It began with good intentions in response to a simple request. It has become a sore subject that will definitely cause me to act differently from now on.

Towards the end of last year, I received a number of donation requests from charitable organizations. They were all trying to meet their year-end goals and were asking for any help that I could provide. Of the many requests I received, I chose three charities to donate to. All were asking for small amounts, typically less than one thousandth of the maximum person-to-person loan amount from Lending Club, so it seemed easy to give them the help that they needed.

It’s clear to me that selling my address, in addition to taking my donation, was likely the real way that at least one of these charities made its end of year goal. By giving to more than one of these organizations, I’ll never know which one sold me out. Perhaps they all did. The flow of junk mail that has followed my donations is simply amazing. As I write this post, it’s been over two months since I made my donations, yet I still receive between two and four new donation requests every day!

The requests usually come with a “gift” such as a notepad or address labels. At first, the address labels really did seem like a gift. They were useful and saved me from having to write out my address by hand or purchase labels. As they continue to arrive, these labels have become a curse. I have many more than I’ll need for the coming year. The labels have my name and address on them, so they pose an identity theft risk if I throw them out. My normal method for dealing with such items, shredding, is also problematic. The labels are stickers and tend to jam my shredder as a result. I can usually shred a few labels along with other documents without much trouble, but I’m getting so many of them that it’s becoming difficult to get rid of them all.

As I wrote in my post about charitable giving, it’s important to find charitable organizations that have low overhead and use most of their contributions towards their stated causes. A new criterion that I’m adding is that they won’t disclose your personal information to third parties. The charities I chose are all reputable, national charities, so to see this type of behavior from them is disheartening. I would also prefer not being contacted by the charity itself with repeated donation requests. All of that communication is using up the money that I donated instead of reaching those in need.

I recently heard a story about a college professor who regularly invites some of his favorite students over for a discussion and a social experiment. This story may not have actually happened, but it can teach us a financial lesson in any event.

The professor tells the students to help themselves to the coffee that he has prepared. He has placed a wide array of coffee mugs out as well, of greatly varying degrees of quality. After all of the students have their coffee, the discussion begins. The professor remarks on how all of the finest mugs were chosen first and that no one ended up taking any of the poorest quality ones. He explains that all mugs serve the same purpose, to hold the coffee. The coffee, which is the true product, tastes just as good from even the poorest quality of mugs.

This lesson can easily be applied to our financial lives. In what ways do we focus our desires on objects that are utilitarian and add no value to fulfilling our need? We may find ourselves slipping deeper into debt as a result of this pattern. Sure, you can consolidate your debt with a P2P loan from Lending Club, but you also have to identify the cause of your debt to prevent it from reoccurring.

An example might be the type of car you choose to purchase. All cars, even the most modest, satisfy our main reason for owning them: transportation. Clearly, other factors such as family size, safety record, and fuel economy play critical roles in the choice of car we purchase as well. How often though, do we let other factors, that don't contribute to the need we are trying to meet, affect our decisions. Personal preference and comfort are probably ok, but when we start thinking of the social status associated with the car, this is where we get into trouble. It's at this point, when we begin to put more value into non-essentials, that our control of our finances starts to slip away.

Other examples in our daily lives abound. The point isn't to limit the luxuries that we allow ourselves to enjoy. It is simply a way to help focus our finances on meeting all of our needs first, before allowing the wants to come into play. When you are trying to cut back on your spending, look for those areas of your life where you money is going towards the expensive mug. Diverting that money back to the coffees of your life can have a significant positive effect.

You are a spreadsheet master. Should the average person use spreadsheets to help manage their finances and investments?

Thanks! My wife and I ditched the commercial software programs like Money and Quicken because we didn’t like the lack of flexibility. So, we decided to set up an Excel spreadsheet to track our finances. I’m sure our method isn’t for everyone but we like it.

Your blog focuses on 401Ks and retirement planning, among other money topics. What are some creative tips you would give to a 25-year-old on retirement planning? A 35-year-old?

I consider a 25-year-old and a 35-year-old in the same boat as they are both at least a couple of decades from retiring. Therefore, my advice would be pretty much the same: Invest AS MUCH AS YOU CAN and invest the majority (80% or more) in equities. Finally, don’t let the downturns get you down.

You've made some custom financial calculators available on your blog. How do you use these? Which calculators are your favorites?

The calculators are really just a useable Excel spreadsheet. I created them for the fun of it. My favorite is probably the one about how much a person can save in their lifetime.

