more money

"Charities love volunteers, but money would be much much better."

Well, yeah. Like you said, money gives them much more flexibility. Which is also easier to abuse. Now, I'm not necessarily saying that the only reason I dislike donating money is because of those minority of cases that we hear in the news about fraud. But I think that I'd like to know how the money is being used, and it gets hard to track with multiple monetary donations. If I donate ten cans of canned goods to a shelter, I know FOR SURE that I helped feed people. But if I give them the equivalent in money (I'm guessing $5-10), I have no clue what they will use it for.

I guess that in itself is a very selfish motive for not donating money. Sometimes, it doesn't seem enough to know that you "made a difference", but you want to know HOW you made a difference. And not only that, I'd like to have the choice in where my money goes.

But don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing everybody who doesn't donate money. There are so many charities out there that I'm always at a loss which one to donate to. My apologies to those who have asked (directly or indirectly) for donations. I'm a dork, and I looked on the website, and consequently never finished filling it out. So if you'll still take donations, please do let me know.

I guess what I was trying to say last time is: 1) I don't understand how some people (myself included) can be so wasteful as far as money is concerned, and 2) I wish I gave more. Regarding the latter, I mean money and/or time. In this day and age, I really don't have an excuse. I look online and see dozens upon dozens of meaningful ways I can be of help. I can do something I LOVE to do, and it still counts as volunteering! And what do I do? I complain about how hard my reading is, or how tired I am.

I hate being tired because I have no good excuse for being so.

However, in all the time that I "waste" online, I have found several things I can volunteer with: San Francisco Theater Festival, among other (theater-y) organizations.

With money vs. volunteering, I noticed I am much more inclined to donate money if I already volunteer with them. Or "donations" in exchange for promotional material. For example, I've always wanted a Saratoga Library bag. It's a donation, I don't really know what they're going to do witth my ten dol lars, but I get a bag, how cool is that? So I'm still very selfish. I'd like to "get something in return", whether it be a bag, a used book, or a tax deduction (okay, not yet, but soon... ). Is that so bad, though? It's less than they would have gotten if I just donated all of the money, but it's more than if the y didn't bribe me.

But let's just say I wish to purchase a book. I can: buy a new book (for a ridiculous amount of money), buy it used online or at a store, or buy it used from the friends of the library. In terms of who will make the best use of my money, the library obviously wins. So maybe instead of saying I spend too much money and I should spend less, the emphasis should be on choosing where one spends their money. Many organizations have second hand shops where donations (of items) are sold to fundraise for their cause (Discovery Store, Goodwill, Butter Paddle, etc.) I would pay less (usually much less) than market value, and the money goes to a good cause.

Maybe I'm overjustifying my frugal-ness, but I do believe changes in shopping habits can be for the better. I get to shop and spend my (hard-earned) money, and I get to donate to great organizations. Now, I just have to find where they all are. ^.^

note: next one won't be about money. I promise.