One of the two things that I really believe is:

(1) “To whom much is given much is expected.”

(2) If you are successful, then you must give back.

One of the things that I’ve heard people ask is, “If I’m not where I want to be, then how can I give back?”  I think that is a great question, because you don’t have to have Bill Gates money in order to make a difference in someone else’s life.  I’m a big fan of doing what I can to make someone else’s life better.  It doesn’t have to be grand and huge, but it does have to be genuine.

Here are a few examples that you can leverage to help you to understand how you can give back if you don’t think that you have the time or money to do so.

1. Adopt a family during Christmas and ask 4-5 of your friends to split the cost with you.  For a few years, my friends and I each chipped in about $30 – $40 each to buy the items on 1 family’s wish list.  We couldn’t afford to adopt the entire family, at a cost of $150 – $200, on our own, but by pooling our money and working together we were able to make 1 family’s dreams come true. It was even better because a few of us were able to meet the family and deliver the presents.
2. Instead of throwing away old clothes or selling them, donate them to charity.  There are plenty of families in need and who would love to have your old clothes.  Giving those to someone who needs it more than you could make a huge difference in their lives.  I typically donate my old clothes to the Salvation Army because I know that the Salvation Army needs those donations to help people in need.
3. Participate in food and book drives.  It doesn’t cost a lot of money to contribute canned food or other non-perishable items to a fundraiser.  The small donations by a large number of people add up to a big impact.
4. Look for ways to serve in your church.  Depending on the ministry the time commitment may not be significant.  I actually participate in a ministry that only has a couple of signature events per year, and I choose to lead one of them.  It takes work to help plan that event, but once it’s over I’m done until the next year.
5. Look for opportunities to do a half-day of service at a food bank or other charity event.  Every year for the past 4 years I have organized and volunteered at a half-day service event on behalf of the Duke Alumni Engage program.  I choose to organize an activity, but what this activity does is it provides an opportunity for people to come together and volunteer for about 3 hours.  It’s a minimal time commitment, but yet it is still impactful for the community that we live in.  I know that there are non-profits all over the world who would love to have someone like you come in just for a couple of hours to help them.  Remember we can change the world if we each pitch in to do what we can.
6. Bonus: Smile.  You never know whose life you can brighten up just by smiling.  If you smile first, many people will smile back, which helps them to, in that moment, think about what’s good in the world.

If you are wondering how and when you can start to give back, then you can start now.  Start small.  Do what you can according to where you are in life, and scale up from their as you get more.  If you can’t afford to donate any money, then look to see where you can donate your time and talents to help someone else.  If you are totally swamped, then look to see what causes you can support with a small financial donation.  I recently interviewed a group of successful women and they all said that the key to their success was to always volunteer and serve the community.  It didn’t matter how busy they were, they made a commitment because they understood that they didn’t get to where they are by themselves, therefore they would help others achieve their dreams.

What are you doing to do to help someone else?  Leave a comment to let me know.

Aisha Taylor is a #1 Amazon Best Selling Author of the book “5+5 FNPhenomenal Ways to Save $100 This Week Without Killing Your Lifestyle”, the Founder of FNPhenomenal (Frugal –n- Phenomenal), and creator of The Live Phenomenal Program. The Live Phenomenal Program is a program designed to give you the tools that you need to totally transform your finances, and stop living from paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s time for you to be Financially Phenomenal! Book your complimentary 20-minute financial clarity session with Aisha here.