This post has quotes from Gail Vaz-Oxlade's book "Debt-free Forever." She's the host of the TV show "'til debt do us part." I read her book recently and would recommend it.
All these are quotes by Gail.
When talking about who got you in this financial mess:
"It's your life and if it sucks, you may have had a little something to do with it."
Can't afford a vacation:
"You can still have loads of fun while you save tons of money if you opt for a staycation. That's when you stay at home and pretend you're on vacation. Pick a start and end date for your staycation to make it official. Declare a choratorium - no one has to make their beds, do the dishes or vacuum (consider hiring a cleaning service for midweek to whip the house back into shape.) And pack your schedule full of fun and fabulous things to do locally."
When encouraging her readers to track their expenses for one month before making their first budget sheet:
"This is the step that separates the responsible from the immature, the wannabes, the successes from the failures. Skip it and you might as well go shopping!
On goal setting:
"Once you've set a goal, it's a good idea to create a visual reminder of what you're working toward. Cut out a picture of the home you hope to own and stick it on your fridge. Or tape a small picture of a house to the back of your credit card so you remind yourself of what you're delaying when you go shopping."
According to Gail's life pie, you should be spending 35% of your income on housing, 15% on transportation, 25% on life, 15% on debt repayment and 10% on savings.
If you're giving to your church or charity, then you would have to adjust the percentages to account for that as well.
Gail is a big fan of using "magic jars." She suggests filling 5 jars (or envelopes).
The categories would be: groceries and personal care, transportation, entertainment, clothing and gifts, and other. Figure out your budget and how much you can afford for each of these and then fill the jars each week, bi-weekly or monthly(whatever works for you). When the money is gone, it's gone.
Some last words of advice from Gail:
"Start thinking of a budget as something that tells you what you can do with your money (not what you can't do) and you're seeing the positive side of things. Look at a budget as your plan for how you will spend your money on the things that matter to you the most and now you're fulfilling your dreams."
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Bad Budget Ideas!
Here are some bad budgeting ideas for you to think about:
1. Make minimum payments on your credit card bill.
I have helped people figure out how much interest they are paying on an item that they only make the minimum payment for. It's crazy.
2. Spend more money than you make.
3. Get approved for a mortgage and then spend the maximum that they've approved you for.
This isn't always a bad budgeting idea but often the bank approves people for mortgages that they couldn't possibly afford.
4. Buy things in order to keep up with your friends and neighbours.
5. Don't put any money aside for emergencies.
6. Pay for a vacation after you've returned from that vacation.
A vacation is so much more enjoyable if it's all paid for before you leave.
7. Pay for bills late and then have to pay the penalties.
8. Not being on the "same page" as your spouse when it comes to budgeting.
9. Have no goals for your money.
10. Eliminate all fun.
People think that in order to budget well, that means you must eliminate all the fun you can have. That's not true. Fun and entertainment need to be included in your budget.
Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford Video
1. Make minimum payments on your credit card bill.
I have helped people figure out how much interest they are paying on an item that they only make the minimum payment for. It's crazy.
2. Spend more money than you make.
3. Get approved for a mortgage and then spend the maximum that they've approved you for.
This isn't always a bad budgeting idea but often the bank approves people for mortgages that they couldn't possibly afford.
4. Buy things in order to keep up with your friends and neighbours.
5. Don't put any money aside for emergencies.
6. Pay for a vacation after you've returned from that vacation.
A vacation is so much more enjoyable if it's all paid for before you leave.
7. Pay for bills late and then have to pay the penalties.
8. Not being on the "same page" as your spouse when it comes to budgeting.
9. Have no goals for your money.
10. Eliminate all fun.
People think that in order to budget well, that means you must eliminate all the fun you can have. That's not true. Fun and entertainment need to be included in your budget.
Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford Video
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Planning a Vacation?
Are any of planning a vacation this winter?
Here are some vacation budgeting tips:
1. Write out a vacation budget. There are websites that actually have templates for you to use but basically just write out how much you are going to spend on food, excursions, day trips, car rentals, gas, transportation to and from airport, childcare/pet expenses while you're gone, tolls, souvenirs, etc.
2. Once you know how much you will be needing for food and other things, think about how you are going to pay for things. Some options are:
-taking out cash for what you've decided you will be spending on your vacation.
-decide you will stick to your budget and use your mastercard
-put the money on your mastercard in advance so everything is paid for.
