Conventional thinking about what to do with 'disposable' money to help you either now or in the future pretty much comes down to two avenues.

1. You can invest your money some way, either in IRAs or Money Markets or Bonds or some other way you might think will be the best place to put your money to help it grow. Investing this way is a plan for the future. Money put into these investments is usually intended to help you around retirement time. It is not there for today's bills and so doesn't help you today. But you must choose 'wisely'; for while good investments may give you eternal financial security, so too can poor investments take it from you. Then it can be said, 'He chose 'poorly'.'

For me, in order for this avenue to work, it involves way to much thinking for the average person. You have to watch every day to see what is happening in the stock market and 'play the game'. Sometimes there is ecstasy; today there is agony. It would cause me ulcers like you wouldn't believe.

2. The second conventional way people deal with their 'disposable' money is to play games -- lotteries, power balls, scratch offs, contests on TV and the radio. Every company seems to offer some contest you can get into to 'WIN BIG'. They all have begun to annoy me. They are just a come-on and 99.9999999999999999% of people who participate never get anything except the 'fun' of playing. There is much agony except for the one lucky soul who gets the ecstasy.

The two conventional ways of using your 'disposable' money that are mentioned above have gotten us to where we are today -- the brink of economic depression. And, while I am not suggesting that we should abandon them completely, I AM offering another avenue.

Make-a-List giving is outside the box. It is not conventional, both in terms of the above-mentioned two avenues and in terms of what you normally think of when this type of thing is presented. But there are two differences to Make-a-List giving that have never existed before.

1. I have instituted procedures that, if faith is given, can possibly totally prevent collapse of the plan.

2. No other plan of this type has had ME attempting it. The only thing you have to fear is the heart of an honest man.

Personally, it hurts me that some people who know me let their fear of the plan overpower their faith in me. But I knew that was a probability considering that only greedy, uncaring people get to be in the news. It should be noted that many people who know me have become givers. Some have even had enough faith to give in their children's names.

I have enough faith in myself and the plan that, a couple of times, I have put my own money into the Giving Pool for people who can't even afford the $31.00. I can't afford to do that for everyone but I have done it to help people; which is what I am trying to do with Make-a-List giving. I don't expect anything back from them. In fact, I hope they 'Pay It Forward' and help someone else.

Take $31.00 and invest it in the stock market anyway you choose for the next year. The initial investment will be you going backward by $31.00. Play the investment game and watch your investment all year long making whatever changes you feel will make your $31.00 go forward.

Take another $31.00 and play any game you wish over the next year. You can play scratch-offs, you can play the Power Ball, you can play your local lottery game. You will be going backwards by $31.00 in the GAME PLAN. See how much you go forward by the end of the year. (I played the lottery every week for a year. Went backwards by over $400.00. Never did go forward.)

Take another $31.00 and be a giver and get on my list. You will be going backwards by $31.00 in a GIVING PLAN. See how much you go forward by the end of the year.

Pit giving and faith against Wall Street. Pit giving and faith against the cosmic forces of the universe ~ six plastic balls floating around in the air. I don't know what is going to happen in the business/technology world. I don't know how the cosmic forces of the universe are going to treat you. I DO know what I intend to do with your money - help someone else.