Charitable Giving

The featured blog post on FatWallet today is about charitable giving on a budget. At different times in my life, I found myself on the tight end.... and charitable giving was the last thing on my mind. I realize now what a loss that was. Focusing my attention on others less fortunate than I would have been a tremendous kick in the butt. A needed kick.

So, please read and let me know some of your creative ideas!

FatWallet: Charitable Giving on a Budget

 photo: istockphoto.com

Thanks, Illinois, For Your Shortsightedness.

 credit: iStock photo

Disappointment is difficult.

Feeling betrayed hurts.

I was born and raised in Illinois. My husband and I made the conscious choice to move back here after his time in the Navy. Family, friends, and familiar places and faces all tugged at my heartstrings, and I convinced him this was the place to be. He didn't want to live here.

Time marched on, and we had additions to our family in the form of brothers-in-law, nieces, and a nephew. We found fulfilling, satisfying, challenging work. We contribute to our community through volunteering and monetary support of select charities. The company we work for invested in our community, taking an eyesore in Rockton and constructing a state-of-the-art facility that is comfortable and perfect for our workforce. We bought a house just a few miles away, conscious of the convenience and environmental impact of a short commute.

Today Governor Quinn signs into law HB 3659, which directly impacts our employer. FatWallet's advertising relationships with some large companies, such as Amazon and Overstock, will evaporate if FatWallet remains in Illinois. FatWallet has no choice but to move.

I've watched the debate play out in the press. I walk away from this fiasco more jaded than ever. There was no consideration about what really made sense; there was simply backroom politics, rhetoric, posturing, and in the end, politicians and lobbyists who got richer.

FatWallet will go on. The company will move to another state, and won't look back. Illinois will not realize the supposed gains this law tries to obtain. Politicians will get even more crooked. Big businesses will drive small businesses out of business. Way to go. It's not like Illinois needs the higher-paying jobs companies like FatWallet provide. Not at all. The void left by the 9,000+ affiliate marketers that will be affected can be filled by the wages WalMart pays, right Governor Quinn?

There are so many opinions being thrown left and right, and only a handful of people who truly understand the issue. Even people pushing hard for it didn't understand the consequences to so many legitimate, growing, tax-paying Illinois businesses. Of those who do understand, there are two camps: the people who see the irreparable damage done to the fast-growing, profitable affiliate marketing businesses in Illinois, the opportunities forever lost; and those who see that damage may be done, but feel that taking a stand may encourage other states to adopt similar bills - and ultimately think that the affiliate marketers are bluffing when they say they will leave Illinois.

If you knew that you were going to take a minimum 30% pay cut if you stayed, or you could continue to make the same or more by moving, what would you do?

Personally, I'm saddened by the state of affairs in my home state. I don't believe Illinois would be in the financial mess it is if we hadn't had so many crooks in elected offices over the course of my lifetime. Our government is no longer a government by the people, for the people. It's full of career politicians. It's enough to make me truly understand and feel the Revolutionary War was more than just a story in our past.

Tax Foundation
Blue Yonder - Affiliate Influenza
Performance Marketing Association

Women of HR

Since last summer, I've been fortunate to be a part of the Women of HR community. It's a great group of people with varied experiences, making an interesting mix. I'm looking forward to meeting many of them in person at HRevolution in Atlanta.

Today, they're featuring one of my posts. It's titled "Who Signs Your Paycheck?" Please take a look and let me know your thoughts.

Coping With Sadness

What do you do when you're sad?

Winter - the bitter cold, angry winds, gray skies, short days - sends me into a funk. I tend to fold into myself, becoming more introverted than my norm. Social interactions revert to a minimum. I don't want to leave the house.

One way i try to escape is through books. Curled up under a blanket, drinking tea, I can ignore the harshness of the season.

Music works sometimes, too, but it can be a double-edged sword. So many emotions are triggered by songs that listening to my library on random can be a roller coaster of highs and lows.

I wish I handled sadness in more constructive ways. Clubs or sports? I'll never be a social butterfly, nor will I be any kind of athlete. I'm awkward and clumsy, tripping over my own feet half the time. Would forcing engagement with others help? It is so tiring, exhausting, simply draining when I try.

A brief getaway to Florida last week was welcome and needed, so much more than I realized. I joked while there about absorbing enough sun to hold me until warmer weather hits our area. I didn't get nearly the amount necessary.

I'm hoping for a change in weather very soon. Are you?