Give Thanks by Paying It Forward

Compared to those who have never visited a financial website -- if demographic surveys are accurate -- when it comes to finances, you're likely a take-control, take-charge, in-front-of-the-eight-ball guy or gal.

But chances are that you know someone who's not so lucky.

• Credit card debt may be a burden you've already conquered, but many of the people you see day to day struggle to pay down their plastic every month.
• Your retirement savings plan may already be in the bag (you max out your 401(k) and IRAs), but look around your office and ponder this: Nearly half of your co-workers have yet to contribute one dime to the company 401(k).
• Perhaps you're set when it comes to college savings for the kids and can comfortably cover the costs of your annual family cruise. But what about your poker buddies? Your neighbors? Your best pal from college?

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, how about sharing some of your wealth? I'm not talking about opening up your checkbook or wrapping some shiny, blinky toy for the office toy drive.

The kind of giving I'm talking about is entirely different: I propose that this year you give thanks by paying it forward.

Six degrees of reparation

My modified pay-it-forward idea is based on the movie of the same name. In the flick, a young boy's answer to a lofty social studies assignment -- to better mankind in some way -- is to perform a selfless act of kindness for three people. But afterwards, instead of returning the favor, the recipients are asked to, in turn, pay it forward. If his theory works, then kindness gets paid forward ad infinitum.

Of course, there's a catch: The "it" in the pay-it-forward movement must be something that recipients cannot do for themselves (or think they cannot do) that will truly improve the recipients' lives. It's not always a cakewalk for the giver to deliver, either.

I won't ask you to hand over the keys to your Jaguar or write a letter of forgiveness to a longtime nemesis. Those selfless acts play great on the big screen, but you can do better for yourself and mankind.

Pay forward your financial smarts

The most valuable asset you have to offer is locked away in your noggin' -- the financial smarts you've amassed over the years. By paying that knowledge forward, you can markedly improve the financial footing of someone you love, and, over time -- as the favor is passed along -- the fiscal stability of complete strangers.

You can pay forward your financial knowledge by helping a friend plot out a retirement savings plan. Pay forward your time by tutoring junior high school students in basic money math skills.

You don't even have to come up with a way to pay it forward on your own. Ask worthy recipients for suggestions of how you might help lessen their financial worries. Again, writing a check is the easy way out for both the giver and the receiver -- but you can both do better. (See also the "teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime" adage.)

Here are a few more ideas to get you started:

• Offer to review a co-worker's 401(k) choices and help select an appropriate place to invest pre-tax dollars. Show your cube-mate how simple it is to set up an IRA.
• If it's debt that's got someone you know down, offer a lesson on the fastest way to pay down debt and tips to accelerate the "paid in full" date. Also offer to lend a sympathetic ear whenever the urge to splurge strikes.
• Over a home-cooked dinner, help a friend figure out where money's going and why there are always more bills than there is paycheck at the end of the month.
• Is a family member nearing retirement age without adequate finances to last through the remaining years? Show the retiree-to-be that there's a lot that can still be done, even for late starters, to get on better long-term financial footing.
• Is there a young person in your life struggling to make heads or tails of money decisions? Help Junior start adulthood with smart money choices.

Have that thoughtful and frank conversation with someone you know who is struggling with financial issues. Do more listening than talking, and make it clear that you are not there to judge. Offer your emotional support when times are tough.

Start paying it forward right now

Most of us can honestly say that some of our money smarts are due to making a few boneheaded financial mistakes along the way. By paying forward what we've learned -- and fessing up to our own hard-earned lessons -- we'll lessen the stigma of talking openly about finances and create a charitable environment where ideas and support are freely exchanged.

Imagine the kind of movement that we could start if everyone reading these words right now paid their financial smarts forward.

You can start right now by emailing this story to someone you want to help. Sending this article along is not a judgment or pronouncement to the recipient that you've got all the answers. It simply says that you care. And all you ask in return is that eventually the recipient pays it forward, too.

Motley Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim owes mankind countless favors based on the generosity of Motley Fool readers who teach her money lessons every day. At GreenLight.Fool.com she pays her financial smarts forward every way she can.