Our local Wal-Mart became a super-Wal-Mart (meaning it now has groceries) and we visited it today.  I get excited about the most trivial things, and today it was the Great Value brand.  It would just say "Great Value" on the label, and it would say something like, "Caramel coated popcorn with peanuts" (next to Cracker Jacks).  And the price was about 1/3-1/2 less than the name brand.

My little guilty pleasure is to buy groceries and take them to the Food Shelter.  I buy a load of groceries and take them straight to the shelter, and it's really fun.  I know it doesn't sound like fun, but just a few dollars that I would blow on something like a USB Cable, I can buy a thing of baby formula and I don't know - feed a baby!  Where better would my consumer dollar go?

So now I am all excited about Wal-Mart.  Though they didn't have "Great Value" baby formula, they do have chili and soups that the Food Shelter really needs, at about 1/2 the cost.  This means I can buy twice as much.

I used to just write checks or put charitable giving on PayPal.  It was pretty boring.  I was responsible, researching charities like I would if I were to buy a stock (administrative load was the one thing I always looked at first, this is the amount of money taken out for paid people, like officers).  Bigger checks are equally boring, but actually having hands on the aid is very exciting.

This holiday season, everybody seems to be really into what they got.  At the Fong Ranch, we made a decision - no gifts, no tree and it was SUCH a relief.  And it gave us this perspective that we just have too much junk.  I'd rather buy baby formula for a hungry kid in our community.