This is post #10 from the 30 Day Personal Finance Challenge: Boost Your Financial Health with a Daily Tip!
Today is the 10th day of the 30 Day Financial Challenge! Behind the scenes I am running my personal 30 Day Blog Challenge – I publish a blog post a day.
Hurray – you and I made 1/3 of the way! Hold on – we have got some good stuff coming.
As the blog and my goal is becoming more known, I get a variety of responses, mostly something in the lines of:
- disbelief – “So, you are going to be financially independent?!” with a smirk
- encouragement – “Actually, I have the same goal. Go for it!”
- thankfulness – “You inspired me to look into my finances!”
- hesitancy and suspicion – “What are you trying to sell? It doesn’t feel right.”
I want to focus on the last one. Somehow the terms financial freedom and independence cause a knee-jerk reaction and have become synonyms of get-rich schemes and greediness. Instead of analyzing why this is so, I would like to offer an alternative way of looking at it:
Imagine how much MORE you can GIVE back if you had it all yourself.
The ability to give back is a big, fat motivation for me to pursue this goal! The more I have (and the less I need), the more I have to give. This goes the same way for time and as it goes for money.
Chris Guillebeau, a bestselling author, and a modern-day explorer says it best:
Helping people to increase their own freedom and opportunities is a natural response to the recognition of freedom in our own lives. – Chris Guillebeau
Chris nails the term “investing in people”:
I view this as an act of responsibility and gratitude. Where much is given, much is required. – Chris Guillebeau
You guessed it, today’s tip is to set an automatic monthly ‘people investment’.
My cause is girls’ education. I donate a monthly amount for Room to Read because I believe:
World Change Starts with Educated Children. – Room to Read
I like how well-thought their strategy is, their ambitions and their impact. It’s inspiring and motivating to me. This is my small way of changing the world for the better. You can invest as little as 25 bucks a month. 84% of your donation goes straight to their programs.
An extra bonus you can try yourself: When you give with no strings and expectations attached, the return is immediate and huge! You usually get back much more, and you can’t even put a money sign on it. Try it out!
* Check out Chris Guillebeau‘s book: The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