-Some people (and I had to check for this) still use traveler's cheques.
It doesn't matter what your system is, as long as you have one.
3. Have your vacation paid off before you leave. There's nothing worse than coming home from a vacation and trying to figure out how to pay it off.
4. If you are on a really tight budget and you still want a mini-vacation, use priceline or a similar website for a night or two at a hotel. We have got a 4-star hotel both in LA and in Toronto for under $40.00 a night. This is great if you know the city you are going to, but don't care what the exact hotel is. If you want to go to a specific hotel, I usually call to make a reservations and I know it sounds weird, but I always ask if there's a lower price and, again weird, there always is.
5. If you're on a budget, try to find restaurant coupons for your destination city.
6. Book your vacation last minute. Try Sunquest website for their deal of the day.
Check Trip advisor to see the reviews your resort is getting - especially if you're booking through the website and not through a travel agent.
7. Give your travel agent your budget and your vacation week dates and tell her to call you once she has something. Don't think that a travel agent is going to rip you off or that you are going to find a better deal. They do this for a living.
8. Travel with friends and split the costs. One of our most economical vacations (and most fun - thanks Bill) was sharing a house with a bunch of friends in Hatteras Island.
Most importantly, have fun with it!
It doesn't matter if you have a big budget or a small one, there is always somewhere you can go. It's not the destination as much as the people you're sharing your time with.
Here are some vacation budgeting tips:
1. Write out a vacation budget. There are websites that actually have templates for you to use but basically just write out how much you are going to spend on food, excursions, day trips, car rentals, gas, transportation to and from airport, childcare/pet expenses while you're gone, tolls, souvenirs, etc.
2. Once you know how much you will be needing for food and other things, think about how you are going to pay for things. Some options are:
-taking out cash for what you've decided you will be spending on your vacation.
-decide you will stick to your budget and use your mastercard
-put the money on your mastercard in advance so everything is paid for.
-Some people (and I had to check for this) still use traveler's cheques.
It doesn't matter what your system is, as long as you have one.
3. Have your vacation paid off before you leave. There's nothing worse than coming home from a vacation and trying to figure out how to pay it off.
4. If you are on a really tight budget and you still want a mini-vacation, use priceline or a similar website for a night or two at a hotel. We have got a 4-star hotel both in LA and in Toronto for under $40.00 a night. This is great if you know the city you are going to, but don't care what the exact hotel is. If you want to go to a specific hotel, I usually call to make a reservations and I know it sounds weird, but I always ask if there's a lower price and, again weird, there always is.
5. If you're on a budget, try to find restaurant coupons for your destination city.
6. Book your vacation last minute. Try Sunquest website for their deal of the day.
Check Trip advisor to see the reviews your resort is getting - especially if you're booking through the website and not through a travel agent.
7. Give your travel agent your budget and your vacation week dates and tell her to call you once she has something. Don't think that a travel agent is going to rip you off or that you are going to find a better deal. They do this for a living.
8. Travel with friends and split the costs. One of our most economical vacations (and most fun - thanks Bill) was sharing a house with a bunch of friends in Hatteras Island.
Most importantly, have fun with it!
It doesn't matter if you have a big budget or a small one, there is always somewhere you can go. It's not the destination as much as the people you're sharing your time with.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
What if my budget isn't working?
So, you’ve wrote out a budget for yourself or at least you’ve thought about it, but it just doesn’t seem to be working.
Here are some things you may feel about budgeting:
1. I hate tracking my expenses. If this is the case, then find a different way of doing your budget, rather than tracking everything. You might need to take out cash every week or month so you’re not always thinking about how much you’ve spent or have left to spend. Another option is you could spend a couple minutes every day looking over your budget rather than hours once a month – which can feel overwhelming.
2. My husband and I fight over the budget. If you’re with someone, you need to work on your budget together. Both people have to agree with how the money will be spent. It might take some compromise or adding things on your budget that you don’t want to.
3. The numbers don’t seem to adding up. Some people put all their expenses down on paper and then find out they are spending more than they make. So, either make more or spend less. These are really the only two options.
4. On paper we are supposed to have money over at the end of the month but we never do. This is more common than you would think. Somewhere you are not being honest about what you’ve spent. You can either be more diligent about tracking your expenses or use cash so that you are not overspending.
5. I cut out every fun thing out of my budget. It’s a lot of work to budget and live within our means, so don’t cut out every fun thing you do every month. Even if this amount is drastically reduced, you can still have some money to have some fun with every month.
