{"id":24636,"date":"2025-12-02T01:25:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T08:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?post_type=blog&p=24636"},"modified":"2025-12-02T01:34:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T08:34:37","slug":"how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s something about the holiday season that gives me anxiety. It\u2019s not the snowy roads, the extravagant gift expectations, or the crowded shops (on second thought, maybe it is<\/em> the crowded shops).<\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s the fact that I\u2019m broke.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve written about before, my husband and I are newlyweds. And we\u2019re broke. We have just enough money to make ends meet, which means come Christmas-time, we\u2019re scraping together all of our pocket change to buy presents.<\/p>\n

The reality of our low income is even more pungent today \u2014 it\u2019s #GivingTuesday.<\/p>\n

Essentially, #GivingTuesday is a day to give back \u2014 monetarily \u2014 to nonprofits and organizations that make the community a better place. As such, it can make the economically challenged like me feel even worse. Not only can we not get our families extravagant presents, but when it comes to these organizations that are saving lives and bettering the human race, we\u2019ve gotta say no to them, too.<\/p>\n

When giving feels out of reach<\/h4>\n

But I think people like me, who see #GivingTuesday as another reminder of how broke we are, have the wrong mentality when it comes to giving in the first place.<\/p>\n

In the past, I wracked my brain trying to think of the most creative thing to get my husband, Mike, that would show him just how much I love him. In the end, I spent way too much money on something that will just gather dust on his dresser. My intentions were good, but I felt more stressed out about finding the perfect thing than actually giving him something because I love him.<\/p>\n

Redefining what it means to give<\/h4>\n

Mike and I decided to do something different this year with gifts; we aren\u2019t exchanging them. We both realized that giving presents to each other has become just an empty custom we follow. We\u2019ve decided that our gift to each other is quality time. We\u2019ll go on a drive together or go out to dinner. We\u2019ll watch a show on Netflix and eat popcorn without our phones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the same way, we\u2019re not letting our Christmas presents for others take over our lives. We\u2019ll put thought and creativity into what we make for our family and friends, but the more we both stress about buying the perfect thing, the more unnecessary money we spend, and the more time we take to purchase something that, quite honestly, isn\u2019t that perfect after all \u2014 the less value we bring to the holiday season.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going for practical gifts this year. I\u2019m making soaps and lip balm and other DIY products that will actually get used. But more than anything else, we aren\u2019t letting ourselves get bombarded with the lie that our love for our family is evident in the gifts we give.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re trying to get back to the mentality that, \u201cIt\u2019s the thought that counts,\u201d and focus on giving our best emotionally and spiritually to one another, rather than sticking cash mindlessly into an envelope.<\/p>\n

Now, don\u2019t get me wrong \u2014 I don\u2019t think it\u2019s wrong to buy presents or go Black Friday shopping or any of those things. Mike and I are just learning that #GivingTuesday should take place every day. And #GivingTuesday shouldn\u2019t just be a donation to your favorite charity so you can write it off on your taxes, check off the imaginary philanthropy box, and pat yourself on the back.<\/p>\n

Living out #GivingTuesday all year long<\/h4>\n

Giving back<\/a> should happen every day of our lives, so when days designated to give back come around, we aren\u2019t overwhelmed with ensuring we check it off our list. Instead, we know that we\u2019ve been loving our neighbor, praying for those in need, and supporting causes and movements that promote goodness and truth all year round.<\/p>\n

So today, give a few bucks to your favorite nonprofit if you\u2019d like. Or maybe spend time physically giving back to your community or spending significant time in prayer for a group of people.<\/p>\n

Whatever you do today, don\u2019t fret. \u2018Tis the season to be merry.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2018\u00a0Dani Fitzgerald Brown. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think people who see #GivingTuesday as reminder of how broke we are, have the wrong mentality when it comes to giving in the first place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":44251,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[9,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24636","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-finances","category-personal-growth"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke - Boundless<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I think people who see #GivingTuesday as reminder of how broke we are, have the wrong mentality when it comes to giving in the first place.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"#GivingTuesday shouldn\u2019t just be a donation so you can write it off on your taxes, check off the imaginary philanthropy box, and pat yourself on the back.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boundless\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T08:34:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"#GivingTuesday shouldn\u2019t just be a donation so you can write it off on your taxes, check off the imaginary philanthropy box, and pat yourself on the back.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/kat-yukawa-754726-unsplash-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/\",\"name\":\"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke - Boundless\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T08:25:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-02T08:34:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"I think people who see #GivingTuesday as reminder of how broke we are, have the wrong mentality when it comes to giving in the first place.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"a chalkboard sign that says #givingtuesday\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog Posts\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/\",\"name\":\"Boundless\",\"description\":\"Find your place. Focus your future.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Boundless\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png\",\"width\":1201,\"height\":289,\"caption\":\"Boundless\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke - Boundless","description":"I think people who see #GivingTuesday as reminder of how broke we are, have the wrong mentality when it comes to giving in the first place.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke","og_description":"#GivingTuesday shouldn\u2019t just be a donation so you can write it off on your taxes, check off the imaginary philanthropy box, and pat yourself on the back.","og_url":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/","og_site_name":"Boundless","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org","article_modified_time":"2025-12-02T08:34:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke","twitter_description":"#GivingTuesday shouldn\u2019t just be a donation so you can write it off on your taxes, check off the imaginary philanthropy box, and pat yourself on the back.","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/kat-yukawa-754726-unsplash-1.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/","url":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/","name":"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke - Boundless","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp","datePublished":"2025-12-02T08:25:33+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-02T08:34:37+00:00","description":"I think people who see #GivingTuesday as reminder of how broke we are, have the wrong mentality when it comes to giving in the first place.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/how-to-survive-giving-tuesday-when-youre-broke-68f794a771d1e.webp","width":1500,"height":1000,"caption":"a chalkboard sign that says #givingtuesday"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/how-to-survive-givingtuesday-when-youre-broke\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog Posts","item":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Survive #GivingTuesday When You\u2019re Broke"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/","name":"Boundless","description":"Find your place. Focus your future.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization","name":"Boundless","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png","width":1201,"height":289,"caption":"Boundless"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/24636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/24636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44255,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/24636\/revisions\/44255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}