SIMPLY GIVE: THE $20 GIVE

a few years back i did a thirty day give, which was a ton of fun but i wanted to make things simple this november
 {mainly because i don't have time to blog every night with 3 crazy kids running around}

if you are looking for a way to be a blessing this november, set a budget on how much you can give and see how people you can bless, spending only that amount.  i picked the amount of $20 and would like to show you how many ways you can give with it, even if you literally only have 25 cents to give.

i know that people are in so many different financial situations and may see different things about giving to others and think "i have no extra money to give. things are so tight." i was delighted to see a friends post on Facebook the other night, about how things are tough for her and she literally didn't have the money in her budget to help someone but she did anyway. she was at the grocery store and the lady in front of her didn't have enough money for her groceries, she herself had just enough money for her own. without even thinking she took out her debit card and paid for the lady's groceries. 
after the fact, i had messaged her to see if i could share her story, she told me the money she used was allotted for their cable bill, but they would go without it  this month. she walked away.... on top of the world and had commented that the  "high" you get from helping someone is the best feeling ever. 

more people need to be like this. that's why i am encouraging you to do whatever you can this month to put a smile on someones face or really be a blessing to someone in need. and even though we don't give to get, i really believe you always get blessed back!

i am going to continue to spend my $20 through the month, but here are some examples of what the kids and i have done so far.....

donated a $1 to st jude's

the boys each left 25 cents in a candy machine for the next kid that came thru

i always let the kids get one thing for themselves. i think it's important to let them know its ok to want things for yourself but you should always want to bless others too.

{spent 50 cents}

i left a quarter in my shopping cart at aldi. i have been doing this since i started shopping there. i am always digging in the bottom of my purse when i get there to find one! it drives me crazy, haha!

{spent 25 cents}

don't mind my kids cheesy smiles and the clothes they picked out themselves.... we took flowers and a sympathy card to our  neighbors who just lost an uncle that they were really close to.

{spent $5}

today, i paid for the person behind me at dunkin! 

if you do this and don't want to risk the person's order behind you being over  a certain amount, you could just purchase a $5 gift card for the cashier to give them towards their order! i did that one time last year because there was no one behind me and it turns out a high school friend's friend got it and posted about it on facebook! such a small world!

{spent $4}

we bought gloves at marc's to leave at a sarta bus stop to keep someone's hands nice and toasty. i got the adult pair for $2 and the child's pair for $1. i always see people walking down the road or huddled in a bus stop when it's cold. some of them with out hats and gloves. the boys and i may go back and buy some more pairs and take a weekend to deliver these to any bus top we see sometime in december.

 {spent $3}

ok, so total, i spent about $13.75

and gave in 7 different ways. 

see how far you can stretch your giving budget to bless people over the holiday season and get your kids involved!! this goes to show you no amount is too small. the next few weeks, the kids and i will see how far our remaining $6.25 can go!