Thanksgiving has come and gone. I had a great time with family. I hope you did too.
These days, Thanksgiving is followed by Black Friday (I missed out on spending money this year, as I usually do), then Cyber Monday (I might buy things today). All of these special days are geared to part us from our money in the name of consumerism. Or, as the advertisers say, making the holidays special.
Happily, there is also a push towards charitable giving, with Giving Tuesday featured (December 3 this year).
Today I wanted to review some of the blog posts on giving that have affected me most in the past few years.
A few years ago, Penny from She Picks Up Pennies wrote about giving. In You Don’t Have to Give, But You Absolutely Should, she writes about the importance of generosity along the path to financial security. My favorite lines: …so many people feel that they not only have to have their masks positioned just so, but they must also upgrade to an elite model and make sure that they can use their own masks in perpetuity before even deigning to glance at struggling passengers. Some of whom are seated in the very same row.
Tanya (formerly Ms. ONL) at Our Next Life wrote about giving while still on the path to getting rich. In Go Beyond Gratitude, she points out that waiting to give to charity until you get out of debt means you might not get around to giving much at all. She encourages you to give now.
The most insightful and biting piece I read this year was by Matt at Optimize Your Life. In The Case Against Charity, he goes through many of the reasons people give for not giving, including an underlying scarcity mindset and a whole lot of bad arguments. My favorite lines: You’re not going to donate money when you’re rich if you won’t donate now. If you can’t give a dime out of your dollar, then you won’t give a million dollars away when you have ten million...You have to start somewhere.
Just last week, the man behind ESI wrote a tome on The Case For Giving On The Road To Financial Independence. He gives several arguments why giving should be on your to-do list, reviews a few options for giving, and debunks a few excuses for not giving.
Probably my favorite post this year on giving was by the Financial Mechanic. In I Am Not A Generous Person, she talks about her steps to become more generous. The most telling lines: I figured that giving money would come later when I was an adult with a real job. Later, when I was more financially secure. Later, when I had time to figure out the causes I want to give to.…Later was so far in the future, I didn’t think about it. Suddenly, I’m realizing that later is now.
To be honest, though, it was her dragon pictures that really sucked me in.
I also appreciated her discussion of the pros and cons of a donor advised fund.
The Financial Mechanic is taking baby steps towards increasing her generosity. I was thinking of her as I read this article on building habits: The Small Things Are Big Windows Into Who You Are. The article doesn’t really talk about giving, more about making changes in how you see yourself. The author talks about their transformation from a messy person to a tidy one. You can see that just a little change can lead to larger changes in mindset. If you want to be a more generous person, start by being at least a little generous.
This will help you grow your giving muscles. I will return to Penny from She Picks Up Pennies for the last word. Last year she rounded up plenty of Inspiration From Around The PF Community to highlight ways we can all (rich or not yet rich) be more generous in our lives.
Wednesday I plan to write about giving to charity again. Do you give? Do you have a preferred method?