6. I’m not good at budgeting. This one I hear all the time. This one sounds like an excuse to have debt. We all have to budget, whether we do it the same way or not. Everyone has to find some sort of system that works for them. It doesn’t all have to look the same, but we all have to budget (i.e figure out our money) whether we are good at it or not.
Here are some things you may feel about budgeting:
1. I hate tracking my expenses. If this is the case, then find a different way of doing your budget, rather than tracking everything. You might need to take out cash every week or month so you’re not always thinking about how much you’ve spent or have left to spend. Another option is you could spend a couple minutes every day looking over your budget rather than hours once a month – which can feel overwhelming.
2. My husband and I fight over the budget. If you’re with someone, you need to work on your budget together. Both people have to agree with how the money will be spent. It might take some compromise or adding things on your budget that you don’t want to.
3. The numbers don’t seem to adding up. Some people put all their expenses down on paper and then find out they are spending more than they make. So, either make more or spend less. These are really the only two options.
4. On paper we are supposed to have money over at the end of the month but we never do. This is more common than you would think. Somewhere you are not being honest about what you’ve spent. You can either be more diligent about tracking your expenses or use cash so that you are not overspending.
5. I cut out every fun thing out of my budget. It’s a lot of work to budget and live within our means, so don’t cut out every fun thing you do every month. Even if this amount is drastically reduced, you can still have some money to have some fun with every month.
6. I’m not good at budgeting. This one I hear all the time. This one sounds like an excuse to have debt. We all have to budget, whether we do it the same way or not. Everyone has to find some sort of system that works for them. It doesn’t all have to look the same, but we all have to budget (i.e figure out our money) whether we are good at it or not.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
2010
I know you are all still Christmas shopping and it's hard to think about next year already.
But now would be a good time to sit down as a couple, family or just yourself and look at your overall 2010 budget.
I personally write out a monthly budget, which includes all my groceries, gas, bills, etc. This budget looks pretty similar from month to month since most of my bills are monthly.
But, I find there are a lot of things that come up in a year that I am not always ready for that seem more like "extras." So I create a separate list for the bigger things that I want/need for the year.
For example, in our house, the "extras" for 2010 will include:
-Soccer x 2
-Baseball
-Hockey (that's a big one)
-Swimming lessons
-Piano
-Summer holiday up north
-Christmas Presents
On your list, you might add items like:
-winter vacation
-saving up for new car
-renovation project for the house
-mini-vacations every other month
-skiing
-kids class trip
-new mattress
-new fireplace
-Etc.
With these extra, you can just add them to your monthly budget, when they come due.
I personally find it a bit confusing since every month would be a different amount.
So, I add up all the things that I'm anticipating for the year and look at the total amount.
For the sake of this example, let's say those expenses added up to $6000.00 for the year. That would mean that I would have to save $500 a month extra, on top of my budget, so I can afford all the things on my list for the year. If I can't afford to add this amount to my budget, that means I can't afford all the things on my list and I have to prioritize what I really want from that list.
I actually choose to use my tax refund for my extras so I still need to save monthly to make up the difference, but not as high as an amount.
The problem I see when people budget is that they generally know how much they spend every month because their bills stay the same from month to month. And for the most part, everyone's income stays the same from month to month too.
What happens to throw people off is when their child's class trip comes up and they owe $450 or the hockey registration is due this month and they can't even believe what the bill is.
Even, at Christmas. Everyone knows when Christmas is and yet every year too many people go in debt over presents.
I would rather see people anticipate expenses for the year and find a system that works for them. That's why I'm telling you what I do - save monthly for these extra expenses. You might choose to do something differently.
Whatever system you use, do something, so that these extra expenses don't surprise you when they happen.
I hope you have a great Christmas and I will talk to you again in the new year!
But now would be a good time to sit down as a couple, family or just yourself and look at your overall 2010 budget.
I personally write out a monthly budget, which includes all my groceries, gas, bills, etc. This budget looks pretty similar from month to month since most of my bills are monthly.
But, I find there are a lot of things that come up in a year that I am not always ready for that seem more like "extras." So I create a separate list for the bigger things that I want/need for the year.
For example, in our house, the "extras" for 2010 will include:
-Soccer x 2
-Baseball
-Hockey (that's a big one)
-Swimming lessons
-Piano
-Summer holiday up north
-Christmas Presents
On your list, you might add items like:
-winter vacation
-saving up for new car
-renovation project for the house
-mini-vacations every other month
-skiing
-kids class trip
-new mattress
-new fireplace
-Etc.
