Why would people donate valuable cars when those same people don't have the cash to donate? Simply put, donating your car is just more convenient. You need to get rid of your old car. Most people trying to get rid of a car have three options: trade, sell, and donate. Whats so much better about donating it?

Well, consider your first two options. If you trade it it, you will mostly likely get far less than its worth. Selling it? Just plain inconvenient. There is paperwork that you have to do yourself. If its broken, you may not have the resources to fix it. Then there is the advertising.  Phone calls, flyers, haggling, bartering, the whole nine-yards. No one knows how long it will take to sell, and you may have to lower the price below its value to get it to sell.

By using the third option, donating it, you get a tax deduction while simultaneously helping out a charity. Third-party companies like iDonate.com handle the sale and the paperwork for you, saving you time and money and also giving your vehicle the best opportunity to sell for what its worth.  Vehicles can include any sort of car, truck, or other motor vehicle such as a boat, RV, ATV, airplane, go-cart, and many more. Your donation can be used or new, and will greatly contribute to your chosen charity. By donating it you save yourself a lot of hassle, help out a good cause, receive a tax deduction, and receive the best possible value from your donation for your charity.

Recently, RCI (Resort Condominiums International) commissioned a study on how much money is spent in Great Britain on travel. More specifically, the study was on money spent in vacationing, tourism, and in the timeshare industries.

The results of the study show that the average British vacationer spends the equivalent of $63,000 US dollars throughout their lifetime, averaging $1,053 a year.  If a British person takes two 1 week vacations a year, as was the average in 2007, they spend approximately 840 days throughout their lives on vacation. Clearly tourism is no small-time market, at least in the UK. So how do timeshares effect the typical British vacationer?

RCI projects that if any given British vacationer would use timeshares and timeshare exchange programs on their vacations, they would have spend only $36,500 instead of $63,000.  And this method would not restrict vacationing destinations.  After all, there are timeshare resorts available worldwide.

But the savings can go even further.  If the same vacationer purchased resale timeshares, they would save around 50% more than if they paid for a new timeshare.  This throws the estimate savings to $50,000-$70,000.

It doesn't matter if you live in the US, UK, or anywhere else in the world. Clearly timeshare resales save money.  Still, after reading this article, maybe you've started looking at how much money you spend on vacation.  Maybe you aren't using your timeshare as much as you thought you would.  Maybe traveling is more stressful than you realized, or your kids are grown, or you're trying to simplify your life and vacations aren't your way of doing it. You can  donate your timeshare so that the proceeds go to your favorite charity.  Online programs like iDonate.com ensure that your timeshare is liquidated for the best possible price and the proceeds go to your cause of choice. If you've been looking for a way to sacrifice something for a non-profit, but haven't quite scrounged up the cash to do it, this could be a more creative way of donating.

When you go on vacation, oftentimes you can get 50-75% discounts on almost any activity by merely attending a timeshare presentation.  However, only 1 person in 100 actually buys a timeshare through these presentations.  Someone has to pay for the discounts of the other attendees and the salesman's commission, and its usually the new timeshare owner. As a result, the price is highly inflated.  If to want a timeshare, buy it through the resale market and not at these presentations.

Many resorts will put new perspectives on buying timeshares, such as one-week timeshare you can only use every two years.  This makes the maintenance fees appear much lower.  There are also rotating timeshares, which appear convenient as they allow you to pick your week each year instead of having a fixed week.  At least, they are convenient till you have to fill out the paperwork trying to get the week you want. 

Before you buy, consider that you are buying vacation at the same place every year, unless your resort can make arrangements to exchange.  If thats what you want, then maybe a timeshare is the thing for you.  Also, do some research.  Look at the accommodations and location of your timeshare. Make sure you cannot buy something similar in the same place for less. 

And what about in a few years when you want to sell it?  The Internet is full of people selling timeshares, and it will be neither quick nor easy to sell yours.  It will not be for a profit and may even turn out to be a huge loss to you.  You will pay a listing fee of $300 to $1,000.  Once listed, it won't sell because timeshares depreciate over time and almost never sell for more than they were purchased for. While listed, you won't make plans to use it, expecting it to sell, but you still have to pay the maintenance fees and taxes.  If it doesn't sell, you'll be contacted to re-list it.  You may end up paying $4,000 to sell it, when in the end you'll only receive $1,000 to $4,000 for it.  Hardly a worthy investment.

Spend half an hour with an accountant or tax lawyer and discuss donating your timeshare instead.  You will be rid of it within weeks and companies such as iDonate.com will take care of all the paperwork and details of selling it.  The proceeds will go to a charity of your choice and you will receive a tax-deduction for the selling price.

Many people purchase timeshares as an investment, thinking that when the time comes to sell it they will make money.  Unfortunately this is far from true and in the end, the resale price is far less than the purchase price.  Timeshares with loans still on them won't sell at all. Resale timeshares sell for 50-80% less than the original purchase price. If you're the owner of a timeshare that you have been unsuccessfully trying to sell, it may be time to cut your losses and try a new tactic. 

Cash is tight this days and non-profits and charities are feeling it just like everybody else. If you're finding only lint in your pockets, don't think cash is the only way you can help out a non-profit. Instead of continuing to pay maintenance fees, unload your timeshare and donate it.

Consider though, not every charity will accept your timeshare donations.  After all, if they can't sell it, that lands them in the same boat you were in, paying maintenance fees and such.  Consider instead donating to the same charity through idonate.com, an organization fully equipped to sell your timeshare for the best price. idonate.com was created solely to liquidate non-cash donations as more and more people are becoming more creative with their donations. idonate.com will cover the paperwork and all  of the liquidating process. Chances are you will get a tax write-off for the amount the timeshare sells for.  Your timeshare will be owned by the charity of your choice and the proceeds will go to them.  If for some reason you timeshare does not sell, it will be given directly to the charity.  If they charity does not want it, idonate.com will  will give it to another non-profit. idonate.com does not take ownership of donation.  For more information go to www.idonate.com and click on Help and then Frequently Asked Questions. To unload your timeshare, click on Donate.