Just one piece of advice

I was tagged by Stealth Wealth to continue Moolanomy's My One Money Advice (MOMA)MEME. Moolanomy is trying to promote financial responsibility and awareness in our hyper consumption society.

The question: If you can give one advice, tip, or story related to money, what would you share?

I had to think about this one, what I came up with is - Volunteer. A lot of times we go shopping or surf on line and ended up buying loads of unnecessary things, simply because we are bored; don't know what to do with our time; shopping is entertainment; my friend has one so I got to get one, too; and above all, we buy because we can. Therefore we shop and over consume.

Instead of browsing through clothing racks during lunch time, go serve food to the homeless at the local homeless shelter. Sign up at your local Big Sister/Big Brother Organisation, spent a Saturday afternoon reading a book with your little sister or brother, instead of surfing the Internet selecting items to the shopping basket.

Last Christmas, I volunteered at a non-profit coat giving event. My job was to assist eligible recipients in selecting a coat. The recipients usually come in as a family, so for example, if there were a father and son, they can each select a coat for themselves. The coats of course were donations from people(used clothing that we drop off at various non-profit clothing bins and such). Almost 80% of children coats were in very good to brand new condition (mind you, some are famous brand names), there were a good number of really nice adult coats, too. I was amazed seeing this mountain of coats, a lot of which were in excellent conditions. I know the organisation weeded out the ones that can't be worn; but nevertheless, how can we own so much that we have to throw(give) away this huge amount of good quality clothing?

I vividly remember assisting a mother and her young daughter. The mom was in her mid to late 30s, her young daughter around 6. They were most likely recent immigrants, the mom probably held a low income job to make ends meet. Her daughter with bright brown eyes brought a smile to my face, her soft brown wavy hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and she was very well behaved. The mother was well mannered and dignified, I will never forget the way she selected a coat for herself and her daughter, she did it with such care and attentiveness. Certainly, there are people who abuse the system. But not this woman, she appreciated it. She asked me for advice in choosing a coat for her daughter; while we were trying to figure the right size and style for the little girl, I told the little girl she can also pick up some toys after the coat selection, her face beamed with joy. (There was a section of toys for kids, very down to earth toys, no Wii or Xbox.) How can something so simple, and something that may seem...how should I say this..."common" to us can be so special to this pair of mother and daughter? This woman and little girl came into my life for a brief moment and touched my heart.

Buying a coat is never the same for me again. I am no saint, there are instances where I crumple and buy things that maybe unnecessary, but I am definitely more conscious in what I buy and consume. I cut back dramatically in buying unnecessary clothing, accessories, and other things. Earlier this year, Banana Republic had a sale on jackets, nice jackets at a good price. Before, I'd snatch it up no questions asked, it's such a good deal(and I can afford it)! But at that moment,I paused and looked at it; I even tried it on. Then I asked myself, do I need it like that mother and daughter? The answer is No (And I am very grateful that I can answer No to this question.) So I put the jacket back.

I am going to tag bripblap, SF money musings, and Kemp. I'd love to hear about your ideas.