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Financial Samurai

Slicing Through Money's Mysteries

Sweet Talking Your Home Appraiser Pays Off

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Retirement Life Infinity Pool, Bali Indonesia - Sweet Talking Your Home Appraiser Pays Off

Let me share you a story of about the importance of the home appraiser when it comes to refinancing your mortgage or qualifying for a new mortgage. My previous mortgage refinance took 65 days, and I wanted to share what I learned.

Back before the financial crisis, a refinance would take at most 40 days to complete. Nowadays, banks are asking for every single document out there, making sure the borrower is legitimate.

At least I can sleep well knowing that due to the new standards of due diligence, there will be a lower chance of another housing crisis in the future. The same concept goes with airport security come to think of it.  Getting strip searched is a pain in the butt, but one should take comfort in a safer flight.

After more than 10 years of appreciation in the stock market and real estate market since 2009, it’s good to be more cautious. The last thing we want is another meltdown that ruins our financial independence plans.



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The Yakezie Writing Contest And Micro-Giving

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The Yakezie Writing Contest was my way of giving back to people in need back in 2011.

One of my favorite business school classes focused on Emerging Market Economies.  We read C.K. Prahalad’s book called, “Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid“.

It described how entrepreneurs were finding cost effective ways to serve the poorest people in the world and also be profitable.

Conventional business wisdom states that one must go after those consumers with the deepest pockets and the highest propensity to spend. Prahalad argues that we have a social responsibility to help the other end of the spectrum improve their living standards and not be afraid of going bust in the process.

One of the keys that came out of helping the poor in emerging markets is the concept of micro-lending. Micro-lending is a fascinating concept which essentially pools together the funds of people in usually small communities, and lends out those funds to a select few. 

Together, a community is able to help each other more impactfully than if they were separate. What’s also very interesting is that the tighter the community, the lower the default rates compared to conventional banks because everybody feels a deep sense of responsibility.

THE YAKEZIE WRITING CONTEST

The Yakezie Network of 70+ personal finance and lifestyle blogs have pulled together their funds to provide more than $1,000 to be divided among three winning contestants.

If each of us gave just $15 a quarter, we would collectively be able to distribute at least $600, $300, and $100 to the first, second, and third place winners who will use these funds to further their education.  We hope to slowly raise much more than a combined $1,000 as our blogs flourish and the Network grows.

What’s different from the Yakezie Writing Contest is that we are not a micro-lender, but a micro-giver where we expect very little in return. Whether the recipient ever comes back to the Yakezie Network to interact and learn is up to them. 

All we ask is that they use the funds to help pay for their education.  Students often have very little income and rely on low wages or their parents to get by.  I think we can help them.

In terms of creating profits for this particular venture, the idea is to simply have corporate sponsors with a history of giving, support our initiative. Running the Yakezie Network is an absolute loss-making venture if we were to put a dollar value on the amount of time we spend building, testing, marketing, and running the Network. 

Hence, we appreciate any type of support we can get.  The good thing is that neither Chris, nor I, or the majority of our members rely on our blogs as sole sources of income.  We all do this for the love of community, the challenge of development, and the spirit of giving back.

Related: How Do We Decide Who To Accept Money From?

SPREAD THE WORD AND PARTICIPATE IN THE YAKEZIE WRITING CONTEST

If you know of anybody who enjoys writing, and is looking for funds to help pay for their education, have them visit The CarInsuranceCompanies.com Yakezie Writing Contest today! 

All they have to do is follow the directions and write an essay answering one of eight questions.  The submission window is from Monday, April 18th to midnight, April 22nd.  If you would like to pledge any money to help contribute to our micro-giving efforts, please visit the Yakezie Pledge Page.

It’s been six years since adventuring down to Rio De Janeiro for several weeks to study abroad and get a taste of real life micro-lending examples as discussed by Prahalad.  After a lot of thought and hard work, I’m so pleased to say that we’ve finally created our own sustainable micro-giving platform with the Yakezie Writing Contest!

Thanks for all the support!

Related posts:

The Average Amount Donated To Charity Can Improve

Is Paying Taxes A Form Of Charity?

