Why Flattr does mattr

Have you ever wanted to contribute to projects that make your heart beat faster, or your life more pleasant, but finally didn't, because:

• one-time payments seem too much of a hassle, or you just never get around to them?
• recurrent contributions seem scary: who knows how much slack you'll have on your budget in six months' time? Maybe you're committing to something you'll regret later?
• you want to have the freedom to pick and choose at any given moment who you support, but at the same time don't want to exceed a given monthly budget for your total contributions? And you can't figure out how to combine freedom and budget control?

In that case, you probably end up, like me, contributing much less than you want and can, just because of practical problems. Which is truly a shame.

Yes, Flattr is worth it!

Luckily, there is Flattr! I knew about it for a long time, but only recently joined it. And I'm super happy with it! Here's why:

• you decide, up front, how much you want to spend contributing each month. No unpleasant surprises because you were too generous for your budget. If you can't spend more than €2 a month contributing, €2 will be the maximum you spend, independently of how many projects you support! (At the end of the month, your €2 will simply be divided between the projects you clicked on, whether it was one or one hundred). This goes for one-time contributions and recurrent subscriptions alike: your montly limit is always respected!
• you can, at the click of a mouse button, decide whether you want to just give a one-time contribution, or have Flattr include the project as a monthly recurrent beneficiary. (Clicking once on a Flattr button means a one-time contribution, clicking twice makes it into a monthly subscription). If you change your mind, just remove it again from the recurrent beneficiaries list at another click of the mouse.
• if during a month you didn't "flattr" anyone, your budget is carried over to the next month.
• in case you receive money through flatter, every time you have earned at least €5, you can have them paid out to you (or pass them on by flattring of course)
• You can stop flattring any time, temporarily or for good. (Your Flattr funds will just stay where they are, or you can give them to beneficiaries, or in a soon-to-come update of the Flattr system you should be able to get them paid out to you).

Go for it!
Just have a go at it! Head over to flattr.com, sign up, put some money on your Flattr account (just a few bucks to start is more than enough), and go flattring all those beautiful people and projects that make internet and the world a better place!
You'll feel great and so will they! Finally, donating has become simple, safe, budget-friendly, free and fun.

For more information, head over to How Flattr works on the Flattr website.

If you appreciated this article for some reason or another, please share it (see the buttons below), and, of course, don't forget to Flattr ;)

(Flattr logo source: Wikimedia).

P.S. I'm just an enthusiastic Flattr user and am in no way affiliated to Flattr. My Flattr profile is here: bartovan.