Elderly Gift Suggestions
How about a gift card to a grocery store, a favorite retailer or drug store so they can buy just what they want, when they need it? Do they need help with utility bills? You can pay or defray the cost so they can live more comfortably. Think about changing their old phone out for one with a larger, brighter dialing pad. Do they need help getting in and out of the bathtub? There are plenty of "grab bars" you can purchase and install. If you don't have the money, volunteer to do yard or house work. This is always appreciated and your visit will be an added bonus.
Comic Wrap
Instead of buying expensive wrapping paper for gifts, save the funny pages from your newspaper and wrap gifts in the funny pages.
Handy Spares
When you go through your old Christmas lights and find a strand that needs to be thrown away, be sure to remove the bulbs and place them in resealable baggies to be used as replacements on your current strands. Then pack them away with your lights when Christmas is over, so you'll have them next year.
There are approximately 488,000 churches in the USA and Canada. That’s one church for every 682 residents! Doing an Internet search using the phrase “directory of non profit organizations”, I see over 1.5 million organizations devoted to solving poverty, hunger, and homelessness. That is one charitable organization for every 222 residents of the USA and Canada!
So I pose this question – between families, churches, and non-profits, why can’t we solve social ills without government intervention?
Churches and non profits are tax-exempt – meaning they get to keep all their funds. Why shouldn't they support food stamps, school lunches, and welfare–to- work programs?
Many religious people argue that the role of the church is to save souls. What about all these biblical passages?
I believe we’ve got this all wrong. We must first
look to our family for help and support. When that fails, the churches and the
charities must step forward. Only after all of those institutions have been
fully exhausted should we provide a government sponsored safety net.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
One can argue the costs and benefits of a global economy. One thing is clear - as we have become increasingly dependent on multinational corporations /government for all our goods and services - we have become less self sufficient.
All the ways previous generations lived is lost on modern conveniences. I believe this is unsustainable!
This blog will teach self sufficiency as its primary goal. Using concrete examples of frugality, entrepreneurship, and savvy investing, American's can once again "do it yourself".
