1. Run. Many 5k and longer runs benefit some charity. Your entry fee pays for your t-shirt, race coordination, and, in part, contributes to the charity.

2. When you pay cash, take the change you end up with at the end of the day and put it in a jar. Save it for a month, and then donate the proceeds.

3. Declare a Dinner tax. Impose a tax on yourself when you eat out. After you’ve tipped your server, calculate another 5%, 10%, or even 15% that you will donate.

4. Get your car washed. Next time you see all those high school kids with placards and a garden hose at the gas station, pull in and let them wash your car.

5. EBay. Everybody’s got something to sell. Put your Aunt Irma’s mink stole you wouldn’t be caught dead in up on eBay. Someone’s going to buy it, and then you’ll donate when they do. (Remember to make it a no reserve auction so it will really sell!)

6. Sponsor someone. Girls Scout cookies. Boy Scout popcorn. School walk-a-thon. Whatever. Find an opportunity to sponsor someone. You’ll make them smile, help them reach their goal, and you’ll be helping their favorite charity.

7. Empty your closet. If you haven’t worn that dress or suit or sweatshirt in more the 18 months, get rid of it. Call your church or drop your clothes off to the Salvation Army.

8. Support stores like One World Goods. You get a nice gift, the people who made it earn a living.

9. Break a bad habit. Do you remember the movie Tootsie? There is a scene in which the director of a Daytime Drama says the words “Soap opera.” She gets a look on her face, and pulls a dollar out of her purse. She explains that she’s trying to break her habit of calling her shows Soap Operas. Whenever she does, she has to put a dollar in a jar. What habit do you want to break?

10. Buy two. Every once in a while when you buy toiletry staples at the grocery store, buy two of everything: soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. On your way home stop at a shelter or church, or other organization that could use the items and donate half of the toiletries you just bought. They are always needed. 

To read the complete article, go to Happiness Inside.