How Much Time Ad Money Should I Give To Charity?

How To Deal With A Bully And Defend Your Honor

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Bullies are terrible. Let’s learn how to deal with a bully and defend your honor.

It’s hard to imagine anyone never getting bullied through grade school.  Inevitably, there’s some immature, insecure kid out there looking to pick a fight.  Do you keep quiet or fight back?  You might be surprised to hear, but I’ve ALWAYS fought back until the bullying stopped.  I’m described as a very cheerful person who is always smiling, but when provoked, you will feel my wrath.

I remember growing up as a kid being taught to just walk away and ignore a bully.  For some reason, I could never listen to that advice.  I didn’t care if I got injured fighting back.  It was what I had to do to defend my honor.  What’s even worse than being bullied, is when you see someone you love get taken advantage of.  That’s when shit really hits the fan!

PERSONAL STORIES OF BEING BULLIED



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A Little Inspiration Means So Much

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inspiration

A little inspiration can go along way. Inspiration is what can help someone keep on going during the most difficult situations. As I’ve said before, the secret to your success is 10 years of unwavering commitment. Let me share a little inspiration I came across.

The Inspiring Boy

I was driving home from grocery shopping one day when I saw this little boy in the picture holding a clipboard and smiling. 

It was your typical, chilly 58 degree San Francisco day and the boy stood so patiently in his parka, saying “hello” to every passerby.  His presence filled my heart and I zipped Moose around the corner to park so I could see what he was selling.  Whatever he was selling, I was going to buy!

Little Henry was selling $1 raffle tickets to support his school choir so they could take a trip down to Los Angeles and perform. Oh my goodness Henry, you are a star! I pulled out my wallet and gave him my only bill and told him I’ll take 10.  His smile got even bigger as he gave me the clipboard and asked me to fill out my contact info.

“Thank you Mr!“, Henry said gleefully.  I smiled back at him asking if I could take his picture.  Of course he said yes to one of his best customers.

Henry, it is I who thanks you.  You’ve given me perhaps years of mental smiles and motivation that I so dearly need all the time.  Why do I love to blog so much?  It’s partly because of memories like this where I can capture, record, and come back to any time in the future.

The Difference Maker

Everything about Henry made me want to open my wallet and support him.  As I think further, it was simply his smile that allowed every single passerby to at least acknowledge Henry and say ‘hello’ back.  I’m sure at the end of the day, Henry walked away with hundreds of dollars!

When I got back home, I began to really go through a myriad of emotions.  I remembered all the times I couldn’t go outside to play with friends because I hadn’t finished my homework yet.  I remember thinking as a kid how I never had enough money buy anything the other kids had, such as a camera or a Nintendo. 

I’d sulk in my room like a spoiled brat. I then recalled a change in attitude in the 9th grade where I started taking responsibility for myself.  I got a job at McDonald’s for $3 an hour, opening up the store at 6am to bleary-eyed customers just so I could buy what I wanted.

Big Government Bailouts

The reason why I don’t believe in handouts and big government is because of kids like Henry who are out there working hard for what they want.  Someone had to tell Henry that if he wants to go to LA and sing in the choir that he would have to help his team raise some money.  It was apparent to me that Henry loves to sing and would do anything to make his trip a reality.

The reason why I’m so bullish on all of us is that we all have the power to make something happen.  We live in a free world where nobody is inhibiting us to go out there and achieve our goals.  I don’t have pity parties, and I certainly don’t pity anybody who complains about this problem or that problem.  Every time I hear a complaint, in my mind I think to myself, “Just try harder.”  Sometimes the thoughts get nastier such as, “STFU, you baby“, but essentially it always comes back to “just try harder“.

Thank You For You Inspiration

Inspiring boy

Sometimes trying harder gets a little tiring, I admit it.  Burnout is an inevitable part of life.  What we need to do is try hard at something we enjoy.  We’ve also got to realize our strengths and weaknesses so we don’t go down a never ending path of failures.

The next time you feel like complaining, think about the Chilean Miners, or Henry.  These people are out there making the most of their situation and doing something about it.  They aren’t just whining about how life is unfair, or how somebody treated them poorly, or how another is gaming the system at their expense.  No.  They are focused on controlling what they can control, which are their own actions.

