Guides

Pay it forward ideas for $20 or less

You don’t need much to make someone’s day. Here are small ideas that actually help.

For $5 or less

  • Cover the coffee or bus fare for the person behind you.
  • Send $1 to a stranger’s goal on A Dollar Closer.
  • Leave a few quarters taped to a laundromat machine.

For $20 or less

  • Pay off a small school lunch balance. Many school districts accept these.
  • Buy a grocery gift card and give it to a local food pantry or a family you know is struggling.
  • Split $20 across twenty different people’s goals, $1 each.

Free ways to help

Share someone’s goal. Write a real review for a small local business. Offer a ride. Help doesn’t always have to be money.