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6 Ways to Give Thanks With Extra Money in Your Budget This Year

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a time for reflection and relaxation with my family and feels like a much-needed chance to take a break from the hustle and bustle before the busyness of the holiday season. It’s all of the holiday love and warmth without the expectations.

Thanksgiving is also a perfect opportunity to show gratitude in whatever ways you feel inspired to do so. As business owners, we may have experienced many changes over the past year and a half as we reckoned with a global pandemic and the subsequent economic repercussions. Some businesses struggled while others flourished.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who continued to grow throughout the pandemic, you may find that your business has extra money in the budget as you’re doing your year-end financial reckoning. This can be a good opportunity to pay yourself more, increase the stability of the business, or invest back into the business.

It can also be a great opportunity to give back to your community and say thanks. If you’re feeling so inclined, here are six ideas for how to give thanks with extra money in your budget this year.

1. Charitable Giving and Donations

One of the best ways to give back financially is to support charities or foundations that serve communities you care about. The obvious bonus to this giving option is that you may be able to reduce this year’s taxable income if you itemize your deductions.

For me, one of the most important causes that is close to my heart is supporting Veterans. For Veterans Day this year, my family and I honored my dad by supporting the National Veterans Foundation. As a proud Pittsburgh resident of many years, other charities that are dear to me and my family include:

Whatever charity you choose to donate to, you can use Charity Navigator to review objective ratings and information about most charities. Charity Navigator provides unbiased reviews of charities to help donors make more informed giving decisions and avoid charity scams.  (Don’t forget to support them too to help them keep up this great work!)

2. Adopt a Family for Christmas

If you’d like to make a more personal donation, consider an Adopt-a-Family program for Christmas. Many communities have a local Adopt-a-Family program that allows donors to anonymously (or not) adopt a family at Christmas time who wouldn’t otherwise be able to provide presents for their loved ones.

Oftentimes, donors will receive a wishlist from a family with children or seniors who have been identified as low-income or struggling. While Doing Good Together doesn’t facilitate Adopt-a-Family programs, they do have a list of places who commonly do in many communities across the country. You can also find other programs in your area with a simple Google search or through local radio stations.

3. Random Layaway Payoffs

Another way to impact local families is to pay off layaway balances at local toy stores or department stores that sell toys. Layaway programs allow people to put items on hold while they pay off the balance in installments. Families who can’t afford to drop large amounts of cash all at once may use layaway programs to purchase Christmas gifts for their children.

To pay off someone’s layaway balance, make sure you call the store first. Stores like Target, Walmart, and K-mart often offer layaway programs, but not all locations do. Once you’ve confirmed they have a layaway program, you can go to the store in person and tell the layaway representative how you would like to contribute. 

For example, you may be able to pay off balances for accounts that are about to lose their deposit. Or, you can tell the customer service representative how much you’d like to contribute and let them decide how to divvy up your contribution.

4. Random Purchases for Strangers in a Store

A Dairy Queen in Brainerd, Minnesota made headlines last year for a “pay it forward” drive-thru chain that lasted two and a half days. This “pay it forward” chain meant that each customer in the drive-thru paid forward some amount of money to be used by the next customer in line. Chains like that have also been seen in Starbucks drive-thrus and McDonald’s drive-thrus all over the country. 

Paying it forward in a drive-thru line can be a great way to brighten someone’s day in a simple way. Offering to pay the bill for the person behind you could put a smile on their face, or it might even free up some money in an otherwise tight budget. You never know the impact you might be having.  

Another fun and powerful way to pay it forward is to purchase gift cards at a local grocery store, Target, or Walmart in whatever amounts you want. Give the gift cards to the cashiers and request that they hand them out to people throughout the day who they feel need them the most. This is a great way to truly give money away anonymously and allow someone else to enjoy the emotional benefits of generosity. 

5. 529 Contributions 

A great way to give to your loved ones’ little ones this year is to make 529 contributions to accounts for grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or any young family members or friends you may have. A 529 plan allows parents and their children a tax-advantaged way to save and grow money for a future college education. 

Anyone can contribute to a 529 plan. But keep in mind that gifts to a 529 plan above $15,000 in 2021 ($16,000 in 2022) a year must be reported to the IRS and must be included in the individual’s lifetime gift exclusion limit. The lifetime gift exclusion limit is currently $11,700,000, but is rising to $12,060,000 in 2022 to account for inflation.

6. Client Gifts & Thank You's

Finally, give thanks to your clients this year for keeping you in business with client gifts or thank you notes. Client gifts don’t have to be expensive! A friend of mine recently received a $20 Amazon gift card in the mail from her mortgage broker along with a note thanking her for choosing her when she refinanced this year. She was so touched by the experience she just had to share! (Of course, depending on how many clients you have, a $5 gift card might be more budget-friendly.

If gifts of any value are simply out of the budget, handwritten thank you notes can be just as impactful as tangible gifts. Giving thanks to your clients can both make you feel good and make your clients feel good. You might even solidify some client loyalty with a thoughtful gift or thank you note this year! 

Giving has so many benefits to you aside from helping reduce your tax liability that it can become a great financial habit to create and keep on growing. Keep in mind that while some of these giving opportunities can be done directly via your business, others might be best and have benefits to taking the distribution first, and then giving from your personal pocket. Always check with your financial professional on the best strategies for you.

Learn More at Financial Fitness Coaching

At Financial Fitness Coaching, we help small business owners set and reach all kinds of goals: revenue goals, profit goals, personal income goals, and even gifting goals. We believe that giving back is an important part of doing business and comes with myriad benefits such as improved health, better social connections, and stronger communities.

As we’re nearing the end of the year, now is the perfect time to prioritize the financial health of you and your business. To see how we can help you and your business thrive this year and beyond, email me at kristen@financialfitnesscoaching.com or simply schedule a free 20-minute Discovery Call on my calendar.