With these extra, you can just add them to your monthly budget, when they come due.
I personally find it a bit confusing since every month would be a different amount.
So, I add up all the things that I'm anticipating for the year and look at the total amount.
For the sake of this example, let's say those expenses added up to $6000.00 for the year. That would mean that I would have to save $500 a month extra, on top of my budget, so I can afford all the things on my list for the year. If I can't afford to add this amount to my budget, that means I can't afford all the things on my list and I have to prioritize what I really want from that list.
I actually choose to use my tax refund for my extras so I still need to save monthly to make up the difference, but not as high as an amount.
The problem I see when people budget is that they generally know how much they spend every month because their bills stay the same from month to month. And for the most part, everyone's income stays the same from month to month too.
What happens to throw people off is when their child's class trip comes up and they owe $450 or the hockey registration is due this month and they can't even believe what the bill is.
Even, at Christmas. Everyone knows when Christmas is and yet every year too many people go in debt over presents.
I would rather see people anticipate expenses for the year and find a system that works for them. That's why I'm telling you what I do - save monthly for these extra expenses. You might choose to do something differently.
Whatever system you use, do something, so that these extra expenses don't surprise you when they happen.
I hope you have a great Christmas and I will talk to you again in the new year!
Monday, November 30, 2009
An Enouragment to all you Christmas Budgeters out there!
Well, Christmas is coming! And that means the end of the year is quickly approaching. It always seems hard to believe when you see those first Christmas lights go up that it’s this time of year again.
I’m enjoying Christmas shopping more than usual this year. For starters, I made a list of everyone I’m buying gifts for and I have the amount I’m spending beside each person on my list. I have saved up this money already, so that takes the stress out of Christmas shopping. Of course, I’ve already had to start shuffling around amounts – borrowing money from different people’s columns because I’ve overspent on some gifts already!
I’m also enjoying Christmas shopping this year because my kids are getting older and it has been fun to think of things that aren’t necessarily on their lists but that I know they’d love regardless. I mean, after all, their lists are hilarious and ridiculous. The kids range in age from ten to six and each list has a cell phone, laptop, iPod, TV, etc. on it. I seem to remember circling toys in the “Sears Wish Book” at their age – not asking for every possible electronic device out there (Although, I did get a sweet Sony Walkman with the cassette option one year. It even had a belt clip, if I recall, which made it even more awesome. Imagine clipping that huge thing on your belt nowadays? I found a picture of one online and showed my kids. They weren’t impressed).
I also remember the time I got my own phone for my room (no, not the wireless kind!). I told my kids this and they didn’t understand because they’ve never even seen one of those spirally phone cords that limited our movement to a six-foot radius around the phone.
I actually shopped online more than usual this year for Christmas – I even took advantage of some “black Friday” deals and had three items shipped to a postal box in the States. I have never done that before, so we’ll see how that goes when it’s all said and done.
I just wanted to take this time to encourage you in your budgeting. Having a budget doesn't mean that you are cheap or that you are always looking for or finding the best deals. To me, it just means you know where your money has gone and where it is going to go. It means that you are trying to spend less or the same as you make and not go into debt.
I’m not necessarily looking to get the best deal, and I know that there are a lot of times when I could have gotten a better price on certain items. Even with my Christmas shopping, I have a specific amount of money allocated for each of my kids and, since I have the money budgeted and saved already for their gifts, I don’t necessarily need to search for a deal on their items. If I do happen to find a good deal on some items, then I can buy them more things; however, we feel that more certainly doesn’t mean better.
I just wanted to encourage you that you are ahead of most people if you are trying to budget or trying to live within your means. We all fail from time to time and we all make stupid purchases and spend too much sometimes.
Just keep trying to live within your means and still enjoy your life in the meantime!
Happy Christmas Shopping!
I’m enjoying Christmas shopping more than usual this year. For starters, I made a list of everyone I’m buying gifts for and I have the amount I’m spending beside each person on my list. I have saved up this money already, so that takes the stress out of Christmas shopping. Of course, I’ve already had to start shuffling around amounts – borrowing money from different people’s columns because I’ve overspent on some gifts already!
