In October, I mentioned that time was running out for achieving the goals I set for charitable giving. Last year, I set a goal to give $1,000 or $2,000 to charity in 2007. I was having some trouble choosing the organization to which I’d contribute, and ended up sending support to a few programs identified in the pfblogs.org Financial Literacy Challenge. This didn’t quite fit in with my charity goals, nor did it meet the amount I was hoping to donate in total, so I took another approach. By the end of the year, I will have surpassed my stretch goal, and in a few days I’ll provide more details.
Mighty Bargain Hunter warns readers to be careful about tipping your hand. By sharing knowledge, whether it is about a weakness of yours or information that has taken effort and time to acquire, you may be giving competitors an advantage against you. If I believed that withholding information is the only way to get ahead, I wouldn’t be publishing a website. I try to share everything I learn, whether about personal finance or about blogging, with anyone who asks. There are some exceptions, having to adhere to a corporations terms of service, for example, but I believe the social capital built by sharing outweighs the vulnerability.
Did you catch Suze Orman’s special on CNBC? If not, MyMoneyBlog has reviewed “Your Money, Your Life.” Suze usually dispenses solid advice, though from watching her call-in show, I’m not a fan of the delivery. A few years ago, I live-blogged Suze Orman’s PBS special, so read both articles for more insight on Suze Orman’s advice.
In time for the holidays, Frugal for Life offers re-gifting in four simple steps. A friend of mine received a fruit cake from her boss; I should point her to Dawn’s article here. Who wants fruit cakes anyway?
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4:58 pm (reply)
Congratulations on making your charitable contributions goal. Are you planning to increase the amount for the new year?
You are exactly right on sharing knowledge. Sometimes it’s important to keep the specifics of a new discovery private so you can benefit from your invention. However, everyone benefits overall when general knowledge and skills spread far and wide.
For example, your life has been improved in hundreds of small ways as you’ve helped others make better financial decisions. When your readers are financially better off, they are free to focus on their interests and productive goals which eventually benefit you.
12:03 am (reply)
Here are some ideas for her fruitcake – http://frugalforlife.com/uses-for-the-fruitcake/
7:00 am (reply)
Bloggers overall share a lot of information to anyone who asks. With regards to how they run their business, monetize, etc., I’m not so sure about that.
People at auctions, though, overall are much more tight-lipped because they’re in direct competition with each other.