Save Yourself First and then Give

I don’t know about you but after attending a Halloween parade at school, trick or treating at work, then trick or treating on Halloween within the neighborhood and family homes…I am stinkin glad Halloween is over. I’m seriously considering citing religious reasons so I don’t have to participate ever again.

But, now we’re headed toward an even bigger time of the year as Thanksgiving lurks around the corner and Christmas is waiting in the woods to jump out and choke us. (Bah Humbug, huh?)  Tis the time when a lot of us are thinking about charity and are thankful that we are in positions that granted are rough, but are not really that bad. After all, things can always be worse, right?

There are a lot of people that are wondering  if they still have room to make their regular charitable donations. I’m going to have to guess that for most of us the answer is “no”, though few will want to admit that. My advice if you can’t help or give this holiday season is to focus on yourself and your family.

Selfish? Maybe. But, there’s a reason they tell you on airplanes to put your oxygen mask on first. Not because you selfishly want to save your own life, but because if you don’t and you pass out, you are of no help to anyone anyway. Giving to charity when you can’t is kind of the same thing. We have to first make sure that we’re okay and can feed and take care of our families before we consider trying to take care of someone else’s.

If you absolutely feel as though you must donate then consider time instead of money. I don’t know about you, but my time is worth way more than any cash I could give anyway. Almost any place you’re interested in from Hospitals to Senior Centers to Schools will accept volunteers. I know for a fact that my daughter’s school is looking for people to help disinfect tables and chairs because of all of the flu yuck going around. Take a plate of cookies to the senior center, call the homeless shelter, even check out the Humane Society  and see what help they can use. It isn’t always about money and right now, a lot of us are running pretty low. Don’t be unreasonable and try donating what you don’t have.

Once we all get back on our feet again, we can figure out how to make up for the year or two that we didn’t donate. Until then, put your mask on first…and help yourself and your family out. Trust me, you’ll feel just as good.