I’m also enjoying Christmas shopping this year because my kids are getting older and it has been fun to think of things that aren’t necessarily on their lists but that I know they’d love regardless. I mean, after all, their lists are hilarious and ridiculous. The kids range in age from ten to six and each list has a cell phone, laptop, iPod, TV, etc. on it. I seem to remember circling toys in the “Sears Wish Book” at their age – not asking for every possible electronic device out there (Although, I did get a sweet Sony Walkman with the cassette option one year. It even had a belt clip, if I recall, which made it even more awesome. Imagine clipping that huge thing on your belt nowadays? I found a picture of one online and showed my kids. They weren’t impressed).
I also remember the time I got my own phone for my room (no, not the wireless kind!). I told my kids this and they didn’t understand because they’ve never even seen one of those spirally phone cords that limited our movement to a six-foot radius around the phone.
I actually shopped online more than usual this year for Christmas – I even took advantage of some “black Friday” deals and had three items shipped to a postal box in the States. I have never done that before, so we’ll see how that goes when it’s all said and done.
I just wanted to take this time to encourage you in your budgeting. Having a budget doesn't mean that you are cheap or that you are always looking for or finding the best deals. To me, it just means you know where your money has gone and where it is going to go. It means that you are trying to spend less or the same as you make and not go into debt.
I’m not necessarily looking to get the best deal, and I know that there are a lot of times when I could have gotten a better price on certain items. Even with my Christmas shopping, I have a specific amount of money allocated for each of my kids and, since I have the money budgeted and saved already for their gifts, I don’t necessarily need to search for a deal on their items. If I do happen to find a good deal on some items, then I can buy them more things; however, we feel that more certainly doesn’t mean better.
I just wanted to encourage you that you are ahead of most people if you are trying to budget or trying to live within your means. We all fail from time to time and we all make stupid purchases and spend too much sometimes.
Just keep trying to live within your means and still enjoy your life in the meantime!
Happy Christmas Shopping!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Christmas Budgeting Tips
According to the statistics out there, every Canadian consumer spends, on average around $800 at Christmas time. There’s nothing wrong with spending the money, if you have it, but there’s also nothing wrong with having a plan for your Christmas spending.
Here are some tips from my house to yours this holiday season...
1. Decide on a budget for your Christmas gifts. Write down how much you are going to spend on each person on your list and stick to that amount.
I am always surprised when I write it out (including teachers, coaches, stocking gifts, etc) and find out how much I actually spend on Christmas.
According to a MasterCard survey of 1,501 adults, nearly 60 per cent of Canadians are hitting the malls with no budget in mind, while 13 per cent of those who set limits on their spending admit they don't stick to them.
2. When you have decided how much you are going to spend on everyone, take out the cash (put it in envelopes if you want) so you are not tempted to over-spend.
3. Buy gifts online to save time and money. If you are Canadian and you find a really good deal in the states, you can have your item shipped to a PO Box in the States for $6 a package. Go on the website www.cbiusa.com and find one close to the border near where you live.
4. If you are mailing a lot of packages, save on postage by mailing gift cards instead. You can even send e-gift cards from a lot of stores such as walmart and toys rus that will be sent directly to your recipients email accounts. These cards can then be used for online purchases. You can also order gift cards online that will be shipped right to the recipient’s door.
5. Make your own wrapping paper this year. Get a big roll of brown paper and have your kids decorate it with stickers and drawings.
6. Get creative with gifts. Most people would be happy if they were given a thoughtful gift, rather than an expensive one.
7. If you have a lot of friends or family, do a gift exchange instead of buying for everyone.
8. Set a fixed limit on gifts with friends and family so that the gift giving doesn’t get out of hand.
Holiday Entertaining Budgeting Tips
According to one website, the average person spends $325 on holiday entertaining.
Here are some great tips from ivillage.com to decrease the amount of money you spend on entertaining.
1. Downsize. Stop making so many appetizers and desserts. Serve one type of punch and just serve a few crowd-pleasing snacks and desserts.
2. Potluck. Have everyone pitch in and bring something to the party.
3. Let your decorations do double-duty. There’s no need to buy fancy decorations. Put lemons, limes or clementines in a glass bowl for a festive centerpiece. You can use these lemons/limes as needed for cocktails and guests can eat the clementines.
Use leftover branches from a trimmed Christmas tree as decoration around the house.
4. Leftovers. Use your leftovers from the party the day after. Use broken tortilla chip in soups and chili the next day or make a Mexican casserole.
