Got Money Problems? Give some away

Whether you have a lot or a little money, you can always give a bit away to help or surprise someone else. Author?Laina Buenostar?tells us to share some “happy money.”?Generating a feeling of generosity and abundance — especially when we’re struggling with money — by surprising a stranger with a dollar changes our energy and opens us to unseen resources.

The “happy money” act couldn’t be more simple:

· Find a dollar bill and roll it up

· Draw a happy face on a small piece of paper

· Make sure there’s nothing identifying you on the paper or bill

· Wrap the paper around the dollar bill and tape it closed so the smiley face shows

· Secretly hide it in a public place where someone is sure to find it (my friend really likes egg cartons)

· Walk away with a smile

A friend who told me about this simple act says she uses it every time her duckets diminish to a scary level. When she’s worried and afraid to even glance in the direction of her bills, the action uplifts her spirits, makes her see life afresh, and tickles her to think that today someone will find a random dollar wrapped in anonymous good wishes.

Every time she makes generosity her motivation, my friend says she gets money — small refunds come in the mail, people re-pay her, or she finds forgotten money in a long-forgotten pocket.

Whether we do good hoping to get something back or do it altruistically just for the joy of giving anonymously, what can it hurt?

Nothin’. But it can help a lot.

I got divorced when I was a young mother of two boys under five years old. Money couldn’t have been tighter, and I was scared to death trying to figure out how to survive. But we were in the laundromat and my little ones were happily playing with dolls and trucks on the chairs, so I tried to put my fear aside for a minute to sort light clothing from the dark.

Out of the blue, a woman I didn’t know walked over, gave me her detergent and fabric softener, and said (how did she know?!?), “It’s going to be alright.” Then she walked away.

She was right.

But it’s been thirty-six years and I still remember her gesture, the tears of gratitude dripping down my face, and the hope her generosity and compassion gave me.

And I still shed a tear at the profundity of the woman’s compassion.

Many times over the decades, her example has inspired me to do something similar.

Generosity to others isn’t hard or expensive. It does us uncountable good on many levels. We all have something to give without needing acknowledgement or reciprocity.

I love the “happy money” idea my friend shared. Given the state of our world, every generous gesture makes a difference.

Tomorrow, I’m heading to the grocery store to put a little surprise where somebody I don’t know will find it. But I’m adding a “for you” message on the paper.

Maybe I’ll hide it between jars of almond butter…