10 Cheap Ways to Make the World a Better Place

5. Lend money: There are a lot of small businesses in the world that need small loans, but traditional banks won't even consider lending money to them. Through organizations like Kiva, you can make small loans of as little as $25 to individuals that you choose from their site. Kiva disperses the loans and then you get paid back your money over a period of six to 18 months. You don't earn any interest, but you get back the original amount you loaned, so you don't lose money. There is a slight chance you can lose your money, but of the $952,910 in loans with completed terms, the default rate is only 0.3%, according to the site.

6. Credit card: Many nonprofits now offer branded credit cards. When you use one of these credit cards, the charity gets a small percentage back on the amount you spend. This is the exact same concept as cash back credit cards, but the nonprofit gets the money instead of your account. Just be sure to pay off your credit card balance each month.

7. Donate items: When you are getting yourself better organized and removing clutter from your house, consider taking items you no longer need down to your local Goodwill, Salvation Army or any local charity that collects goods to resell instead of throwing them into the trash. You get rid of stuff that you no longer need and the charity gets to resell it to make a bit of money. Even better, you can claim a deduction for the fair market value of the donated items on your taxes if you itemize.

8. Sell goods for charity: Another option for items you no longer want is to sell them on eBay and have the income generated go to the charity of your choice. eBay's Giving Works allows you to choose a nonprofit for which to auction your items. This will give a donation to the nonprofit and you can still deduct the amount generated off your taxes.

9. Donate time: Your time can be quite valuable to a charity, especially during their busy times of the year. Taking the initiative to spend some time each month helping out the charity of your choice can be a great way to help a cause and get the direct feeling that you are making a difference -- something not always tangible when you simply donate money.

10. Donate skills: If you have special skills, they may be of great value to a charity. For example, if you design Web pages you could donate your skills to build a Web site for a nonprofit. This allows the nonprofit to use the money that it would have spent to pay someone else on something else. There are also charities that are looking for people with specific skills. Habitat for Humanity is always looking for people with carpentry, masonry, electrical and plumbing skills to help direct their house-building projects.

Making a difference in the world doesn't have to cost a lot of money or drain your savings account. Try some of the above suggestions and make the world a better place -- at no cost.