If you don’t want be broke, know that you can become rich.  If you don’t want to be out of shape, know that you can get in shape.  If love is what you want, know that there are millions of people out there looking for the same thing.  There is nothing we can’t do.  Thank you Henry for your inspiration!

Related: The Secret To Your Success: 10 Years Of Unwavering Commitment

Readers, share with us any little inspirations you might have come across.  Why do people complain so much instead of do something to improve their situation?  Does low self-esteem play a part in not allowing people to take action?  If not, what is it?

If you enjoy this post, sign up for my free private newsletter. Check out the top financial products that may help you achieve financial freedom sooner.

Regards,

Sam

What The Tax Cut Extension Means To You

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A tax cut extension was made back in 2010 to help Americans save more money. In 2021, taxes are likely going up to pay for all the deficit spending to counteract the coronavirus.

Tax Cut Extension Celebration

Hip hop hooray! With House Democrats agreeing to not hold the middle class hostage anymore, the tax bill passed 277-148!  It was a landslide victory, but still it’s interesting to see that there were 148 dissenters. 

What’s more amazing is that Democrats weren’t able to lower the estate tax exemption amount of $5 million per individual, and raise the estate tax level of 35%.  Talk about bad negotiating!

The real fun now begins where we all do rough pro forma calculations of how much more disposable income we’ll have in 2011 and potentially 2012! First off, I’m glad to see that everybody will pay 2% less on the first $106,800 they earn thanks to a cut in payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) from 6.2% to 4.2%.

From $100,000 to $172,000 (28% Federal marginal tax bracket for singles), you really aren’t going to see much of a change in that money earned after, because the government wasn’t going after you guys.

But, for all you lucky ducks who make $172,000-$380,000 (33% Federal marginal tax bracket for singles), and $380,000+ (35% Federal marginal tax bracket for singles), you’re in for a big treat!

Time To Make More Money And Party

All you’ve got to do is take whatever income you plan to make in 2011, subtract $172,000 and multiply by 3.5% + $2,136 to get your pro forma tax savings! The 3.5% is the estimated average amount the government would have raised the top two income tax brackets by: 33% and 35% would have gone to 36% and 39.6%, respectively.  The $2,136 is from payroll tax savings on the first $106,800.

Example: Let’s say you plan to make $1 million bucks in 2011.  Take $1,000,000 – $172,000 = $828,000 X 0.035 = $28,980 + $2,136 = $31,116.  I’ll take a guess that the millionaire will spend $10,000 on diamond earrings for the wife or a $10,000 home theater system for the husband and save the remaining $21,116.  Not bad for the economy!

What about married couples?

Well remember, the government is sexist and doesn’t believe 1 + 1 = 2.  In other words, the tax brackets don’t double given they believe one spouse should be domesticated and not work.  Hence, instead of using $172,000 in the formula, replace it with the 33% tax bracket income level for couples of $209,250, and you’re good to go!  If the government wasn’t sexist, that number should be $172,000 X 2 = $342,000.

Note, If you make anywhere between $106,801 and $172,000 your disposable income only increases by $2,136.  If you make under $106,800, you’ll save whatever you make X 2%.  You may be more conservative and use lower than a 3.5% savings for your calculation as well.  Everything is a rough estimate, since taxes are complicated.  But, for the most part, follow the formula above and start partying!

Thankfully, the marriage penalty tax has all been abolished for 2021+.

More Highlights From The Bill With Tax Cut Extension

Extension of Unemployment Benefits: The legislation extends emergency unemployment benefits at their current level for 13 months, preventing an estimated 7 million workers from losing their benefits over the next year.

The Child Tax Credit: The $3,000 refundability threshold established in the Recovery Act for the Child Tax Credit will be extended, ensuring an ongoing tax cut to 10.5 million lower-income families with 18 million children.

The Earned Income Tax Credit: The legislation continues a Recovery Act expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit worth, on average, $600 for families with 3 or more children, and reduces the “marriage penalty” faced by working married families.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit: A partially refundable tax credit worth up to $2,500 per student per year that helps more than 8 million students and their families afford the cost of collegewould be continued under the agreement.

