I’m closing on my house in the beginning of December and there’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of money to be spent.
I already wrote about how I found a great deal on floors, but even a great deal is going to cost me thousands of dollars. That’s not to mention the fact that I still need to pay the $40k down payment.
Did I mention I’m taking donations?
That’s a joke. Kind of.
I’ve actually told a lot of people about the house Tag and I are buying. I’ve also told just as many people about our upcoming wedding. I mention this to these people because I’m freaking excited and honestly I’ll tell a complete stranger if he’ll listen.
But I also tell people about this stuff because eventually I just might get lucky.
People Love to Help
When I moved out of my last apartment I had a bunch of furniture I wanted to get rid of. I put it on craigslist and sold some stuff but ended up with a lot left over. At the end of the day a guy came to buy my bed. Turns out he was a broke college student.
I could have tried to sell the rest of my stuff, but this kid definitely needed everything he could get and at least he was willing to haul it away. He didn’t ask me to give him extra stuff. He just told me his situation and I was happy to help.
He paid for a bed. He got a bed, a dresser, a TV console, a desk, and probably more stuff I’m forgetting about.
When I tell people about all the exciting (and expensive) stuff I have coming up in my life, I’m not just letting them know about my super awesome future life. I’m also opening the door for them to help if they are able.
This may not work all the time, but it sure paid off today.
I Got a Free Washer and Dryer
The other day I called my realtor and asked if he could get me into the house so I could get measurements for the new flooring. We met at the house and he helped me take measurements. As I was talking about how expensive it will be for us to get the new floors plus buy a new refrigerator, washer, and dryer, he stepped in.
He and his wife are getting a new washer and dryer set soon, and he offered me his old set free of charge!
And you can bet your sweet behind that I accepted!
I would never ask someone for help because I know I don’t NEED it. However, if someone is willing to help then I’m not going to let my pride get in the way of accepting their generosity!
What Goes Around Comes Around
I gave some poor college kid a bunch of furniture and now that I’m a poor new homeowner I’m getting a free washer and dryer. Plus, who knows what other free stuff I might luck into by telling my new house/wedding story even more.
In my life I’ve found that generosity pays itself forward. If you take advantage of opportunities to help others then you’d be surprised what kind of help you might get in return one day.
Readers: Do you have a story where you gave someone something they needed? And, have you ever been lucky enough to have someone else offer you just what you needed at the perfect time?
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
As an active member of the Plano Early Lions club (http://planolions.org), I can say that there is a unique pleasure to be derived from doing something for someone who cannot possibly pay you back.
BTW, Kevin, I would like to extend to you my personal invitation to visit the Plano Early Lions as my guest for breakfast this coming Saturday morning. In return for getting up early on a Saturday morning, you would get a really fine breakfast (my treat) and meet a fun bunch of really good people and see what they do and how they do it. If you are interested, you can contact me at the email I entered on this post. And you are welcome to bring Tag, too.
Hi Howard,
I do really appreciate the offer and I’m sure it’s a wonderful breakfast. Our time on the weekends is pretty consumed with church right now and this particular weekend we have a big wedding on Saturday (in addition to Tag studying for nursing school and me working on side businesses to make money to pay for all this house and wedding stuff). I don’t think we will be able to make it in the near future.
Hopefully we will find ourselves in a position soon where we are able to take a more proactive approach towards helping others, but right now it’s mostly church and school/work for us.
I do appreciate the invite and I would actually really love to hear about some of the work you do if you want to brag on your club a bit more. You know how to email me. 🙂
When Vonnie and I were redoing our kitchen in our first house, we were redoing the flooring, getting new appliances and having a plumber put in a water line for the ice maker in our new fridge.The flooring people removed the old fridge (so they could put in the flooring) and moved it to the garage. When the plumber came to install the water line, we ended up talking about the project as a whole and I mentioned I was excited to have new appliances. He asked what we were doing with the old fridge to which I just shrugged my shoulders. This was before Craigslist or ebay or anything that would make it really easy to sell…I thought I would either pay to dispose of it, or put it in the classifieds. He offered to buy it…..I told him if he wanted to haul it, he could just take it.He got a beer fridge for his garage, and I got it out of mine…..
Good observation, Kevin. I totally agree. I like to think that life is about helping others more than we help ourselves. I’m always freely helping people be it with money, thoughts, items…whatever. As far as your situation, a similar thing happened with me a couple of weeks ago when someone (basically a stranger to me) let me borrow $300 worth of tools just so I wouldn’t have to buy them. In return, although he didn’t ask, I made sure I presented him with a gift card as well as returned his tools.
That is the story of my life with microwaves. I moved and had to buy one. Moved again and there was one built in, so I gave it to a friend who needed one. Moved again and needed one again(!) and my brother-in-law’s sister gave us one. What goes around comes around.
When we got married 21 years ago we started with nothing. We both lived at home and had no furniture or anything for our first apartment. Friends and family all pitched in old furniture and we ended up with everything we needed to furnish our small 1 bedroom apartment.
Now whenever we have anything we don’t need we try and give it away. Most recently we gave our kid’s outgrown set of bunk beds to a young family with twins. I find if I just put out the word that I have something I don’t need, there always seems to be someone who needs it.
I have always believed in the saying: The more you give, the more you receive. I don’t think twice whenever I get an opportunity to share some of my blessings. In the past, I have given my old refrigerator to a friend. His old refrigerator broke down and he did not have enough money to buy one. During that time, I was planning to get a new one anway, so I told him that he can have my old one. I have also been lucky to be given something that I needed at the perfect time. There was an instance when I needed a new laptop because my old one was having problems already. I tried to search for 2nd hand laptops on eBay, but I could not find a certain model that fits my budget. So when I mentioned it to my sister, she was kind enough to give me her old MacBook as when was planning to upgrade to a MacBook Pro.
When I was living in the UK I joined freecycle and there was a guy asking for anything to move into a new home since he had nothing. I had a few set of pots, pants and other kitchen items he was happy to have. I received a phone and a wardrobe from other freecycle members. I like the idea of giving and also that the old items get a new life.
I like giving away things to people who need the items, always makes me feel good. Usually I just donate all my stuff to thrift shops, because it helps the economy and those in need anyway. win-win.
Last year I offered a huge and beautiful Christmas tree to whomever needed one on Craigslist. I got it for free as my first Christmas tree and was given a second one later. I wanted to give it away and help someone who needed one for Christmas. I was glad to give it to someone that could use it no matter their financial situation. It felt good. 😀