Think you have to be RICH to help other deserving people have a better life? Well, guess what? You don't!! All it takes is an initial investment of $25. If you don't have $25 extra right now, just start dropping coins in a jar until you have that amount, or set aside a small amount each month.
Today I made my 26th loan to Kiva; I've been doing this for a couple of years. I think I have spent around $100 for these 26 loans. I started with a $25 loan, and then made a couple other $25 loans, plus a few $3.75 donations to KIVA for operating expenses. All the rest of the loans were made from money repaid by folks who received the loans--the repayment rate is close to 100%.
KIVA lets me know when I have twenty-plus dollars in my account, and then I can decide to put a couple more bucks in to make another $25 loan or wait until the balance gets to $25. It's truly a gift that keeps on giving, and it makes me feel really good to know that my money is helping someone for whom a small loan makes a BIG difference.
The little red table is my reward for all the work I've put in on my sewing room. I've been working on this room several hours a day, most days, for the last three weeks. Because it was a bedroom for several of our children ( one at a time: it was our daughter's room when we moved in here 33 years ago, because it was the smallest bedroom; it was a least three of her brothers' rooms, too), I had to fill NUMEROUS pinholes in the wall, remove a lot of tape, etc, etc. What a pain!! It really slowed me down. I also had to fill some dents in the floor and sand them,too, and paint a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf--I did that first. 
A cat with attitude, she's 22 inches tall, and made with the usual repurposed wool from thrift store clothing. Wool clothing doesn't sell well in thrift shops because it has to be dry cleaned, and people who shop at thrift stores don't want to buy garments that need this special treatment.