100% Expensing: The agreement includes the President’s proposal to temporarily allow businesses to expense 100% of certain investments in 2011, potentially generating more than $50 billion in additional investment in 2011, which will fuel job creation.

Tax Savings Recommendation

Start A Business: A business is one of the best ways to shield your income from more taxes. You can either incorporate as an LLC, S-Corp, or simply be a Sole Proprietor (no incorporating necessary, just be a consultant and file a schedule C).

Every business person can start a Self-Employed 401k where you can contribute up to $54,000 ($18,000 from you and ~20% of operating profits). All your business-related expenses are tax deductible as well. Simply launch your own website like this one in under 30 minutes to legitimize your business. Here’s my step-by-step guide to starting your own website.

Start a simple business to pay less taxes and contribute more to pre-tax retirement accounts
Start a simple business to pay less taxes and contribute more to pre-tax retirement accounts. Instead of paying taxes on $100,000 in income, you’re only paying taxes on $12,000 for maybe a $2,000 tax bill, or 2% effective tax rate.

How To Be Clutch In Stressful Situations And Win

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Watch Texas Rangers relief pitching if you want to learn how to NOT be clutch! Wow, I mean come on.  How does that one kid throw 11 balls in a row and walk two SF Giants batters in the 8th inning of Game 2 when the bases are loaded?  It’s absolutely unbelievable how bad the Texas Rangers relief pitching was, and it’s simply due to mental weakness.  Texas going from having a chance down 0-2 in the 8th to losing the game 0-9 is a 100% ass kicking.

I understand how difficult it is to close things out due to competitive tennis.  I’ve blown my share of 5-4, third set leads before, and 9 times out of 10, it’s because my mind broke down.  Tennis, like many one-on-one sports is a complete mind bend.  I started worrying and thinking about all the “what ifs”.  What if I shank the ball when going for it?  What if my calves start cramping?  What if he starts catching fire?  As soon as I start filling my mind with doubt, my body follows suite and then before I know it, I’ve blown the lead and lose.

I’ve since been able to calm some nerves that have helped me cross the finish line in tight situations before.  Here are some tips for keeping your head in the game.

How To Be Clutch And Win

* Think of nothing. During a competitive situation, my mind literally goes blank.  It’s as if I’m out of my body observing myself act.  From the service motion, to driving the top spin backhand cross court, there is nothing on my mind except the 100% commitment to win.  Some people call this act “zoning.”  To zone, I picture a pure white cloud of nothingness before each serve.  It fills up my entire mental surrounding.  There is nothing infiltrating my mind as I go ahead and act.

* Know that you will win.  In order for you to compete effectively, you have to already believe you have won.  You know this largely due to your preparation.  You don’t have to know that you are better than them at everything.  All you need to do is believe you are better than them at one thing.  I’m convinced I will be able to outrun my opponents and drive them into the ground.  They will collapse from exhaustion if they try and rally, so they try and go for more and make errors in the process.  Knowing that they will eventually wilt from exhaustion gives me confidence to succeed.

* Put everything in perspective. Once you tell yourself it’s just a game you start to relax.  When you know it’s OK to lose, you start swinging away.  Once you start swinging away you no longer worry about the little things because everything just clicks.  Having perspective is healthy in sports, work, blogging, and practically everything you do.  Once you know you are not an unattractive person, but a beautiful monkey, you start feeling great!

Being Clutch Is A Mindset

Being clutch is a complete state of mind.  Nowhere do you see more examples of clutch than with Olympic gold medalists.  They’ve done the moves time and time again during practice.  It’s those few moments that really count where they excel the most.  Playing competitive sports definitely helps one’s abilities in non-physical arenas such as work.  There’s a reason why so many firms look to hire student athletes, and so many CEOs are single handicap golfers.  They know what clutch is and how to deal with difficult situations.

Who knows who will win the 2010 World Series.  But, if I was a betting man, I’d go all-in on the San Francisco Giants baby!

