Whatever your views on charity tin-rattlers you have to wonder if they are really targeting the right people.  The work that charities do is important and for the people that they help, to coin a phrase, they need real change, not loose change. Ordinary people can only afford to give so much, but philanthropists such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett the Microsoft founders who have given away vast portions of their fortunes can make a real difference.

So far the push for billionaires to give away their wealth has been very Western, but now their seems to be a push to get the very wealthy from other parts on board. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are to go to China to host a banquet for the rich and influential there. This is being seen in China as being an attempt to encourage greater participation in charitable giving.

One Chinese billionaire who has already gotten onto the giving train is Chen Guangbiao. The 42 year old started his journey to business success at an early age by selling ice-cream, before making his fortune running a company that deals in reclaimed building materials  – Huangpu Renewable Resources. Chen is quoted as saying:

“If you have only a glass of water then one person can drink. If you have a bucket a whole family can benefit. If you have a river, then you should share it with everyone.”

His remarks are targeted at the very wealthy, encouraging them to also give more. The principle is an interesting one though, and food for thought. Maybe growing your personal fortune can be the most socially responsible thing you can do. prudent and sensible wealth management in the short term can mean that you can do more good in the long run.

Being able to plan your expenditure against your outgoings is essential to achieving financial independence and security. It is called budgeting, and though it is not rocket science it is something far too many people just don’t think about. This isn’t about cutting back  and not having any fun, but about knowing where the money is coming from and where it is going to be going to.

When you are struggling by on a really low income, budgeting is such a necessity that you have to face up to it. It is when you are feeling a bit more comfortable that laziness can kick in. In order to manage your money effectively you need to realise that you are going to want to enjoy your money and spend it on the good things in life.

A good example is Christmas. For most people the festive period is the most expensive time of year. Although everybody always complains about Christmas advertising coming earlier every year (such a cliche) it makes sense to make the purchasing decisions that you will have to make sooner rather than later.

Unless you feel like a Scrooge and decide to cancel this year, you will be spending a fair whack on the food and drink to celebrate with. You don’t want to scrimp, and you know you will buy it anyway, so why not invest in some Christmas hampers now and know you have got something out of the way?

Present buying is also always expensive. Again there is a big advantage in planning in advance what you are going to be giving to the folks that you care about. Even if you don’t purchase the items until the last minute, knowing what you are going to get for everyone lets you plan for the outlay as well as being able to find the best prices.

Audi E-Tron

Nice car yeah? That is the Audi E-Tron and it is part of the next generation of high performance electric vehicles. Moving to less environmentally harmful vehicles for at least part of their range is seen as essential by car manufacturers.  The E-Tron  certainly looks the part, but after it was unveiled a problem emerged – its name.

The problem with the name of Audi’s latest car is the French word ‘étron’- meaning turd! Quite how Audi are going to market this in France is not really clear – certainly they will not show brown cars in the adverts! It is not the first time that a major car company has been stung by choosing a name that sounds rude in another language. In Spain Mitsubishi discovered that Pajero had some er… unfortunate connotations, and GM discovered to their cost that in Latin America ‘Nova’ translates as ‘doesn’t go’. Dohh!!