The Million Dollar Journey is currently celebrating 2 years of blogging and is offering a drawing to show its appreciation for readers, old and new alike. There are many great prices, so you should definitely check this out!
The site is also informative, so after signing up, I recommend subscribing to the blog as it appears to be very informative and definitely provides great examples of little changes (and large ones) and how this has created positive change financially for the blogger. Many of those changes I read in this article were also naturally good for the Earth.
The Million Dollar Journey is a win-win - a great chance for a cool prize and a great resource for personal finances.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Tubfrim: Philanthropic Stamp Collecting
Winter holidays are upon us. That often means an increase in the number of greeting cards and cancelled stamps arriving at a person's home. This influx of stamps invites an simple way to participate in a cause thats goal is to assist disabled youth and to help eradicate tuberculosis . Tubfrim is an organization, based in Norway and owned by the Norwegian Health Association, that sells cancelled stamps from around the world to collectors. The proceeds of this activity are channeled into the organization's philanthropic goals.
The process for gathering these stamps for donation is simple. Just cut out the stamps from the envelope, leaving at least a 1/2 inch margin around the whole stamp. Check out instructions here or you can simply drop off the whole envelop to a Sons of Norway lodge. There is usually a committee there that will process the stamps according to Tubfrim instructions.
You can send these stamps directly to this mailing address in Norway or to a Sons of Norway lodge near to you.
Happy holidays and happy stamp collecting (and donating)!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Philanthropic Recycling: Pop Tabs for the Ronald McDonald House
The Ronald McDonald House is a program that provides a home atmosphere for families to stay at when their child is being hospitalized in a city away from their hometown. Save the tabs of aluminum cans to donate to this program. With the pop top donations, Ronald McDonald House is able to recycle those tabs for money that helps support program expenses.
This is dually wonderful - it is recycling while helping support a highly worthwhile cause. For more information about this, check out: http://rmhc.org/. And in the meantime, start saving those aluminum tabs! But don't forget to recycle the remaining portion of all those cans.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Contentment: Being Thankful for What We Have
Tomorrow is Black Friday. Taking a cue from my parents shopping style, never have I participated in this shopping extravaganza. Yet, I'm kind of curious to experience it just once since it is a bit of a cultural phenomenon. However, this year is another year I will not partake in this annual event.
My decision is multi-fold. First of all, I am not lacking anything essential. It's thanksgiving, after all, and I have much to be thankful for - a wonderful family, a cozy abode, an abundance of yummy food, and a job I love. But aside from that, of course, there are things on my dream list and my "need" list, but truthfully, even those aren't entirely essential (for example, I would like to get some aluminum pots and pans for the kitchen, but do have some functional old ones for the time being). In addition, buying less (by making do with what I already have), means more money that I can put into savings. Finally, the more I am realizing how much energy and resources it takes to produce food, clothes, electronics, books, etc. the more I'm happy with my decisions to hold off on buying something new.
Therefore, in order to continue my attempt to reduce my consumption, increase my savings, and reduce my impact on the environment, I'm going to just say "no" to Black Friday this year. I'm content with life in general and doing just fine with out extra things, even things that may make life a little easier or nicer. Being in a store filled with cool stuff, may just temp me away from my challenge so I'm just going to sit it out tomorrow, and instead will be enjoying the possessions I already have while. And fact, I think I will spend time tomorrow to better organize my belongs as a way reiterate the plenty that I have.
Attempting to reduce one's accumulation of stuff (namely, stuff that one doesn't really need or at that one can hold off from buying until later when they've researched about it better, know it is something the will appreciate and use for a long time, plus have saved up for it) means less to clean, less to maintain, less to organize, and less to store or clutter ones space at home. More importantly, reducing one's spending can mean more green in one's bank account while reducing the resources one is taking from the Earth. And I'm more than content with the ramifications of that decision.
For a more on this topic, J.D., of the Get Rich Slowly blog at http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/, wrote a great article called "The Tyranny of Stuff". I highly recommend reading this because it is another view point that makes you think, "how much do we really need to survive, thrive, and enjoy life?". Check out his article here: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/08/10/the-tyranny-of-stuff/.
So, with Black Friday just around the corner, what will you being doing? Are you venturing out to scout out some good deals? Or have you decided to buck the post-Thanksgiving Day trend?
My decision is multi-fold. First of all, I am not lacking anything essential. It's thanksgiving, after all, and I have much to be thankful for - a wonderful family, a cozy abode, an abundance of yummy food, and a job I love. But aside from that, of course, there are things on my dream list and my "need" list, but truthfully, even those aren't entirely essential (for example, I would like to get some aluminum pots and pans for the kitchen, but do have some functional old ones for the time being). In addition, buying less (by making do with what I already have), means more money that I can put into savings. Finally, the more I am realizing how much energy and resources it takes to produce food, clothes, electronics, books, etc. the more I'm happy with my decisions to hold off on buying something new.
Therefore, in order to continue my attempt to reduce my consumption, increase my savings, and reduce my impact on the environment, I'm going to just say "no" to Black Friday this year. I'm content with life in general and doing just fine with out extra things, even things that may make life a little easier or nicer. Being in a store filled with cool stuff, may just temp me away from my challenge so I'm just going to sit it out tomorrow, and instead will be enjoying the possessions I already have while. And fact, I think I will spend time tomorrow to better organize my belongs as a way reiterate the plenty that I have.
Attempting to reduce one's accumulation of stuff (namely, stuff that one doesn't really need or at that one can hold off from buying until later when they've researched about it better, know it is something the will appreciate and use for a long time, plus have saved up for it) means less to clean, less to maintain, less to organize, and less to store or clutter ones space at home. More importantly, reducing one's spending can mean more green in one's bank account while reducing the resources one is taking from the Earth. And I'm more than content with the ramifications of that decision.
For a more on this topic, J.D., of the Get Rich Slowly blog at http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/, wrote a great article called "The Tyranny of Stuff". I highly recommend reading this because it is another view point that makes you think, "how much do we really need to survive, thrive, and enjoy life?". Check out his article here: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/08/10/the-tyranny-of-stuff/.
So, with Black Friday just around the corner, what will you being doing? Are you venturing out to scout out some good deals? Or have you decided to buck the post-Thanksgiving Day trend?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Baby Steps Along the Path to Change
Major positive change takes time and is usually the cumulation of many little steps. Making positive changes for our environment and our bank accounts can begin with little modifications to our current way of living. In fact, when one's actions are kind to the environment, one is often being kind to their pocket book (maybe without even realizing it!).
Making little and big positive changes for Mother Nature and our financial futures can create lots of green and lots of change (from both environmental and financial perspectives).
So let's join in the task of embracing change and creating a better world for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our neighbors, and our global citizens.
Making little and big positive changes for Mother Nature and our financial futures can create lots of green and lots of change (from both environmental and financial perspectives).
So let's join in the task of embracing change and creating a better world for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our neighbors, and our global citizens.
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