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It'sthattimeofyear again — everyone wants your money. Brace your- self for more dinnertime phone calls and mail- box solicita- tions. Those kinds of things used to bother me. So did the collec- tion plate at church. I felt guilty because no mat- ter how much money we made, there was never enough to give away. And with all the debt my fam- ily had, how could I be ex- pected to help others? Then our financial house of cards came crash- ing down. It was ugly. Los- ing our business and our income, and getting notice that our home was sched- uled to go into foreclosure were huge wakeup calls. At the darkest moment, I made a promise: If I ever see another dollar, I'm go- ing to give some of it away. First. Then I will do the best I can with the rest. And I meant it. I did see another dollar — in fact, many dollars — in the following years. "Give and save first, then spend" became my money management philosophy. From time to time a fi- nancial planner will ar- gue that it was foolish to contribute to charity, my church and others while paying exorbitant interest rates on credit card debt. I disagree. Yes, we proba- bly could have paid down the debt faster — it took 13 years to pay off more than $100,000 in unse- cured debt. But I know myself. Giving gave me a grateful heart and the stamina I needed to keep going until my last debt was paid. If you don't have money to give because you've de- cided to devote all of your spare cash to getting out of debt, I hear you. But don't let that stop you from giving something. Give your time as a vol- unteer to help out in your community. Use your tal- ents to help a school, church or other organiza- tion that would otherwise have to pay for that work. Share your great super- market bargains with a food pantry. And if you do want to donate money this sea- son, here's what you need to know. MAKESURECHARITYIS REPUTABLE The time to do your homework is be- fore you write that check, so put down the pen and turn on your computer. Where to look? Guidestar. org, CharityNavigator.org and the Better Business Bureau's Give.org. Online nonprofit databases like these offer information for thousands of chari- ties. Use each site's search engine to find financial facts, program details, complaints, state lawsuits and more. KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES Not every cent you send goes to help hungry kids or disaster victims. Donations are typically si- phoned into three areas: administrative costs, fun- draising expenses and the actual cause. A good rule of thumb: 75 percent or more of contributions should go to the cause; 25 percent or less to admin- istrative and fundraising costs, according to Char- ityWatch.org, a watchdog group that rates charities' use of donations. BE CAREFUL ABOUT TEX- TING Texting is the lat- est — and in many ways easiest — way to give. With just a few taps, you can send money to a cause hassle-free, but that ease is the very thing you have to be careful about. It's tempting to act on im- pulse, which might set you up to give to a bogus charity. Another pitfall: Sending a text could lead to a slew of future mes- sages from the charity. NEVER DONATE BY PHONE With the holidays also come scam artists who try to solicit donations over the phone. There's often an up- tick in phony charities fol- lowing natural disasters too, cautions the Federal Trade Commission. If you get one of these calls, never give out your credit-card number or any other per- sonal information. Ask for the caller's phone number and address, then do your own research to see if the organization is on the up- and-up. Giving is good for us. It's the best way to pull the drain plug on greed. Giving away some of what we have to others who have even less makes a statement that while we might not have it all, we do have enough. That's good for the soul. 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. EVERYDAY CHEAPSKATE Give wisely to charities Mary Hunt USFISHANDWILDLIFESERVICEPHOTO Mallards in flight. Sutter National Wildlife Refuge will open for water- fowl hunting beginning Sat- urday, Dec. 19. With the recent rains and lifting of pumping curtailments, the refuge has actively been flood- ing wetlands in its wildlife sanctuary and hunt areas. The refuge has opened late for hunting the past few waterfowl seasons due to the availability of water in the East Borrow Channel of the Sutter Bypass. With the current drought condi- tions, the refuge continues to manage water carefully to benefit wildlife and pro- vide recreational opportu- nities. wThe first reservations will be drawn for Saturday, Dec. 26 and hunters can now submit applications through the California De- partment of Fish and Wild- life's website. For more information on quotas, hunt maps and water maps, visit the ref- uge's hunting website at www.fws.gov/refuge/Sac- ramento/visit/hunting. html. Waterfowlhunting to open Saturday WILDLIFE REFUGE If you don't have money to give because you've decided to devote all of your spare cash to getting out of debt, I hear you. But don't let that stop you from giving something. This spring Shasta Col- lege is producing the classic comedy "As You Like It," by William Shakespeare. Per- formances on will be held 7 p.m., March 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19, as well as 2 p.m. March 13, at the Shasta Col- lege Theatre. This entertaining and de- lightful play is perfect for audiences of all ages. "As You Like It" follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompa- nied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Ar- den. In the forest, they en- counter a variety of mem- orable characters, notably the melancholy traveler Jaques who speaks many of Shakespeare's most fa- mous speeches—such as "All the world's a stage." The play explores impor- tant themes such as, love and nature, in a charming manner. The production is di- rected by Dr. Gregory Thor- son with David Fraser as the set designer, costumes by Hilary Fahey, lighting by Tim Dye and hair and makeup by Matthew Mc- Donald. For more informa- tion, call 242-2369 or visit www.shastacollege.edu/ theatre. General auditions for this production will be held 6-8 p.m., Jan. 19 and 20 in the Shasta College Theatre. Callbacks will be held 6-10 p.m., Jan. 21. All are wel- come to audition. Please come prepared with a one- minute monologue. Mono- logues will be available at the audition if one is not prepared. AUDITIONS Shasta College's production of 'As You Like It' hits stage PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! 401WalnutSt.,RedBluff• 527-4636 Hours:9amto6pm withanygiftpurchase Christmas Ornaments and Decorations Gifts For Everyone Questions about your medications? 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