Contributions

Element III: Family and Personal Finance

To contribute is to set aside and give back a portion of the family income and our personal income into the community of humankind. It is similar to investing in that over time, a contribution like an investment grows and returns a benefit to the contributor.

Investing is the term we use when we "plant money to grow more money." This we already know is an important part of family & personal financial management. Contributing is the word we use when we "plant money to grow other things." Depending upon what you contribute to will determine what these "other things" will be.

For example, contributing to the arts "grows" more art, which makes all our lives richer and more exciting. Contributing to social causes improves our lives by making our societies run better making life for each of us more satisfying. Contributing to humane causes helps make life for us as human beings more satisfying by finding cures for sickness and other problems which can affect any one of us.

As you can see, contributing has a more versatile panorama of return than does investing which only grows money. However, by no means does this imply that contributing is any more important than investing. Remember, wise investing is a necessary and important part of your income generating activities. After all, without sufficient income you would find it very difficult to contribute to anything.

Therefore, to master LIFECRAFT, you must practice both investing and contributing with craftsmanship; that is skillfully. Just as you budget a portion of your income to be used for investment while carefully selecting the appropriate financial instruments for your needs to "grow" more money, when you budget a portion of you income for contribution - to grow "other things", also be discerning to select those entities with whom you will trust your contributions to be of good character and solid background and who will provide the greatest return on your "investment." Be sure to include contributions as a vital part of your family and personal financial goals.

We have included a suggested letter in the "Tool Box", section V of this Life Planner entitled; "Policy Statement Regarding the Solicitation of Contributions" which you can use to control your spending when people call to request contributions.

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