Five Ways to Help Those Struggling With Finances

FROM THESTREET.COM:

Families are being hit financially on all sides these days, and it looks like things might get worse before getting better.

Energy prices continue to soar with the average price of gas reaching a record $3.20 last week and likely to rise even further this month.

Add to that food prices increasing at the fastest rate since 1990 with the Labor Department reporting that staple food prices (bread, eggs, flour and milk) have risen at double-digit rates in the past year.

This means more families face a large number of difficult decisions to make with their finances.

People usually focus on their own finances and not on the finances of those who are around them. Part of this is because money is still a taboo subject in many ways. But there are a lot of people who could use the financial skill and knowledge of those who have already put their finances in order.

So how can you help those who need help with personal finances, but aren't necessarily asking for your help?

Pay it forward is a concept from a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde where a person does a good deed for another person with no expectations of repayment. The person who receives the good deed should simply do a good deed for three other people keeping the chain of good deeds going.

Here are five ways you can pay personal finance forward:

1. Pass Along Books and Magazines

Don't let any quality financial knowledge that you have found stop with you. Take the little extra time and effort to make sure it gets passed along to others. Once you have finished reading financial books and magazines that you know you won't refer to again in the future, give them to others. Web sites like Book Crossing encourage you to leave books in public places so that others can find them.