Today is Pay It Forward Day. SmartCanuckers are a generous bunch while being frugal. You can find many tales of Random Acts of Kindness (RAOKs) in our bragging forum. I know that I have received random envelopes of coupons in the mail after mentioning I needed a coupon etc, and really appreciate those RAOKs.
Today is about paying those RAOK’s forward (and hopefully passing on the trend of paying it forward, but if not, you made someone’s day).
- Buy someone a coffee
- Offer coupons to someone with no postage/coupons in return
- If you have professional skills (web design, newsletter layout, marketing advice etc), offer them to a charity or community group
- Spend an hour with an lonely neighbour
- Top up someone’s parking meter if it is close to expiring
- Pay for someone’s transit fare
You can download some Pay It Forward Day cards here to leave for the person you RAOK – help pass on the RAOKing theme. Find out more about Pay It Forward Day here.
Now for my RAOK to you – reply to this thread letting me know how you RAOKed someone (today or in general) before midnight ET and I will choose 2 winners by random number generator to receive a $5 TimCard so you can buy someone else a coffee – and get one for yourself! (see full terms below) over
Winners have been contacted, if no reply in 48 hours, new winners will be chosen
- Contest will end on April 25th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
- Winners will be be given 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen.
- Age of majority only
- Canada only no purchase is necessary to enter, odds of winning are dependent on number of entries received.
- Potential winner will be required to answer a skill testing question.
- You must use a valid email so I can contact you with details on how to claim your prize. Persons who enter with an alias(fake) email will forfeit their prize and a new winner will be drawn.
- One per person, email & IP, duplicate entries will be removed.
I have some coupon envies ready to go with no return addy 😉 I also pay it forward by buying coffee for the person behind me in line at timmies at least once a month… someone did that for me years ago and I remember how touched I was so I hope I can spread that feeling a little 🙂
At my Post Office outlet, the lady that serves me has 2 teenagers and I have seen her often because of all the RAOKS/trades I have been mailing and she always looks tired and said she wish she had time to coupon and save money so I prepared a binder with a zipper, pens, scotch tape and Index and 36 catagories in plastic sheet covers with some pre-sorted coupons orgnized in catagories and One front plastic insert loaded with coupons for her to start and of cour se step number one: sign-up at SC. Also outlined tips and tricks and guidelines I hand-wrote I gave it to her 2 days ago..She took the binder and I explained what was in there, no one was waiting and I wanted to show DH that good deeds are worth doing and the 20.00 I spent on this woman who looked like she needed help and that I wanted to help did not really have a reaction.
Every day I try to do something nice and this one deed that I thought she would be so thankful took it and said oh thanks. I saw her yesterday, had to mail my first choo-choo train envie and she just told me she went through some of them and that was it. So I came home and licked my wounds. Still licking.
I have embroidered Mickey Mouse designs on sweatshirts and given them to my post mistress for her granddaughter because I know they can’t afford them and love Mickey. But, I think sometimes the simple things, like letting someone go ahead of you in line at the grocer store checkout or opening a door for someone when entering a mall, or just smiling and being polite to store clerks are often more appreciated. Small things often make a big impact!
I bought coffee for the person behind me at Tim’s this morning. It was great!
I work with youth who age out of youth protection and NEARLY everyday I end up giving away items I can’t use in good condition. I’ve actually given away many ROAK from other SC at work, especially couponmummy. One of my personal biggest ROAK this last month was a decent sized gift card to Amazon for a girl at risk of losing her apartment since losing her job I knew from volunteer work I do. As I see it, things come and things go but knowing someone cares about you, can make all the difference in the world especially when you don’t have anyone. Keep spreading the sunshine!
I stopped at Timmies this morning; bought my co-workers a coffee, and also the person behind me in the drive-thru. I paid for hers, and asked the lady who was working at timmies to give her one of the “pay it forward” cards that Anna Michele found!!
It felt really good! It’s still very early this morning; i’m planning on reading some of these answers and trying to do much more today! 🙂
Whenever I am in a not so good mood, I pay it forward at Timmies, I ask to pay for the person behind me in line’s coffee in the drive through. As I am driving away I can see thier look of disbelief in the rear view and it puts a smile on my face. Most time’s i’m not in a bad mood any more 🙂 Pay it forward every day, your life will be richer for it
I coupon Fairy all the time and love it, so i feel like I give ppl money everyday just by handing them coupons. I don’t restrict what I give out either..I love seeing ppl who you kind of know are counting bc they only have so much money and just handing them FPC’s.. I tell them hey now you can get more 🙂
I pay for ppls Tim Hortons once every month bc I don’t really go to the coffee shop but when I do I like to pay it forward.. I always ask the cashier to tell them have a great day from a stranger .