Related: When In Doubt, Just Keep On Winning

Readers, what are some of the things you do to calm the nerves in crucial situations?  Have you ever surprised yourself with your clutchness?

PS For bloggers out there, it’s the same thing.  Survival is a tough one and it is a long slog.  How can you go straight to the top with so much content out there and competition?  You simply zone and write like no one else for a methodically consistent period of time.  And then you patiently wait for things to percolate.  You know you will win because blogging is easy compared to surviving in the Amazon jungle, naked, with no matches or food!

Subscribe to the Financial Samurai newsletter by clicking here.

Regards,

Sam

Three Keys To Motivation And It Has Little To Do With Money

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When life is so good in America, it’s easy to slack off. Here are three keys to motivation. None of them have much to do about money.

Here’s a short 10 minute video I stumbled upon which eerily highlights several things I do and why (ie play guitar). The video also touches upon reasons why some people are willing to do things for free. While others strongly consider giving up big salaries to just work on a hobby.

When I first wrote this post in 2010, I was already beginning to try a find away out of finance. This video helped me think of ways to get out. Ultimately, I negotiated a severance after 11 years and left in 2012.

Three Keys To Motivation

I find myself agreeing with pretty much everything the video has to say.  Money has become a secondary motivational factor for me over the past several years. 

Three Keys To Motivation

  1. Autonomy
  2. Mastery
  3. Purpose

Something just happened where I’ve become satisfied in making what I make, oh my! Sure, I have a “make $1 million bucks” goal for 2010, but that’s really just one of those fun, see if I can do it goals.  Autonomy, mastery, and purpose are things I look forward to now.

Progress is a wonderful feeling, which is why I try and play a musical instrument and sing in my free time.  Music also helps fill the void when I’m injured due to sports. 

Going from not knowing the chords and the words of a song, to mastering a tune from memory that’s good enough to record is an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. 

I’ve been working on getting the finger picking of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” for the past month, and I can’t seem to get it right.  But dammit, I’m going to keep practicing because it’s such a beautiful song!

After you have a certain amount of money and experience, you definitely want autonomy.  You’re no longer a fresh college grad that is constantly micro-managed by senior colleagues. 

A sure fire way for a company to lose a star employee is to restrict their freedom and ignore their good work. 

Blogging Has Given Me All Three

Blogging is an incredible example of autonomy. Nobody is going to tell me what to write and that’s so liberating. I’ll thrive and fade with my decisions alone.

Purpose is something that can either be questioned before you start your journey or after. Having purpose is one of the most important keys to motivation. Purpose is why I’m still blogging 3X a week since 2009!

You can be a high school or college student who has no freaking idea what you’re supposed to do in life. 

Or, you can be a 20 year veteran in the workforce who has built a great resume, as well as financial security, but realize you’re middle aged now and wonder if there’s more to life since you’ve already conquered insecurity, be it financial or otherwise.

The purpose of this site was never to make money, even though it now makes a good amount. The purpose was to just create something tangible that serves as a creative outlet for someone who was once creative.  I want to be that kid in pottery class again, molding that wet clay on a rapidly rotating swivel stick.

Finally, after writing 2,000+ articles since 2009, I have mastery. It feels great to be in the top 1% in something.

Readers, what are several motivating factors for you in your life or in your job? Have you noticed money increase or decrease in importance as a motivational factor? Share with us your keys to motivation.

Related:

Three White Tenants, One Asian Landlord

Perpetual Failure Is Why I Continue To Save

Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Subscribe to my E-mail feed. Check out the Top Financial Products page to help you achieve financial freedom sooner.

Staying Calm Under Pressure: A Super Skill

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If you can master the ability to stay calm under pressure, you can excel in a lot of situations. Keeping your cool is vital at work, raising kids, driving, and especially in emergencies. It’s like a super skill. My father is exceptionally good at staying calm under pressure. I learned this one evening during a family dinnner.

Even at 7:30pm the night is hot. That’s what happens when you go barbecuing somewhere in the South Pacific in the middle of summer. You can almost taste the grilled chicken from the remnant fumes simmering off the grill. Dinner is served!

