Charitable Shopping for Free

A November 2008 report prepared by The Lake Institute on Faith & Giving and The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University titled, "Religious Giving in Uncertain Times: Insights for Congregations and Faith-Based Nonprofits" included the finding that "Donors with incomes under $50,000 may stop giving when their personal economic circumstances worsen." Chances are, this really isn't a surprising fact. If you feel that this hits a little close to home and want to know how to defy these odds, there is a very simple habit you can develop to continue your generous ways despite a downturn in your own financial situation.

It's called Charitable Shopping For Free

Adopting a few simple shopping strategies will allow you to stockpile much needed goods and food stuffs both for your family and for the food pantries or shelters located in your community.

Step One: Target Your Shopping

You have to know to whom you plan to donate before you shop. This will make your donation the most valuable to the recipient. A few boxes of denture cream won't be as useful to a children's charity as a couple Mr. Potato Head toys would be. Churches, especially large ones, tend to be good recipients for less targeted donations as they will have ministries in place to distribute the goods they receive no matter what they are. In theory, they could accept both the denture cream and the Mr. Potato Heads and put them to good use.

If you're not a member of a church and don't already have a favorite charity, it's not too difficult to search the community for charitable organizations. A quick browse around Yahoo Local should do the trick. A simple phone call to the charity will answer your question about the types of items they can accept. Once you find a good match for the type of shopping you wish to do, iron out the details of their acceptance hours and policies. Now you're good to go.

Step Two: Clip Coupons

It can be very easy to get caught up in the selfless act of charity, but you cannot allow it make you foolish with your funds. Keep in mind that you are on a strict budget yourself and plan accordingly. Another reason you'll want to use coupons is that it will make your contribution stretch a whole lot further than if you don't. Coupons can mean the difference between feeding a family of four for a day or feeding them for an entire week.

Step Three: Track Sales in Your Local Markets

Since you are on a budget, it's a good idea to do this anyway. Only now, don't be so quick to disregard sales on items you or your family won't use if you can get them for free by using coupons. Consider a sale on Kellogg's cereal that you would normally skim past because you prefer General Mills. You can takes advantage of the sale this time because you can donate the Kellogg's items to your charity of choice for very little out of pocket because you've used coupons on top of the sales price.

A word of caution: Only consider sales that will allow you to get the item for free so you do not blow your budget.

You might also consider items that allow you buy something and get something else free. Suppose the store is giving away a free gallon of milk if you buy $10 in Kellogg's cereal. If you can use the milk and have coupons that will make the cereal free, you've hit the jackpot. This way, you've helped someone else and you've purchased the milk you were going to buy anyway for much less than what you would've paid had you just added it to your normal shopping list.

Step Four: Drop the Goods Off at the Charity

When you're ready to take your items to the charity, you may be tempted to look at the small pile and become discouraged. Don't. You did the best you could and they will appreciate it. No matter how little you have to give, take it to the charity. Don't wait for the pile to grow since many charities have immediate needs for lots of items. You will get such a wonderful feeling out of helping that the amount will not matter. In time, you'll become more adapt at finding sales that will allow you donate more and more.

The charity should offer you a receipt, but it's up to you to decide whether you wish to take it or not. You may want to claim these items on your income taxes and will need the receipt to do so. If you're not sure you want to take the deduction, the safest course is to take the receipt then decide later. Who knows? The extra deduction may come in handy and enable you to give more to the charity next year.

You should also save your store receipts. This way you will have a record of everything you purchased for this charitable venture. Staple the store receipts to the receipt you received from the charitable organization so you have everything in the one place.

It's very difficult to be a cheerful giver when your own needs are lacking. By charitably shopping for free, you will not only save your own budget, but you will be in a position to help someone else out at the same time. What can be better than that?