How much do you give away per year?

[TexasHusker]

What I spend, save, and give, I consider to be a deeply personal and confidential thing. But since this forum is completely anonymous, it is good to see where others stand on financial issues.

I haven't seen a thread on giving, so I thought I would find how everyone feels about giving, and why.

As for myself, we have generally purposed to give a minimum of 10% of our earnings away each year - charities, churches, worthy causes, etc.

Some years, we fell really short of our goal and have given as little as 3% of our income away. Other years, we have been right there at or very near our goal. This year, we absolutely committed to the 10% as our New Year's Resolution. I think we are going to make that number this year.

Why do I give 10%? Back when I was 23 years old and fresh out of college with a job paying $16,500 a year, I went to see a fellow who was a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch. I thought to myself, this guy can give me some really good nuggets to build wealth.

When we sat down, we talked IRA, 401K, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I was fretting about how much we were going to be able to save on our budget and so on.

He looked me straight in the eye and said "You are making this way too complicated. GIVE 10 percent. SAVE 10 percent. LIVE on the rest. For the rest of your life."

We have tried to stick with that formula, and I must say that for me personally, it has worked. It has created a sense of equilibrium for us that we 1) Have plenty to live on, 2) Have given away a decent slice, and 3) Have saved a decent slice.

[disneysteve]

GIVE 10 percent. SAVE 10 percent. LIVE on the rest.

I certainly don't agree with that formula. Make it Give 10, Save 20, and Live on the rest I'd be okay with it.

I have no idea what % of income we give away. I've never sat down and calculated it and it can vary quite a bit from year to year. We've never concerned ourselves with a specific giving goal. We do what we can when we can. We're not wildly generous but we're not stingy either.

[kork13]

A minimum of 10% goes to my church as a matter of faith, and typically give an additional 2% specifically for a couple of charity programs my church runs. I only know this because I write the check for it while referencing my pay statement each month.

Beyond that, I give around another 1% to a few different private charities that I believe in.

I see charity as a natural & necessary part of being a member of society. If you have the means to be generous, do so. If your means are more limited, you can still be of aid to others, whether financially or otherwise. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity & ability to be somewhat generous in my giving.

[sv2007]

He looked me straight in the eye and said "You are making this way too complicated. GIVE 10 percent. SAVE 10 percent. LIVE on the rest. For the rest of your life."

That would NOT have worked on me. There's no way that I'll give a specific % without justifications.

We gave ~$15k last year, but that was kind of unusual; another unusual year was 2002 when wife started her non-profit and we funded it with $20k. However, we normally give $6-7k/yr (not counting company match). That is far below 10% on our income, but we are Ok with it.

A good friend of mine does donate 15% of his income to his church, so I know that % works for others, but I don't ever think I'll aim for any particular %.

Giving to the right cause is kindness and good. I'm not sure about giving to the wrong cause (wrt to my personal view of course); maybe in time I'll come around.

[sv2007]

Another way of giving is time. It may translate into cash (a few companies I worked at will pay $ for employee volunteer time).

If you have the time, there are many worthy activities, helping special needs kids/adults (play, event organizations), elderly, low income assistance (fund raise, deliveries), community enrichment (teach classes, junior achievement, school volunteer, habit for humanity), arts/theaters (stage help, ticketing for local productions), your social clubs (2A/gun safety)

It's a lot of fun.

[TexasHusker]

A minimum of 10% goes to my church as a matter of faith, and typically give an additional 2% specifically for a couple of charity programs my church runs. I only know this because I write the check for it while referencing my pay statement each month.

Beyond that, I give around another 1% to a few different private charities that I believe in.

I see charity as a natural & necessary part of being a member of society. If you have the means to be generous, do so. If your means are more limited, you can still be of aid to others, whether financially or otherwise. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity & ability to be somewhat generous in my giving.

Ours is a matter of faith, too. I failed to mention that. I think we are on the same page. I admire you for sticking to your personal faith and hope that I can do a better job of sticking to mine.

[sv2007]

Ours is a matter of faith, too. I failed to mention that. I think we are on the same page. I admire you for sticking to your personal faith and hope that I can do a better job of sticking to mine.

I was told by a Korean friend that there is some pressure to donate a certain % of income to the church. Is this true for your churches too?

