Showing posts with label NSA Giving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NSA Giving. Show all posts

No Strings Attached - September 2014

Well... the good news is that i got a job.  The bad news is that the paychecks are very barely enough to cover my bills; it's definitely not going to help me climb out of debt.  I'm suspending the No Strings Attached Giving for a couple of months until i'm on better financial terms.

I struggled about whether or not to donate this month but when i was going to have to use my credit card to donate, i decided that it wasn't the best idea.

I look at the lack of finances as a bit of an opportunity, though.  It will allow me to pare down my bills and focus on where my money is being spent.  When i do start making more money again, i'll use discipline to avoid lifestyle inflation and resume the 5%.  (perhaps in as little as 60 days when i'm expected to get a small hourly raise)

No Strings Attached - August 2014

I'm still unemployed so there were no donations made this month.  Hopefully i will be able to make a contribution soon.

No Strings Attached - July 2014

No strings attached!  Unfortunately I'm unemployed again.  Here's where 5% of my after-tax income went this month:

Lake Humane Society - $51 - Animals matter.


No Strings Attached - June 2014

For those of you new to the Ripening, i reserve 5% of my after-tax income each month to give away.  Here's where i used it this month:

$51 - Dinner - a high school buddy of mine and his g/f came into town and we went out for some food and beers.  I decided to pick up the tab.  The bill was more expensive than this but i didn't want to count my girlfriend's and my own food as "no strings attached."

$25.50 - Oath Keepers - from their website, "Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police, and first responders who pledge to fulfill the oath all military and police take to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

$25.50 - Buckeye Trail Association - i plan to hike a small section of the Buckeye Trail in early July so i'm throwing some funds its' way in advance.

I don't like to think of this exercise strictly as donation-giving.  It's money I set aside to spend on something other than myself without expectation.  Although many of the past expenditures have been donations to non-profits, i don't want to limit myself.  Dinner with friends is a perfect example of using this money in different ways.

Do you do something similar in your own life?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments section!

No Strings Attached - May 2014

Because of the way i structure my paychecks (receiving 26 a year but budgeting as if i only get 24) there will be two months where i get three paychecks.  I still plan to donate 5% of my income, so this month equates to $153 as opposed to $102.

I went with a "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" theme here (as i've done in the past), focusing on the bottom rung:

Euclid Hunger Center - $51 - food


Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity - $51 - shelter

Charity: Water - $51 - water

No Strings Attached - April 2014

Here's where i donated 5% of my after-tax income this month:

$51 - JD's Mom - a friend's mom needed some help with medical expenses

$25 - NORML - an unjust law is no law at all

$26 - Wounded Warrior Project - not enough is done to support returning veterans

No Strings Attached - March 2014

Here's where i donated 5% net this month:

$26 - Electronic Frontier Foundation - a non-profit dedicated to defending our digital rights

$26 - Cleveland Metroparks Trails Fund - spring is here!

$50 - A childhood friend's house burned down so i donated to his GoFundMe campaign

Every little bit helps.  I hope that you choose to direct the flow of your money consciously.


No Strings Attached - February 2014

Here is where i decided to donate 5% of my after-tax income this month:

$25.50 - Wikipedia - i use Wikipedia on a daily basis and link to it from my blog often.

$25.50 - WVIZ - the local PBS affiliate.

$51 - Officer Boyle - a police officer in my hometown suffered a stroke recently so i chose to donate to help cover his medical expenses in lieu of attending a spaghetti dinner benefit since i'm trying to avoid gluten.

No Strings Attached - January 2014

A new year, a new title for the category of posts, and new opportunities to make a positive impact through monetary donations!  Here's where 5% of my net income went this month:

New League Fitness - $51 - A friend of mine is raising money to open an MMA / nontraditional fitness center in his hometown so i wanted to contribute.

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue - $51 - In honor of my dog Otto's 2nd birthday.  I'm thankful for my puppy and want to help save the lives of other animals, hoping they'll be adopted to a happy home.  


NSA Giving - 2013 Recap

2013 has come to a close and i thought it'd be interesting to go back and look at where my donations went last year.  I was surprised to see that i was able to donate $1,059!  A little bit each month adds up quickly!  The best part is that once i began making the donations i didn't even miss the money i was giving away. 

Sure, i could've used the $1k to pay off debt but i have a feeling that the money made more of an impact than forking it over to Sallie Mae and Visa.  They'll get theirs eventually.


NSA Giving - December 2013

Happy news!  I'm making money again so that means i can resume donating!  Since i didn't receive two full paychecks and i'm making less money in my new position, the amount i'm donating this month is only $78.  Here's where it went:

Blue Lace Project - $27 - A Kickstarter project designed to bring awareness that Americans want products that are produced domestically.  I know my donations are supposed to have "no strings attached" but i didn't back the project so i could get shoelaces.  I simply wanted to show my support.

Delta Sigma Phi: National - $26 - In celebration of Founder's Day on December 10th.

Delta Sigma Phi: Delta Omega - $25 - The chapter i was involved with at Cleveland State University where i made lifelong friends and had a wonderful experience.