If you have extra cheese, make grilled cheese the next day. You get the idea…
After using some of these tips, you’ve saved some money. Now what?
How about we give more this Christmas.
IMAGINE… that you took a portion of what you saved at Christmas and stood up to consumerism by giving life to others.
Did you know… Canadians spend 35 Billion dollars on Christmas, yet it would only cost 13 Billion to help provide clean water for most of the world?
This isn’t to make you feel guilty, just to make you think about what you’re spending.If you want some suggestions for giving to charity this Christmas season, here they are:
1. Give to the charity you choose in the name of a person that is on your Christmas list.
2. Shop through the World Vision catalogue and buy something that someone really needs! www.worldvision.ca/gifts
3. If you want to give of your time, instead of your money, how about volunteering to sort food at your local community care/food bank. Here is the St. Catharines website:
http://www.90for90.ca/page/home
4. Think about volunteering to cook or serve a meal at a Shelter. In St. Catharines, here is the information for the Southridge Shelter: http://www.southridgechurch.ca/help/C55/
I hope some of these ideas are useful to you this holiday season
Here are some tips from my house to yours this holiday season...
1. Decide on a budget for your Christmas gifts. Write down how much you are going to spend on each person on your list and stick to that amount.
I am always surprised when I write it out (including teachers, coaches, stocking gifts, etc) and find out how much I actually spend on Christmas.
According to a MasterCard survey of 1,501 adults, nearly 60 per cent of Canadians are hitting the malls with no budget in mind, while 13 per cent of those who set limits on their spending admit they don't stick to them.
2. When you have decided how much you are going to spend on everyone, take out the cash (put it in envelopes if you want) so you are not tempted to over-spend.
3. Buy gifts online to save time and money. If you are Canadian and you find a really good deal in the states, you can have your item shipped to a PO Box in the States for $6 a package. Go on the website www.cbiusa.com and find one close to the border near where you live.
4. If you are mailing a lot of packages, save on postage by mailing gift cards instead. You can even send e-gift cards from a lot of stores such as walmart and toys rus that will be sent directly to your recipients email accounts. These cards can then be used for online purchases. You can also order gift cards online that will be shipped right to the recipient’s door.
5. Make your own wrapping paper this year. Get a big roll of brown paper and have your kids decorate it with stickers and drawings.
6. Get creative with gifts. Most people would be happy if they were given a thoughtful gift, rather than an expensive one.
7. If you have a lot of friends or family, do a gift exchange instead of buying for everyone.
8. Set a fixed limit on gifts with friends and family so that the gift giving doesn’t get out of hand.
Holiday Entertaining Budgeting Tips
According to one website, the average person spends $325 on holiday entertaining.
Here are some great tips from ivillage.com to decrease the amount of money you spend on entertaining.
1. Downsize. Stop making so many appetizers and desserts. Serve one type of punch and just serve a few crowd-pleasing snacks and desserts.
2. Potluck. Have everyone pitch in and bring something to the party.
3. Let your decorations do double-duty. There’s no need to buy fancy decorations. Put lemons, limes or clementines in a glass bowl for a festive centerpiece. You can use these lemons/limes as needed for cocktails and guests can eat the clementines.
Use leftover branches from a trimmed Christmas tree as decoration around the house.
4. Leftovers. Use your leftovers from the party the day after. Use broken tortilla chip in soups and chili the next day or make a Mexican casserole.
If you have extra cheese, make grilled cheese the next day. You get the idea…
After using some of these tips, you’ve saved some money. Now what?
How about we give more this Christmas.
IMAGINE… that you took a portion of what you saved at Christmas and stood up to consumerism by giving life to others.
Did you know… Canadians spend 35 Billion dollars on Christmas, yet it would only cost 13 Billion to help provide clean water for most of the world?
This isn’t to make you feel guilty, just to make you think about what you’re spending.If you want some suggestions for giving to charity this Christmas season, here they are:
1. Give to the charity you choose in the name of a person that is on your Christmas list.
2. Shop through the World Vision catalogue and buy something that someone really needs! www.worldvision.ca/gifts
3. If you want to give of your time, instead of your money, how about volunteering to sort food at your local community care/food bank. Here is the St. Catharines website:
http://www.90for90.ca/page/home
4. Think about volunteering to cook or serve a meal at a Shelter. In St. Catharines, here is the information for the Southridge Shelter: http://www.southridgechurch.ca/help/C55/
I hope some of these ideas are useful to you this holiday season
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