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The importance of giving…

So Im 22, I make $40k a year, and I definitely feel like life would be easier if I was making $70k+. All through college I only had a part time job and probably averaged only $6k a year, so even though I wish I was making more than $40k it still seems like plenty of money to me. I made my budget and accounted for all of my expenses…401k, Roth IRA, gas, food, etc. I thought I had it all figured out and was pleased to see a decent cash flow in the discretionary income category. I put some money in a high yield savings account, used some to buy a motorcycle, was eating out when I wanted, basically life was good. Then I took a 6 week long financial course during this time (because I love learning). There was a bunch of good stuff presented during the six weeks, but the one thing I realized I was missing in my budget was a charity section. I went home and wrote down on a piece of paper “I will give at least 10% of my income to charity.”

There are a couple of reasons I decided I needed to be giving away some of my money.

1) Im christian and I personally believe it is important for me to tithe to the church and support different ministries and missions. I believe I am called to give whether I make $10 a year or $10 million a year. I think about it like this…I go to church every Sunday and am entertained by the pastor and learn important things to be successful so I should make sure that I contribute to the church so I can continue to have a place to go. If church members didn’t tithe there would be no church…im just doing my part.

2) I know that giving is going to make me rich. No, I don’t think karma is going to be on my side or if I give my money God is going to bless me with a fortune…it might happen, but Im not counting on it. Now that I am giving 10% of my income I have to be even better with my finances and make sure I am watching every dollar I spend. It has made me that much more motivated to contribute the maximum possible to my Roth IRA. It has made me think “Do I really need to go get food from that burrito shop?” I am 100% confident that giving will never financially hurt me and will only increase my chances for financial success.

3) There is no excuse not to give. Sure money might be tight. You might be living paycheck to paycheck. But make sure you hear me GIVING IS IMPORTANT. If you cant afford, or dont want to afford, giving 10% give 5%, 2%, 1%, or $1 the amount doesn’t matter!!!! There are plenty of great organizations out there that rely on people’s donations. My mom contributes to Children’s Hospital every year, another friend sponsors a young teens ability to go to summer camp. Breast cancer, autism, water in 3rd world countries, sponsoring a child in africa the possibilities are endless. When you finish reading this blog I dare you to just go to any organization and give them $1…thats right just $1. I want you to realize that it doesn’t matter how much you give, all that matters is that you give.

Do it! Give money to someone or something. Here is my favorite organization…I strongly believe in their cause.

www.invisiblechildren.com

Did you give a dollar yet? No?! Then GO NOW!

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2 COMMENTS

  1. D Ninja, I just found your site through random clickings from tipd.com. I love the site and the URL name! Your informal style is great! I’m glad to hear that you’re a Christian and you tithe! Tithing can be difficult but a great exercise, as you’ve found. I’ll certainly be back to read more!

  2. Hey Laura,

    Thanks for checking the site out. Your encouraging words go a long way! I’m getting better at the tithing gig, working on making it a habit so it doesn’t “hurt” each time I drop a check in the basket. At the end of the day I know it’s not my money anyways 🙂

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