campuses, church planting, Bible translation, faith based community development, etc). Many of the individuals I support are friends who have gone into this sort of work. So I have a personal connection and get to hear about what's going on with them and the work I support on a regular basis. And I give to my church, which provides ongoing as well as one-time as needed support for other missionaries and mercy projects.
I'm also involved in my church's "disaster response" ministry. We help out, providing physical and some skilled labor, where we can, in the wake of disasters. I've done clean-up after floods, wildfires and other natural disasters both locally and out-of-state. Last summer I was part of a team which ran a weeklong summer camp program for street children in Mexico in partnership with the long-term ministry to these kids. We'll do that again this summer. It's a hard week but ultimately a very rewarding one.
Because of my ongoing involvement in these types of ministries, I don't generally give in the wake of disasters. But, when I do, I prefer to give to established organizations (usually Red Cross) which I know have the experience and the infrastructure to make a real difference in a way that helps without hurting. I know that the overhead costs are sometimes greater with these larger organizations, but I feel more confident that the organization will be able to assess and meet the needs of the people who need the help, rather than just throwing supplies or money at the problem hoping that it's used well.
It would be impossible to give to every charity that could use the help, so what I decided I needed to do was pick a cause that was the highest priority for me personally. I don't have a lot of extra cash to throw around, but still wanted to donate, so rather than making a single big donation I set up an automatic monthly donation of a small amount - each donation isn't much, but it adds up.
My personal choice was to donate to the V Foundation for Cancer Research (www.jimmyv.org). 100% of personal donations go directly to research, not to some administrator's pocket. They score highly at Charity Navigator and a friend of mine actually knows someone at a lab that received a grant from them, so I know they're legit.
You can set up the option to either donate once or donate monthly, and I sent a small donation to them automatically each month.
There are so many ways. I give first to my church, which gives those in need in the local community help through a food pantry and financial assistance. My daughter has had birthday parties where they didn't bring gifts for her, they brought new books for a local women and children's shelter. We also give to the Red Cross in times of need like Katrina and Haiti and now Japan. The Red Cross knows what is needed, they already have the work started, and I feel that my donations will be best used by them to help the people in the crisis.
My employer sponsors various charitable activities during the year, such as a chili cook-off to benefit a children's hospital, a leukemia walk, and a basketball bracket challenge. Personally, I also support my local PBS station with an annual donation.