Just this past week I bought groceries for a family I knew that was struggling. Now being couponers we know how much 40 can buy. It makes me feel good. I know they were embarrassed so I made sure to not make a big deal. I also gave them a huge stack of coupons to help them..
In the place I am in, I take samples and coupons I know I won’t use and decorate a box that says have a great day , take whatever you wish and leave it at the front door ..
There is a housing crisis in my community. My husband and I have been working hard since the fall to help address some of the issues. We started 2 petitions 4 weeks ago. These are going to be presented to both our municipal and provincial governments. One of the petitions already has 400 signatures on it. We are trying hard to make a difference in this way.
I also plan on ROAKing more infant formula coupons this week.
🙂
Today is letter-writing day! I write letters and send care packages to deployed soldiers who don’t get much mail from home for whatever reason.
I will be buying someone a coffee later today, or maybe even buying someone lunch
I will give a dinner plate tonight for my elderly neighbour
I always let people ahead of me in line especially if they have few items, I also will give people coupons if I notice they are buying something that I have a coupon for. I also always donate to my local food bank and my local churches for garage sales that they have.
My friend is a nurse and nurse’s day and week is coming up on May 6th-12th. Although I don’t like being in hospitals and have not always had the best nurses to deal with when I have been or visited, I appreciate their hard work and devotion to helping people. Sometimes like anyone, my friend has a horrible day at work due to patients not treating her well or whatnot and I thought why not send her a card as well as some of her colleagues to show them appreciation? It is just a little something, but at least they will feel good! So last week I purchased some beautiful Nurses’s week/Thank you cards from Hallmark and hand wrote some quotes and thank yous in there for 5 nurses, including my friend. I don’t have all their addresses, so I am sending them all to her and asking that she hand them out to nurses she thinks could use it.
Hopefully they all appreciate it 🙂
I paid for the car behind me in the Tim Horton’s drive-thru. So easy and so nice.
This morning I paid for the breakfast order behind me at the McDonalds drive-thru! Feels good to do good!
What wonderful things people are already doing! 🙂
I practice RAOKs all the time – from playing coupon fairy to donations, helping people out, etc.
Today, I’m having a RAOK coupon giveaway on the forum –
http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/351203-coupon-raoks-pay-forward-day-april-25-post-chance-get-some-canada/#post5406520
This is funny.. I paid coworkers coffee from Timmy this morning just cause I felt like it.. then I got to work and read this ROAK thread on the forum! Intuition!? HAHA!
Today, I gave up my time-slot on the best treadmill at the gym to another woman, and helped a new lady figure out where things are in the fitness room…. 🙂
I once paid the remaining amount of the person’s grocery bill that was in front of me because she didn’t bring enough cash and the store didn’t accept any other forms of payment since the machines were down.
I have helped the lady at my gym this morning to find her lost key.
I also bought a tea and a donut for my co-worker after our morning meeting.
Whenever I get a printable coupon for either groceries or a sale item, I made multiple copies, hand them out I n the store…
i have a bunch of yogurt coupons i gave to a woman who was buying
the correct brand..saved her $..
I bring envelopes of coupons to work and leave them in the staff room for whoever can use them : )
I played coupon fairy throughout my trip to Walmart today!
Thanks so much for sharing this post! I am trying to do as much as I can lately to pay it forward. You can read my blog post about it: http://tothepowerof.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/a-random-cup-of-kindness/
With the butter I bought on sale at Shoppers, I made cookies for everyone at the office as a random act of kindness 🙂
Yesterday I went shopping & I noticed an elderly lady & her husband browsing the pasta section. The lady was looking at the whole wheat pasta that was “no name” brand. I happened to have 2 FPC for the smart choice pasta, so I picked up 2 boxes & handed them to her with the coupons & told her they were free with the coupon & to enjoy them.
I just wanted to say thanks everyone for the great ideas! I havent received any RAOK yet but I always like giving when I can cause I think negative attitude promotes negativity I others and so forth. I also believe the opposite is true, I can’t understand why some people are so mean and rude and wish the world were a better place. I’ll start by doing my part and hope that one day it will come around. Like every day, I give coupons to people in line at the store, share my flyers so that they can price match and ALWAYS hold doors and elevators for others. It’s contagious so let’s pass it on!!!
i hired an arborist and his crew to come in and do some work on our two maple trees yesterday. This involved, among other things, removing some large lower limbs. The crew reduced those big branches to logs for our use. We have a woodstove but we rarely use it. I know my neighbour goes through more than a cord in the course of a winter. I gave the logs to him.
