Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/814176
Accordingtooneonline organization working to eliminate junk mail, the av- erage adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year, 44 percent of which goes to the land- fill unopened. Sadly, much of it is from charities that are doing good in the world and sending mail to vy for our charitable donations. Dear Mary: You recently wrote about paper shred- ders, which made me think about all the unwanted ad- dress labels my mother re- ceives from charities. She has made a few donations other the years and is now bombarded with unwanted mailing labels, cards, cal- endars, books — you name it. Some of the stuff can be given or thrown away, but what do you do with all the labels? If you try shredding them, they jam up your shredder. I've tried writing "Re- fused, Return to Sender" on the envelopes, but the post office refuses to send them back. Any ideas on how can you get this type of mail stopped or get rid of all the address labels? — Peg Dear Peg: According to Charity Navigator, the na- tion's largest and most-uti- lized evaluator of chari- ties, there is no regulation that mandates that chari- ties and nonprofits honor your requests to opt out of their mailing lists. Addi- tionally, the USPS grants the return and forward op- tions to first-class mail, not the lower and cheaper post- age typically used to send out junk mail. However, these free services may still be of help. The Direct Marketing As- sociation Mail Preference Service program maintains a list of individuals who do not wish to receive unsolic- ited mail. Be sure to specify that you do not wish to re- ceive solicitations from both commercial and charita- ble organizations. If you fail to do so, then the DMA will automatically place your name on the list provided to for-profit entities only. You can report unwanted mail to Catalog Choice, and it will process your request. As for the sheets of la- bels that charities often send as a gift, I've never ex- perienced them jamming my shredder. But if this is a problem for you, another option is to tear the la- bels and dispose of them in trash. It is a shame that a heartfelt donation to a wor- thy cause can so often re- sult in a flood of junk mail. An easy way to avoid that in the future is to give anon- ymously by taking advan- tage of Charity Navigator's Giving Basket, which lets you decide how much per- sonal information you want to share with the charity — from full contact informa- tion to none at all. Giving anonymously kills two birds with one stone: The charity can neither pester you with endless appeals nor sell your contact information to others. Hope that helps. For the links mentioned in this column visit www.everyday- cheapskate.com/junkmail. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE How to stop unwanted charity junk mail The Tehama Country Visitor Center's Gallery at 250 Antelope Blvd. in Red Bluff is featuring the ex- hibit "Country Life." A reception will be held 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 21 with light refreshments. The exhibit topic was an open invitation to paint whatever caught the art- ist's interest or country ex- perience. "This is an exhibit that shows the range of artis- tic expression and ver- satility of these artists," said Red Bluff Art Asso- ciation President Debby Sipes. "They never cease to amaze me." Some have captured emotion such as "Auction Day" by Marie Kirkhart and "Mojo," the cat with attitude, by Judy Sale. There are peaceful places to be like Fran Beck- er's "Blue Chair" or Bev Smith's "Waiting for Mail." Images of land- scapes, horses, roosters and geese, butterflies, fishing holes, Shasta's lav- ender fields and many oth- ers artistic works are on display. The exhibit is open un- til June 23. The Art Association meets 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays at the Tehama District Fairground, 650 Antelope Blvd. in Red Bluff. For more informa- tion, call 528-2438, visit redbluffartassociation. com or find the associa- tion on Facebook. ART ASSOCIATION Visitor center to host reception CONTRIBUTED Pictured is "Auction Day" by Marie Kirkhart. By Justin McCuin Social Security manager in Redding April is Financial Liter- acy Month, and there's no better time than right now to save for your future. The earlier you start saving, the more you can take advan- tage of compound interest — that's like "free money" to power up your 401ks and other types of IRAs. Social Security helps secure your future, but it should only be a foundation for a more complete retirement plan. Part of financial liter- acy is having access to not just correct information, but your own personal fi- nancial information. Social Security has that. You can open your own personal my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/ myaccount and within a matter of minutes have ac- cess to your information from the comfort of your home or office. There, you can do many things, but the most important thing is to view your Social Se- curity Statement. Your Social Security Statement is a concise, easy to read personal record of the earnings on which you have paid Social Security taxes and a summary of the estimated benefits you and your family could receive, including potential retire- ment, disability, and sur- vivors benefits. Once you have an account, you can view your Statement at any time. You'll want to verify that your recorded earnings are correct because your fu- ture benefits are based on your recorded earnings. In addition to using your personal my Social Security account, you can also prepare for a secure, comfortable retirement by visiting www.myra.gov. There, you'll find myRA, a new retirement savings option from the Depart- ment of the Treasury for the millions of Americans who face barriers to saving for retirement. MyRA is a simple, secure, and afford- able way to help you take control of your future. It's free and you have zero risk of losing money. We also offer the online Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov/es- timator that provides im- mediate and personalized benefit estimates based on your earnings record. And, best of all, the Retirement Estimator is an interactive tool that allows you to com- pare different retirement options like future earn- ings and different retire- ment ages. One sure way to stay on top of your financial future is to join the more than 28 million people who have opened their own my Social Security account at www.so- cialsecurity.gov/myaccount. 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