Secret Santa Weekly Roundup

photo credit: ladydragonflycc

On Thanksgiving Day, my niece gave our family a generous challenge.  Following in the tradition of Secret Santa, she handed out $10 bills to every niece, nephew, uncle, aunt, cousin and grandparent with these instructions, “You have to give it away.  That is rule one.  You can add money to it if you want;  you can choose to be anonymous; you can give it to someone you know or a total stanger.   You simply have to give it away.  Rule two is this: when we gather together on Christmas Day you have to tell what you did with the ten dollars.”

Janice and I already have our minds spinning as we consider adding some money to our $20 and surprising someone.  This simple act adds a refreshing element to Christmas this year.  I am looking forward to hearing how others gave their $10 away.   A simple yet powerful way to celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever known.

Thank you, Beth, for getting it going.

Some posts I have enjoyed this week:

• Do you know the difference between “unrighteous wealth” and “true riches”?  I didn’t until I read Jason’s post “What is True Wealth?” at Redeeming Riches.
• More is always better.  Right?  Not necessarily.  In fact, Less can often be better.  Confused?  Read “More vs Less” at Bible Money Matters.
• Figuring how much you need to save for retirement is a breeze…simply use one of those slick retirement calculators.  Not so fast, says Todd Tressider in his guest post, “How Much Do I Need For Retirement?” at Frugal Dad.  Todd points out the shortcomings of these calculators and gives us a fresh perspective of what is and is not realistic.
• There are several valid reasons, some quite unfair,  why women need to save more than men.  Yet, fair or not, reality is what it is and “Are Women Saving and Investing Enough?” is a well written, thoughtful and needed post at Good Financial Cents.
• The season of giving is here and Lynnae at Being Frugal gives some great gift ideas in her “Frugal Gift Guide” post.  Programmable thermostat?  It might be just the thing.

Some carnivals I have been a part of this week:

• Money Hacks Carnival: Thanksgiving Dinner Edition at Being Frugal.
• Festival of Frugality at The Finanial Blogger
• Carnival of Money Stories at Mighty Bargain Hunter
• Baby Boomers Blog Carnival Fifteenth Edition at Baby Boomer U. S.