Wednesday, 03 January 2007 00:00
I don’t like shopping under normal circumstances, but this year I have been even less enthusiastic than usual. That seems to be true of almost everyone I’ve talked to. People are disgusted by the commercialism that seems to get worse each holiday season.
I hope we’ve had enough. I hope the death of that poor soul in Walmart in New York shocked us into seeing how far off the mark the holiday season has gone. I hope we have seen the end of conspicuous consumption. But I also hope as a society we don’t just go from placing too much faith and trust in money because of our abundance, to spending too much time obsessing about it because of its scarcity. Either way, it is faith poorly placed. Money can’t make us happy. Sure, it makes life easier; there is no denying that. But happy? No.
Since it’s probably not practical or even desirable to abandon holiday gift giving entirely, I’d like to offer a few suggestions on how to celebrate with a little more meaning. There are two websites making the rounds that are worth checking out. First is the Advent Conspiracy (www.adventconspiracy.org), a site dedicated to making Christmas a world-changing event. The mission of the Advent Conspiracy is to inspire people to give more of their presence rather than presents, and spend less. They are asking us to consider buying one less present and using the money saved to help solve the problem of the lack of
clean water worldwide. According to the site, “Solving this water problem once and for all will cost about $10 billion. Not bad considering Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas last year.”
Another website dedicated to alternatives to traditional holiday giving is www.buynothingchristmas.org. It offers suggestions on activities to do as a family, and also gift ideas. They welcome your suggestions and stories as well. One idea posted is to send a gift to a third world country; an animal, blanket, or radio for instance, through www.heifer.org or www.oxfamunwrapped.com. You can also buy a gift through an organization called Ten Thousand Villages (www.tenthousandvillages.com), which supports third world craftsmen, providing them with a fair income. You can help local disabled individuals earn a living by purchasing something from Emma’s Friends, a business featured in last week’s Community News.
One way to teach your children about giving is to give them a gift certificate to www.kiva.com, a micro-lending website where you can lend small amounts to help someone achieve economic independence. For instance, a woman named Beatriz in Peru is looking for $325 to stock the grocery store she owns with supplies. She has raised $125 so far, and lenders can lend as little as $25 to her. Her loan is to be paid back over the course of 6 months. It’s a small but significant way to make a difference in someone’s life, and your kids will enjoy deciding who they want to lend to.
I’m always on the lookout for a meaningful gift for my parents, who have lots of “stuff” and much prefer a family experience to a material gift. This year I am working on a project on the Ultimate Gift website, where our family will be able to collaborate on a book of our personal experiences and perspectives on the 12 gifts from the Ultimate Gift book and movie (by Jim Stovall). We will be sharing how the gifts of family, laughter, education, gratitude, work, giving, and the other 6 gifts, have impacted our lives, and how we have impacted each other in these areas. If you have never seen the Ultimate Gift movie, I highly recommend it.
This column may not seem to have much to do with personal finance, but I believe it does. Managing your money has as much to do with managing the hold it has on your life than where you actually invest it. Giving, and especially giving in a meaningful way, has a way of grounding us and providing perspective. Dollar bills in themselves are just pieces of paper, but what we do with them reveals the condition of our heart. Are we trusting those dollars to bring us happiness, or can we learn to be content whatever our current station, whether need or plenty?
After a very difficult, challenging, and disheartening 2008, let’s approach 2009 with a grateful heart and generous spirit. There is still much to be thankful for, despite hard times and so much tragedy around us, and maybe right in our own families. In addition to the traditional New Year’s resolutions (save more, reduce debt, get your will in order—just a few suggestions), why not resolve to give thanks every day for at least one thing? I have much to be thankful for, but most of all my husband and children, my parents, family and friends, Tuesday Night Dinners and the sticky note game (and the friends who join us), work that I love, and the faith that sustains me. I wish you much to be thankful for in the New Year also.
