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"When I got home from Florida I had a bucket full of mail waiting for me&amp;amp;#8212;there were bills, lots of catalogs, one wedding invite and a bunch of &amp;quot;end of year&amp;quot; giving reminders. Many were from charities I&amp;#x27;ve donated to in the past (MS Society, LLS, natch) and some were new places (the fire department in my new hometown, for example). Here comes the understatement of the year: I feel...overwhelmed. First I have to pay my bills, then I have to buy Christmas presents (and let me tell you, they will more likely be from the Kohl&amp;#x27;s catalog I received than from the Coach and Tiffany ones), then I have to give to all these incredibly worthy causes that I want to help. Oh, and feed my family and buy a winter coat since the hand-me-down one I&amp;#x27;ve been wearing (for two years) from Melissa no longer zips. I&amp;#x27;m not crying poor&amp;amp;#8212;not yet, thankfully&amp;amp;#8212;but I am crying...nervous. Every time I read the news or turn on the TV or talk to my doomsday dad I get so worried about money I feel like I should be sewing my own clothes to save a buck (can you sew a winter coat?). You guys know how important I think it is to give&amp;amp;#8212;especially now&amp;amp;#8212;but it&amp;#x27;s also important to pay your bills and buy groceries, right? Don&amp;#x27;t get me wrong, it&amp;#x27;s not like I was giving thousands in the past, but I always try to give a little&amp;amp;#8212;especially if it&amp;#x27;s to an organization that helps people I know. And these days, I know a lot of people in need. But this year, I don&amp;#x27;t know if I can swing it. My sisters and I have already agreed not to exchange gifts and Nick and I are buying each other something TBD that we need for the house (I&amp;#x27;m pulling for a chandelier). I&amp;#x27;ve dealt with this issue in the past by donating my time (speaking, volunteering, helping to secure gifts for auctions, etc) but let&amp;#x27;s be honest, year-end giving means cold hard cash. I suppose I could give five bucks to everyone who asks, but is that even worth it? How do you guys plan to handle charities this season? And please don&amp;#x27;t think I&amp;#x27;m throwing fuel on the fire with all this bad economy talk...I just want to vent and discuss and hopefully help each other out. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/life-with-cancer/2008/12/charitable-giving-in-a-economy>