“I ponied up a mill, but I didn’t give my time. So in reality, I didn’t give a dime.” Sean Carter.
Fall is fundraising time. From September to November there are numerous charities that host fundraising events. As a young professional our image is very important, and so is networking. A great opportunity to do both at the same time is through charities. Charity work is a great way to meet other young professionals, as well as an opportunity to promote ourselves.
I ask you DINKS…Is it better to make a financial donation to a worthy cause, or to volunteer our personal time?
Donating money is obviously the most direct method of support. The money goes to research, or the purchase of equipment, or whatever other supplies may be needed at that time. Financially, donating money is more beneficial since we can receive a tax deduction depending on the amount of money that we donate. Large monetary donations may also result in the mention of our name in a newsletter or event program. This will also promote ourselves and/or our business/employer.
Volunteering time is the method that I prefer because I feel that my contribution makes it possible for the people who raise contributions and donate money to participate in the event. I enjoy planning and organizing, so volunteering my time makes sense for me. It also allows me to network my business and meet new people, which I also enjoy.
If you support a cause, how did you choose the charity?
I support The Children’s Hospital. This is a personal choice for me because I was born 6 weeks early. I was hospitalized for a while before I was released to go home with my parents. Without medical advances through donations, I may have not survived. My contributions to The Children’s Hospital began as financial donations and evolved into volunteering my time over the past four years.
One night while Nick and I were driving home, I heard an advertisement for a Children’s Radio-thon. I called in and made a onetime donation. Later in the year, The Children’s Hospital sent me information on how to donate monthly directly from my bank account or credit card. After a year of this I visited their website to learn about other fundraising events. This November will be the third time that I will volunteer for the triathlon in support of The Children’s Hospital.
This year for the first time, I will also volunteer to support women’s ovarian cancer. There is not a personal story behind my choice. One day I saw a commercial on television for an upcoming event they are having and I decided to join.
Regardless of whether we donate our money or volunteer our time, I am sure that charities are thankful for our contributions.
During our financial lives we are faced with many situations where we must determine our personal value. During these financial milestones how can we determine how much we are worth?
For some of us, the first independent financial decision we make is the limit on our first credit card. Very often, we are still in school when we apply for our first credit card, and therefore we get a student credit card. Sometimes financial institutions have a pre determined limit that they allow for student credit cards, such as $500 or $1000.
Financial institutions require a lot of our personal information such as our annual income, our program of study, sometimes our GPA, and amount of time that we have lived at our current address. These are all variable factors that help financial institutions determine if we are financial responsible. This is how our financial institution determines our personal worth…in the form of a credit card limit. Responsibility may be a factor that determines our personal worth.
After we finish college, we (hopefully) enter the work force full time. If we are lucky enough, we find a full time career that offers employee benefits. One of the next financial decisions we will have to make is the amount of life insurance we need to purchase. In general, with group life insurance, people choose an amount of coverage that is a multiple of our annual base salary. How much life insurance do you have? It may be enough to cover your debts. Or, it may be an amount that will allow your spouse to maintain his/her current lifestyle for a certain number of years.
The next step of our financial lives when we need to determine our personal worth is marriage. Pre nuptial agreements may be the next large financial decision when we need to place a value our personal worth. Do you have a prenuptial agreement with your spouse? If so, was it based on your net worth prior to the marriage? Or is it a personal value? Since I am not married, I don’t have experience in drafting a pre nuptial agreement. However, I don’t feel that a pre nuptial agreement should not put a value on a person’s life or relationship, but instead, it should protect a person’s net worth prior to the marriage.
As successful professionals we now often determine our personal value by our personal Net Worth. I definitely don’t agree that our personal net worth determines our personal value. However, many young professionals and seasoned successful professionals determine their personal value by their bottom line.
Everyone is looking for ways to save money these days, and sometimes you can find big savings in places you never considered. One of the hidden gems is your auto insurance policy. Many people go for years without comparing rates or adjusting their policies, which often leads to overpaying. Here are five easy ways that you can reduce your auto insurance rates:
1) Bundle your insurance. Many insurers give big discounts to customers that bundle their auto insurance with either their homeowners or renters insurance policy. Some offer rates up to 20% lower when combined, while others only 5%. If your current insurer doesn’t have a bundled rate, call an agent or do some quick online quotes to see if a competitor can do better. You’ll also see very low rate increases on a second (or third) car on a single policy, so check that any vehicles you are insuring are together in one policy for added savings.
2) Drive a safe car. Not necessarily a boring car, but one that is considered safe by the insurance industry. Check with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (http://IIHS.org), who do crash testing and safety ratings specifically for the insurance companies. Sometimes you’ll be surprised by the results, so when shopping for a car, it’s a great place to start.
3) Take a class. This goes for young drivers and more experienced drivers alike. Driver training courses are a great way to get your auto insurance rate reduced and are available all over the country, and for every skill level. Programs for young drivers are often offered by schools or local communities at very low cost.
4) Pay for the whole year. I know that it’s sometimes difficult to pay the large sum of your auto insurance up front, but you can save a bundle over the year if you do. Most insurers have long-term payment options, but push for monthly payments that can add $5 or $10 fees per payment. Doesn’t sound like much, but by the end of the year it’ll be nice to have that $60-$120 in your pocket instead of theirs.
5) Remove distractions. We’re all guilty of driving distracted these days, but do what you can to reduce distractions in the car. Talking on the phone and texting alone cause about 30% of traffic accidents, and some studies show distracted driving to be responsible for up to 80% of all crashes in the US. There’s no easier way to reduce rates than keeping a clean driving record!
With these few tips, you should be well on your way to saving some money on your car insurance policy.