The family gathers around the picnic table. We take a deep breath and begin to eat. In just the first bite, my father freezes. He tries to swallow and lets out a little gag.

We ask him what’s wrong, and he shakes his head not knowing. One of us gives him a glass of water, and still, no change. My father raises up his hand, excuses himself, and says that he has to go to the emergency room. What?!

Staying Calm Under Pressure



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Nick Vujicic Shows Us How to Get Up And Never Quit

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Nick Vujicic was born with no arms and no legs. He admits to us there were plenty of times when all he wanted to do was give up. Nick didn’t understand the point to his life and therefore wanted to end it. Thank goodness he’s alive because he’s shared his story with millions of people around the world. Nick Vujicic inspires us to keep on going.

Just the other day, someone forwarded me an article about a young woman venting because everybody is a workaholic at her office. She tells us how incredibly amazing it is that she gets in at 8am and works until 6:30pm everyday. In other words, she’s asking for praise and sympathy for working normal hours. It shocks me how many people work just 40 hours or less a week and complain they can’t get ahead.

Nick Vujicic Is An Inspiration: Get Back Up, Never Quit!

Whenever I feel like complaining about how unfair life is, I stop and think about people like Nick who have it just a little bit harder. Is he complaining? No. He is trying harder, and so shall I. Perhaps so shall we all! 

Let’s eradicate the sense of entitlement that lingers among everyone of us; some more than others. We shall not whine about our jobs or complain why our love lives crumble. Let’s take ownership of our own actions. If you are a complainer, please go somewhere else!

I hope this video of Nick Vujicic will inspire you to try harder every day. You have more than you think. Carpe diem!

Get Inspired And Improve Your Future

I hope you enjoyed the video on Nick Vujicic. Here are some other articles that I hope will inspire you to improve your future.

Readers, who inspires you to keep on going?

Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

The Ripples Of Giving: Why Giving Time And Money Is Great

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The following is a guest post by newcomer Jeremy Johnson on why giving time and money is great. Jeremy is a husband and father of two girls (a 2 1/2 year old and a newborn). He recently created a website dedicated to helping people realize their dreams and ideas, make progress on them, and see them through to completion. Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered why some people give thousands or even millions of dollars to charities and other organizations for a good cause? Why do some people spend hours on end selflessly parting with their finances and free time just to help other people? Could it be for the tax breaks alone?

There’s a formula for wealth and happiness that confounds the grumpy and unfulfilled person. It’s not that other people are just lucky and born happy. It is that the ‘lucky’ and ‘born happy’ person has discovered one of life’s most simple, yet lucrative formulas for real wealth and happiness.

You’re probably wondering what the magic formula is by now. What could possibly give you wealth and happiness that overflows your financial and fulfillment coffers? 

The formula is giving – giving of not only your finances, but of your time and talents, without expectation of reward. Pure and selfless giving well beyond what you could ever expect to receive back is life’s magic formula for real wealth and happiness.

The effect of throwing a stone into any body of water is really fascinating. Even a small stone will hit the water and cause a ripple. That is it will cause the water around it to cascade outwards creating an area of effect far greater than the size of the stone that initially hit the water. And the bigger the stone used, the greater the ripple effect.

Methods of Giving

Some may have the notion that giving a 10% tithe to a religious institution is important. Or some may believe that giving 10% of your income to a charity is sound practice. These are indeed both great ideas and will provide financial support provided you give your money to institutions that are reputable.

In addition to financial giving, a 10% (or some percentage of your choosing) of your time, abilities, and talents can and should also be given to others. And by giving, I don’t mean with the intent to get paid for it – that doesn’t count! This is simply serving one or more people with the unique gifts and talents you already have.

Financial giving is usually straightforward. You cut a check or hand over a pile of cash to the group or person you want to serve. But giving of your time, abilities, and talents requires the examining of the groups or individuals you wish to serve. It requires examining the unique value you have to offer and then finding the areas in which individuals and groups are challenged.

The Benefits of Giving

The giving of 10% of your time, talents, and abilities to help others where they are most struggling is not normal behavior. Life tends to pull us towards what we can do for our families and ourselves. By giving yourself to a cause greater than who you are, you strengthen others selflessly and increase your ability – and the needs of others at the same time.

