Does money make you happy? It is a question that a lot of us like to ponder. At some point, most of us (dare I say all of us?) succumb to the thought that we would be happier if we only had more money. But what is the truth? Can money really make you happier? … [Read more...]
Charitable Giving on a Budget
When people think of charitable giving, everyone naturally thinks about the holidays. People are in a generous mood and lots of opportunities exist for giving. Bell ringers are at the entrance of every store with “angel trees” set up just inside, giving you the opportunity to buy things for kids in need. That said, giving to charity at any time of the year is important, but … [Read more...]
Amazon Smile: Online Shopping Just Got a Little More Awesome
A couple of weeks ago, I got an email in my inbox introducing me to Amazon Smile. I got a similar email a while back about another new thing Amazon was doing called MyHabit and it sounded lame, so I ignored the email for a while. But since we were completely snowed in over the weekend and I had a lot of extra time on my hands, I decided to take a peek and see what Amazon was … [Read more...]
What People Living on Less Than $1 a Day Taught Me About Money
Four years ago I had the privilege to fly halfway across the world with HELP International and live in a small house with sixteen other people for 6 weeks. The house was infested with cockroaches and there weren’t nearly enough beds for all of us, so a handful of us slept on the ground. One night I did a test and sprayed a line of roach killer on the floor around my sleeping … [Read more...]
Spreading the Gospel: Giving and the Parent Tax
Happy Saturday, everyone! It's time again for spreading the gospel of personal finance. There hasn't been anything super exciting that's happened this week, other than a big snow storm that hit Arkansas on Thursday. They don't invest a lot of money into snow plows out here, so the town I live in will have to wait until midway through next week when the snow melts to go … [Read more...]