I pay it forward at Timmies, let people ahead of me in line if they have a few items, open the door to others, play the coupon fairy, donate to my food bank etc. Love it ! 🙂
Cocottee00
I always give my coupons from Childrens place to the person behind me in line so they can use them also.
I regularly give coupons to other ppl in line if I know I won’t use them, share coupons from places like the Entertainment Book, etc. Lately I have been cleaning out the house, and am donating a ton of stuff to the food bank, book donation centres and library, and selling lots of things online at a fraction of the price.
I offered to take my neighbours daughter to Woodbine Fantasy with my daughter tomorrow!
I bought 5 of my co-workers coffee today! 😀
My friend’s elderly parents were needing some warmer clothes, so I purchased some thermal wear for them.
Brought in recycle bin in for neighbor
I often use coupons on items I have no need for to get them cheap or free. Then ds1 will put the bagged item in the food bank bin. That way we give to people in need and teach ds to give as well. I also often leave coupons on the shelf for people to use if I can’t afford to buy the item to donate.
My family ordered a case of Key To Life key devices and spent our son’s birthday randomly passing a Key To Life keychain device to random strangers we saw throughout the day. It was our way of celebrating his special day and by paying it forward and giving this possible life safety keychain to others. We often forgo our daily Timmy’s coffee or sweet treat for ourselves and instead purchase one of these key chain devices at our local Avondale variety stores. We try to aim for a keychain device per day or every couple of days. We are big believers in paying it forward and always have been.. Our local grocery store owner was so thankful with his new keychain device, he is looking to order a case himself to pay it forward to customers and others..
I didn’t charge someone for photocopying today. Shhhhh.
I bought coffee for the person in line behind me at Timmies too. I’m not sure, but I think he paid it foward and bought for the car behind him. Pretty cool!
I paid it forward several times a month. I am a waitress and make minimum wage, plus my tips. I get minimum hours and pretty much live off my tips. My husband was laid off for the bulk part of the winter and just finally found employment last week. I never let my situation bring me down though—and I realize times are tough for everyone. PLUS life could be MUCH worse. Well I have had a few people come into my work and not have enough to pay their bill, so I will tell them “coffee/drinks was on me today”. It brings their out of pocket down a bit and I realize it is not much, but it helps and it saves them the embarrassment from having to dig into the bottom of their purses counting pennies. Well this comes back to me in karma….and also in the manner of the next time they are into a restaurant, they will maybe be a little more gracious with a waitress. I also leave coupons where ever I am. If I see someone in line in front of me and notice a product they are buying that I have a coupon for “Here ya go!” They are for the most part thankful….and it also strikes up a conversation and I am able to send them to SmartCanucks! I love my customers and I love my job….I may not make a lot of money, but I am happy to know I might make a small difference in this world with kindness.
I surprised the cashier at my local superstore with a gift card, she was more than suprised and asked why, I said thanks for the great service and it’s pay it forward day so enjoy a coffee & muffin on me.
Last weekend the person ahead of us at Tim Hortons paid for our coffee. We returned the favour for the person behind us.
Wow! I’m a rookie couponer but have to simply to survive. I’m beyond tight for cash so I can’t afford to pay for people’s parking, coffees or lunch since I can’t afford to buy my own BUT I regularly remove all the graffiti in our neighbourhood (by painting the entire fence or garage), I cut my own lawn and then cut the boulevard for the entire block, I cut two other neighbours’ lawns every week for the entire summer, I pick up the litter on the entire block (which has a median so there’s always plenty), and last summer I pruned every tree on the boulevard (‘cuz Winnipeg only does it once every 23 years) and safety and lost parking spaces were an issue. All branches were cut up into fire pit sizes and shared with all the neighbours who could use them. I make homemade doggie treats and deliver them to all the neighbours with dogs, gather up garbage carts that get thrown or hit down the lane and return them to neighbours’ yards . . . this weekend I’m volunteering to do a garbage audit and listing all the illegal dump sites in our neighbourhood, donating paint and labour to makes protest signs for the illegal PST hike here in Manitoba . . . does any of this qualify?
Lauri, any act of kindness counts – even my post said spend time with a lonely neighbour, no cost for that
I had my purse returned to me with everything in it still.
I made muffins and brought a 1/2 dozen over to our next door neighbours.
I was at couponing at Walmart and the cashier was so impressed & wanted to know where I got all my coupons. I told her about this site and wrote down the website for her. Gave her a bunch of coupons to use herself too.
denise 😉
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