What do you enjoy most about writing on "All Financial Matters"? How did you get started as a finance blogger?

Investing is probably my favorite topic. I also try to cover controversial topics like the subprime bailout.

I got started blogging in October of 2004 as a way of writing a cheap newsletter. I had read an article in the Wall Street Journal about people setting up blogs for their families and I thought it would be cool to use one for personal finance.

What are you thoughts on P2P lending? Does it have a place in investors’ portfolios? (Be totally honest, LC is all about the honesty.)

To be honest, I haven’t given P2P lending much thought.

When you're not blogging...what do you do?

Sleep.

Jim Cramer or Suze Orman? (chuckle...heh, heh)

Neither.

We all know people who are married to their jobs, but a recent survey looked the employee/job relationship as if it were an actual relationship.

Results from this interesting survey were recently announced by Taleo Corporation, an on-demand talent management solution provider. The survey asked participants to describe their relationship with their job as if it were a physical person.

The possible responses were:

• I like my job so much I’d marry it

• I like my job enough I’d date it seriously

• It’s OK; I’d date it casually

• I don’t like it; it won’t last long

• I hate it; I want to break up with it immediately

Survey respondents answered as follows: 9% would marry their job, 34% would date it seriously, 43% would date it casually, 9% think the relationship won’t last long, and 5% want to break up immediately.

Other respondent demographics were also reported. For example, employees over 55 were much more likely to love or like their job (53%) compared to those aged 18-34 (37%). Those younger workers were much more likely to not like or hate their job (19% versus 7% for those 55+). Age was only one factor that seemed to trend feelings more favorably. Earning more money or being married (to an actual person) had a similar effect.

If you find yourself falling out of love with your job, make sure to get your financial house in order before taking any drastic action. There are many ways you can start putting your money to work, and you might want to consider some of these strategies in any case.

Whether or not they love their jobs, we know that people love the rates they get at Lending Club. With rates starting as low as 7.88% for borrowers and an average annual performance of 12.19% for lenders, it’s easy to see why that’s the case.

Have you ever made a real investment mistake, a disastrous one? I know I have. For the sophisticated, mistakes like these can be investment opportunities. For average Joes like you and me...they should be avoided.

When I lost over $250K trading, I was guilty of 3 of these 5 mistakes (can you guess them?). Avoid these missteps and you'll be in good shape over the long haul.

1. “Free stock tips”

“Hot” and/or "free” stock tips are easy pitfalls for the novice investor. While at a cocktail party, a friend of a friend tells you about this "for sure acquisition, happening next week."

It sounds like a sure thing.

Run the other way! Think about it for a minute...how many other people must have heard this particular stock market tip in order for that guy to blab? Hot tips are for great service at a restaurant, not investing.

2. Margin stock trading

Invest for the long term, right? Well, if you're trading stocks on margin, you are throwing that right out the window. Margin trading is for day-traders and swing traders, not the average investor.

If you need a loan (i.e., margin) to buy more stocks, you really need more cash. Combining margin and a "hot tip" is a sure way to double your losses real fast.

3. Options trading

Margin trading typically allows you to double your stock buying power. With options, the risk can be even greater. When used correctly to manage risk, options are fantastic, but for the average Joe investor, it's best to stick with stocks straight up.

Fast Rule: If you don't understand fundamentally how options work, you shouldn't be trading them. Period.

4. Low/high priced stocks

You just bought 100,000 shares.....woo hoo! You're rich, right?

Um, that was a $0.01 stock, dude.

Don't get sucked into thinking that the trading price of a stock (be it 5 cents or $450 a share) has anything to do with its value as an investment. A $1,000 stock is not "expensive," nor is by any means a nickel stock "cheap."

Don't buy into the high stock price = expensive or low stock price = cheap psychology.

5. FOREX trading

FOREX (foreign exchange) or currency trading has been a growing industry over the past few years. The volatility of the US Dollar as well as easy access for individuals to invest has led to tremendous growth in the FOREX world.

FOREX trading is also the fastest way to lose your shirt. Trust me, I know. I had quite a bit of trading experience before getting into FOREX...and it's a whole other world. Forget 2:1 margin ratios; try 200:1 or even 400:1. Sound exciting? It is...until your money is gone.

99.99% of investors should not be trading FOREX. If you want to buy currency, stick to currency-based index shares.

Want a little more safety? Invest wisely.

Does investment risk keep you up at night? Consider putting some of your investments into a peer-to-peer loan portfolio from Lending Club. You'll get an above average return, and you’ll be able to sleep at night.