[TexasHusker]

I was told by a Korean friend that there is some pressure to donate a certain % of income to the church. Is this true for your churches too?

I've never had any pressure whatsoever. Furthermore, our giving isn't limited to a church.

I do not personally believe that 10% is required by holy scripture. I do believe the scripture teaches that we are to give our first fruits, and to do so generously, purposefully without compulsion, and cheerfully.

Scripture tells us that man cannot serve both God and money. My basic rule of thumb is that if I am giving as much or more than I am stashing back, I'm staving off the urge to love money.

[rennigade]

Scripture tells us that man cannot serve both God and money. .

Scripture also tells us not to eat shellfish, to "not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material (cotton and nylon are a no no,) not to get tattoos or piercings, and the grand finale of them all...that the earth is no more than 15,000 years old...but more likely around 6,000 years old.

I hope those with faith take the scripture seriously and not cherry pick what best suites them.

Moral of the story...dont believe everything you read.

[TexasHusker]

Scripture also tells us not to eat shellfish, to "not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material (cotton and nylon are a no no,) not to get tattoos or piercings, and the grand finale of them all...that the earth is no more than 15,000 years old...but more likely around 6,000 years old.

I hope those with faith take the scripture seriously and not cherry pick what best suites them.

Moral of the story...dont believe everything you read.

I think you might be the one cherry-picking. You are referring to the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. That was the law of the land for the nation of Israel. If you weren't a Jew, it had no bearing on you. Ten Commandments and the whole thing.

I've never read in scripture that the earth is no more than 15,000 years old. Genesis 1 and 2 are not a history book, but rather a Cliffs Notes version of the beginning. We are owed no explanation as to how old or young the earth is.

[rennigade]

I've never read in scripture that the earth is no more than 15,000 years old. Genesis 1 and 2 are not a history book, but rather a Cliffs Notes version of the beginning. We are owed no explanation as to how old or young the earth is.

Its there...just doesnt jump out. After earth was created it was only a couple days before adam was created (from dirt...lets not forget that)...from there you simply trace the family tree to get an estimation of years...which historians who have a lot of time on their hands have done.

Im still trying to figure out where dinosaurs come into play. Fossil records date them many years ago...but it may seem that they must have walked side by side with humans. Learn something new everyday.

Back on track...I dont give any way...my wife gives a couple hundred bucks to either cancer research or something like that. My in laws give around $10k/year to the magic man who created everything, already has everything and doesnt need anything.

[41Fin]

I don't go to church outside of Easter and with charities its hit or miss so I tend to donate time over money. My biggest financial "giving" was to my former Schools athletic department but I've chosen to move my funds more to the academic side.

Eventually I'd like to set something up where I am able to help people with their finances for free. Can't put a value on it but there is some none the less.

[frugal saver]

I used to give more in cash when I was working. Now's it's only about 5% of my pension.

Now more of my giving is non-cash. Books for the SPCA book sale, food to the food closet, and I make hats and scarves for the homeless, baby sweaters and blankets for several charities and lapghans for seniors and the veteran's home.

[ESMonitor]

Well, I am shooting for 10% each month too and I monitor it carefully, as I am saving a substantial fixed amount each month (24%). In that 10% is a fixed amount I give to my parish, i am a St. Jude Partner in Hope, sponsor a kid in Chile, a benefactor for a couple of ministries of my religion, and I generally buy two cases of ravioli from grocery for the parish food pantry. Then there's the ad hoc stuff that comes up just about every month, which may be for my Diocese for something or like a gift for someone (got my recovering alcoholic friend going through his own Book of Job story a nice hand made rosary, NT Bible and a book about Matt Talbot). I bring in donuts to work here and there. I did a swap on the ravioli this month for some old cookware I gave away to my parish. I took a hit last month from a shady mechanic bill, still trying to recover from that. Not sure if I will make 10% this month or not, still a long way to go until next paycheck at month end.

The older I get, the more I want to give which I guess is a good thing. In my faith I know I am only a steward of my income, and have to be responsible. I have seen the blessings that have come with giving over the years. And the stinginess of my younger years made me have to learn the hard way. At least i will say I didn't have a lot to give in those younger years because I was always spread thin with whatever money I had.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Not much %. but I do volunteer so I think it evens out.