Ten Ways to Help Someone Else in an Economic Recession

Times are tough. Companies are closing, or at least laying off large numbers of employees. People are having trouble finding the money to pay their bills each month.

A year ago, everyone was spending the late winter and early spring months planning summer vacations, visiting websites for German Tourism and ultimate Hawaii getaways. Superbowl parties were being organized, for lavish celebrations with all kinds of food and drinks. Pizza with every topping imaginable and seven kinds of beer were on the menu.

This year, people are wondering if they'll be able to pay for enough fuel oil to get them through the winter, and if they can come up with the minimum groceries to feed the family. The atmosphere is not the same.Of course, our new President Barrack Obama is giving some hope that things will turn around. But this won't happen overnight.

So what can you do if you don't have money to throw that huge superbowl party or plan that extravagant vacation? What will fill your time? How about finding ways to help out other people who are not having much luck in the financial realm either. This will take your mind off of the problems you have.

1. Donate a small amount of money to a charitable organization. You may not have much extra money, but you can donate what you can. You'll get a tax deduction on your 2009 taxes at the end of the year. This will also, however, help you realize that there are others who are in even worse condition than you.

Someone who has cancer is certainly having more than just financial problems, for example.

2. Donate some time at a retirement home. If you have a talent, you could have a show for the senior citizens. Put together a karaoke night, or just have a puppet show if that' s what you're good at.

3. Have a small superbowl party, and invite someone on your block who really can't afford anything right now. This will give them the chance to forget about their problems, at least for the day.

4. Shovel a neighbor's walk. If you have some feeble neighbors, or ones that work all the time or care for children and really don't have the time to shovel, do this good deed. It won't go unnoticed.

5. Help someone find a job. If you have a depressed friend, sit with them one day and help them with the job search. Sometimes it can become overwhelming to look for a job, because you start thinking about how you have no money, and it gets hard to even get out of the house to continue the search.

6. Do a favor for someone. Babysit for your friend, so she can get out one night and have a break from the kids. She might not now be able to afford to pay for the babysitter, but you can help that.

7. Have a community car. If people in your community are having problems of getting around, offer rides to those who need them. Give someone a ride to work, or a ride to the grocery store, for example. It's pretty cold to walk two miles to Walmart.

8. Offer a free class to a group of people. If you are a financial analyst, go to the local middle school and offer to give a free lecture to students on how to manage money. Or, you could even do this for those looking for jobs. This way, once they find a job, they'll have a better chance of surviving with their money.

9. Go together on home appliances. Maybe the whole block will pitch in to buy a snowblower for the snow, instead of each family having to purchase one.

10. Plan a neighborhood yard sale, to get rid of items noone needs. Maybe it can even involve bartering, where you give your neighbor your extra blender in exchange for his toaster. Have this in someone's garage that has heat, since it still isn't really warm enough to hang outside for very long looking through items.