If you think that’s crazy, think about reciprocity and karma. Think about affecting a large whole through your gifts and talents. Then, think about throwing a stone into a pond and from that small stone, a ripple effect moving outward, affecting a larger whole. Next, think about the wealthiest and most fulfilled people and the large number of people their charities benefit in the world, both financially, and through time and service.

The strengthening of a whole happens when others are made better through your unique gifts.  Perhaps your unique gifts create something that saves the time of others, or brings people together in a cohesive group, which adds to the success as a whole.  Perhaps your giving prevents someone from going downhill in their life and then that person begins to add value and the ripple affect grows and grows. Your ripple source will continue to bounce and affect others well beyond your initial offering.

Double Benefits

Your simple acts of giving enhance those you affect. And by doing so, you are in turn enhanced and exposed – in a good way – as someone of great value. If you don’t believe there is anything in it for you, think about the course of each life you enhance through your unique talents and gifts – and the people then enhanced by them.  It’s often about your gift to the world and the faith that reciprocity will find its way back to you while at the same time not expecting it.

From personal experience, I know that giving of me reaps rewards far greater than had I sat on my can and done nothing or selfishly promoted myself. The rewards of selfless giving include financial and personal growth rewards!

I’ve increased in human understanding and intelligence through serving others and learning what helps them. I am a more capable employee at my full time job because of the lessons in life I am learning through giving to others. 

This allows me to work in a position that pays a higher salary than I would otherwise get had I not learned to focus, solve problems, and learn to serve others.

My Own Personal Experience and Observations

Do you think people like Oprah Winfrey or Anthony Robbins are in the position they are because they got lucky?  They touch many lives with their unique gifts and talents. And they spend time giving of themselves on a constant basis. Anthony Robbins and his charities feed countless people during Thanksgiving. Oprah developed a school program for young people.

I spent two years in Ireland in voluntary service (from age 19 – 21), which I paid for. I was not paid directly for my service. Indirectly, I am reaping the benefits of learning to work hard and serve others – even if it is many years after the fact. Who knows what ripples I created when I was a young man there and I do not need any financial reward to know I did wonderful things.

Join Like Minded Individuals

I recently discovered the Yakezie Oda – a like minded group of individuals with websites related to personal finance. I began observing their interaction with each other. From that observation, I noticed a need for a better way to manage the club and the Alexa rankings.

I knew I had the technical skill to pull it off. And I am so impressed with what I’ve seen from the members of it. That it was a simple matter for me to volunteer my time and energy to create a new, automated page to store their club and Alexa rankings that will ultimately save them time and energy.

What’s in it for me? Nothing – I do it freely. However, I do believe I have genuinely made some real friends in a short amount of time, and you cannot put a price on that at all. I promise any of you reading that if you solve the challenge that someone or a group is having with your unique talent, you will feel a sense of fulfillment. And increase your networking and friendship with those you help. 

But do it for fulfillment, for bettering and helping others, which in turn will strengthen the whole and not just yourself.

Conclusion On Giving

Find your own unique talents, gifts, abilities, and just get to know people. You will find so many ways to give to others, not just financially. Just listen and watch people. You will quickly discover the challenges they are facing. 

Use your unique talents and gifts to fill in the gaps for the challenges and difficulties of others. If you are really interested in wealth, this is the greatest way to generate it – a high valued solution to a number of people’s problems. 

Not only is giving fulfilling, but it increases your potential as a human being and solves real life problems. You just might find your life’s work while serving someone and have it be a means to provide for you financially for the rest of your life.

Further Reading

In addition, here are some additional articles for further reading.

The Best Of Financial Samurai eBook: In the summer of 2015, I published this 180 page ebook containing 35 of the best articles I’ve ever written over the past seven years to help readers achieve financial freedom sooner.

In addition, I’m donating all proceeds from my book to a charity to help inner city kids stay off the streets and stay in the class rooms. You can buy The Best Of Financial Samurai here for $9.88. Why not learn and give at the same time!

Related: The Amount Donated To Charity Can Improve

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