Steps To Improve Your Life to Save Another – St. Jude Radiothon

Whether it's making a daily trip to the office vending machine, stopping in at the gas station for a icee, or going to the coffee shop for a morning cup, we spend a small fortune on snacks every year. While those $1 and $2 purchases may seem innocent they do add up over time, both on your pocketbook and on your waste line. Our

Challenge: Consider giving up a few snacks and cups of coffee a month for a good cause. When you get that 3pm temptation to head to the vending machine put the cash you would spend on a soda and chips into a jar for St. Jude. If you start your day off with a $5 cup of coffee every morning, consider sacrificing one trip to the coffee shop every week. Save the money you would spend on coffee and give it to St. Jude.

For long time cigarette smokers $20 is nothing. Whether you're a pack a day or a pack week kind of person the money smokers spend to keep up their habit builds and builds. The dangers of cigarette smoking are no secret. The long term health risks are severe. Quitting can be incredibly difficult but St. Jude may be able to help.

Our Challenge: Make this the year that you finally kick the habit. When you get the urge to smoke consider the children suffering from cancer today and what your cigarette money is doing to help them. You are quitting for you, but you are quitting from them too. Save your life by helping save a child.

Of all our unnecessary weekly expenditures are there any less important than lotto tickets. Offering a chance to will millions, lotto tickets rarely yield more than a couple bucks and a trip to the trash can. They play on our competitive and hopeful nature. We believe their is a chance to win when in reality that chance is so small that we are better off saving the money.

Our Challenge: If you are a weekly lotto player throwing dollar after dollar at an unlikely dream, consider reinvesting that money in a dream that can actually be realized. Cut down your monthly lotto purchases. Take $20 that you would normally use for lotto tickets and give it to St. Jude. Don't waste your money on hoping to win the lottery. Become a Partner In Hope.

Fast food is an American weakness. It's easy to get, it's quick, it tastes good, and it's cheap. At least we think it's cheap, but those combo meals slowly add up (as they slowly clog arteries). Whether you're on your own and you make weekly trips to the drive-thru, or you are head of the house and you allow McDonalds or Burger King to cater for dinner once a month, the money you spend on fast food quickly adds up.

Our Challenge: Consider the money you spend on fast few and challenge yourself to change your lifestyle. Take sandwiches to work instead of instead of spending money on cheap burgers. Cook a meal for the family instead of getting a bucket of chicken. Save that $20 a month and give it to someone who can really use it. Explain to your kids why you are giving up fast food. Let them know about the people your helping.

College students, I'm talking to you. We constantly complain of being broke and never having money yet we are able to go out two, three, sometimes four nights a week and party the night away. We spend money on six packs, shots, and parking garages. We waste money on alcohol like we are afraid to keep it our wallets.

Our Challenge: We aren't asking you to stop going out. We aren't even asking you to stop drinking. Our challenge to you is to consider getting one less drink one night a week. Put $5 aside a week that you would normally spend out and give it to St. Jude. That's all it takes to save a life. One less Jager Bomb a week.