Need Some Extra Motivation to Meet Your Financial Goals?
Try an Anti-Charity.
I read about this in The Oprah Magazine, and it’s a great idea!
Whether you’re trying to get out of debt, lose weight or be on time to work, it helps to have some sort of punishment and reward system. For example, I have a rewards system for getting out of debt: Every time we pay off a debt, our family goes to eat dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (yes, that’s really all it takes for me).
However, I’ve had very little success with weight loss and punctuality, so perhaps it’s time to raise the stakes. I’ve previously considered charging myself money when I fail to reach my goals, but I’d probably just end up snowflaking that into debt repayment (Which I love, remember? Mmm…chicken tender wrap with teriyaki sauce!).
I could donate it to charity, but it’s hard to feel too bad about that.
Unless…It’s an Anti-Charity!
Goal-setting website stickk.com defines an anti-charity as any organization you strongly oppose or which promotes values which are most contrary to your own. For example, if you have a “She’s a baby, not a choice” bumper sticker on your car, you’d probably work pretty damn hard to not donate to Planned Parenthood.
How fantastic!
10 responses so far
Ha! Good idea and great picture. An anti-charity would certainly keep me motivated, especially during election season!
Exactly! I’m going to be making a $25 donation to the presidential campaign of my un-preferred candidate if I fail to meet my calorie intake goals for this month.
That picture burned my eyes!
Haha, I’m sure I saw her in a movie. I agree with dailydollar: “An anti-charity would certainly keep me motivated, especially during election season!”
wait! don’t do the un-preferred candidate - then a public record of your donation will be out there, and while you need a “stick” versus a carrot, that might be too permanent a stick
Dang it! Are there public records of donations to other charities, or just political candidates? Because I wouldn’t want a record of a donation to the NRA or anything either!
i don’t think so - i think it’s just political candidates. maybe you could make an anonymous cash donation to a group you don’t like? or donate to a cause you like but in the name of your sworn enemy? i’m not very creative today.
The anonymous donation is a good idea. Then I wouldn’t have any tax deduction benefits either (making it even worse).
Hey FinanceGirl,
My name is Sam Espinosa, Director of Marketing at stickK.com. I came across your blog and wanted to let you know a little more about how the anti-charities work on stickK.
You expressed some concern over having an anti-charity “donation” become public record. Let me first say that I hope you never have to give away any money on stickK! But, in the event that you do forfeit your stakes, stickK will never attach your name to a donation, be it charity or anti-charity.
Here’s how it does work:
stickK collects all of the money forfeited by our users to specific anti-charities and we donate it in lump sums. In addition, even if you chose “charity” as your recipient of stakes, your name will not be attached, stickK will not provide a tax deduction (this is supposed to be a negative consequence, remember!), and stickK does not take a deduction either.
Thanks for checkin’ our stickK.com! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me directly - sam@stickk.com. Good luck in your Commitment!
[...] the beginning of the month, I discovered the concept of the anti-charity. With that in mind, I decided that I would contribute $25 to the National Rifle Association if I [...]