19 Random Acts of Kindness that Don’t Cost Money (2024)

When Evan Almighty came out, I was pretty excited. So excited I actually went to see it in theaters.

Man, was that the biggest letdown of all time. Who would have thought I was walking into a religious kids’ movie after seeing Jim Carrey play Bruce?

Pretty much, Evan wants to change the world. Morgan Freeman AKA God has him build an ark. After some initial resistance, Evan turns into a modern day Noah with the whole city laughing at him…until some damn breaks or something and there’s a flood.

Anyways, the important part is when Morgan Freeman tells Evan why he’s having him build an ark. (You know, aside from the impending flood…) Evan wants to change the world. “And how do we change the world?” God/Freeman asks. The answer is one act of random kindness at a time. And then we get an acronym:

(one)
Act of
Random
Kindness

ARK. Get it?

Yeah. It was that cheezy of a movie.

I receive a random act of kindness.

Fast forward eight years. It’s Thanksgiving night. We’re driving home, and stop to get gas. We find this on the pump:

Just found this at the pump! #thankful#Pittsburgh#RandomActsOfKindnesspic.twitter.com/saIdrvjGSH

— femmefrugality (@femmefrugality) November 27, 2015

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Can I tell you how excited I was? Freaking excited. We treated it as the universe’s little way of inching us towards that house goal, and put it in our savings fund. (Actually, I spent the $10 in cash, but immediately transferred ten from checking to savings. If we want to get technical.) If there’s anything we’ve learned along our savings journey, it’s that small amounts really add up to big ones.

I’m supposed to pass the act of kindness along. I took $10 out of our spending money and taped it to a pack of diapers in our neighborhood store. It sparked a thought process for me.

In what ways could I pass it along if I didn’t have $10 in my pocket?

Random Acts of Kindness that Don’t Cost Money

Here is my unfiltered brainstorm:

1. Invite someone over to dinner.
2. Compliment someone.
3. Leave little “You’re beautiful!” notes on public bathroom mirrors.
4. Go play a game with or read to some elderly people.
5. Let someone go in front of me in line.
6. Watch my friend’s kiddo so they can run to the store.
7. Write a letter to someone I know. Snail mail style. Just to tell them they’re awesome.
8. Write a letter to a stranger who really needs words of encouragement at the moment via The World Needs More Love Letters.
9. Take my kids somewhere to do something fun with families who aren’t in a fun place right now. Ala Ronald McDonald House or Family House.
10. .Actually give my husband a back rub when he asks for one.
11. Redistribute that leftover Halloween candy.
12. Shoot. Should I have put that $10 towards a Kiva loan?
13. Let that person cut in front of me without honking or flicking them off because they don’t know how to stay in the left lane when they’re getting on the Liberty Bridge from 579. (Pittsburghers, do you hear me?)
14. Cut out coupons I’m not going to use and then stick them on the appropriate items while I’m at the store.
15. Play Free Rice for a hot minute. (Can’t believe this still exists. I think I probably played this right before I went to see Evan Almighty.)
16. Take that random parking lot cart to the cart receptacle.
17. Make some extra Christmas cookies and give them to someone.
18. Heart attack someone.
19. Hold open the door. Smile. Something along those lines. Those simple things that show respect for a fellow human being often go the longest to making those around us happier.

I don’t know if I’ll be able do all 19 this month. But I will do my best. Anyone want to join me? Or have any other ideas for my list? Leave them in the comments!!