I'm looking forward to another year of giving!

NSA Giving - November 2013

Unfortunately, i was unemployed in the middle of last month and have yet to earn any money since then.  No income = no money to give away.

However, i started a new job very recently so i should be able to make the donations as usual beginning again next month. 

NSA Giving - October 2013

Happy Halloween!  Here's where i donated the $108 this month:

$12 - There was a guy standing on the side of the road holding a sign so i took him to the gas station and told him to pick out some items.  In hindsight, i probably should've limited him to the smaller bottle of Wild Irish Rose but it is what it is.  He also grabbed a sandwich and a couple packs of peanuts so at least he had something to soak up the alcohol.

$48 - The Last Mile - "Paving the road to success to help formerly incarcerated people."  It's a non-profit based in California.

$48 - PETA - I don't necessarily agree with all of the things they do but i respect the fact that they're willing to do it.  Fuck people that abuse animals.  

Perhaps i was going for some kind of underdog theme with these donations.  Hmm..?

NSA Giving - September 2013

This month i choose to keep my money locally.  I made "no strings attached" donations to the following places:

$54 - ASAP - To support local farmers and local food.

$54 - a couple of friends recently had babies so i bought one a gift and the other a gift card.

Exciting news on the "no strings attached" front coming next month.  Stay tuned.

NSA Giving - August 2013

Here's where this month's "No Strings Attached" 5%-after-taxes went:

Charity: Water - $36 - I'm a big fan of Tim Ferriss.  He's doing a campaign for his birthday so i decided to help out.

ACLU of North Carolina - $36 - for the people

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue - $36 - for the pets

It feels good dedicating a portion of my paychecks to causes i find worthwhile.  I want to be a good steward of money and this is a small step in the right direction.



NSA Giving - July 2013

July's "No Strings Attached" $108 went to the following places:

Westside Hustle - $20 - the adult baseball team i play for.  I chose to donate an additional $20 on top of the league fee to help us purchase some extra equipment.

WNCW - $34 - to further support local, independent media

Family member - $22 - wanted to know how i lost weight, instead of giving him info he'd never act on, i bought his first supply of hemp protein with instructions to take at least one serving within a half hour of waking.

American Heart Association - $32 - for the 2013 Cleveland Heart Walk in support of some great people that i'm pleased to know.

NSA Giving - June 2013

This month's "No Strings Attached" donation allocation went to the following places:

$54 - unsuspecting waitress.  My girlfriend, cousin, and i went to a local pizza place for dinner and this "mature" woman was busting her ass but maintaining a smile the whole time.  She was the sweetest lady despite being exhausted and longing to go home.  Instead of giving money to an organization like i normally would, i thought a $54 tip on a $20 bill might brighten up her night a bit.  I didn't stick around to see her reaction, as that isn't the point, but part of me wishes i would've been able to witness it.

$20 - Donors Choose - to rebuild Moore, OK schools destroyed by tornadoes in May.

$34 - Oklahoma Humane Society - to help out the animal victims of the severe tornadoes in Oklahoma.

NSA Giving - May 2013

This month's $108 went to the following places:

$27 - Gun Owners of America - believer in a citizen's right to bear arms

$27 - Trinity Place (local runaway shelter) - kids are our future

$27 - Cleveland State University - to give back to my alma mater

$27 - App Trail Conservancy - in honor of my recent backpacking adventure 

Each paycheck i list all of my income and expenses on a spreadsheet.  Many times, i have to take money from one place to pay for an expense in another category.  The NSA money is the only money that is sacred.  I'll skip a week of meals before i dip into the NSA Giving fund.  (In all honesty, i'd donate the money and then use my credit card to buy groceries.) Not the best "get-out-of-debt" strategy but donating is more important than a little credit card debt.

NSA Giving - April 2013

After giving it some thought and reorganizing my finances, i have decided that i would like to increase the amount of money i donate each month.  I have been donating $75, or approximately 3.5% of my net income.  Going forward, this amount will be $108 per month.  This equates to around 5% of net.  When that becomes routine or comfortable, i'll increase it to 7.5% of net with the ultimate goal of giving away 10% of my gross income.  

Here's where the money went this month:

$27 - Asheville on Bikes - in the spirit of the 21 Day Challenge

$27 - Riverlink - expanding on the "outdoors" theme

$27 - NORML - "an unjust law is no law at all."

$27 - Asheville Greenworks - in the spirit of Earth Day

I'd like to reiterate that i'm not sharing this information in a "holier-than-thou" kind of way.  I'm just being open and honest. I encourage you to give any amount that your are comfortable with.  However, make it a regular thing.  Each and every paycheck take a predetermined amount of money out and give it away.  Make it a habit.  Our world will be a better place because of it.  I thank you in advance.

NSA Giving - March 2013

This month i focused my donations on the bottom row of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  The $75 was split up as shown:

$20 - MANNA Food Bank - Food

$20 - Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity - Shelter

$35 - Charity: Water - Water

No person on earth should have to live without easy access to the barest of necessities.