Charitable Gifts: How to Save Money Aside for Donations Effectively

Giving to charity is a generous act that a person can perform. It can show support for your causes, it can help foster programs in your community, and it can make you feel good, as we all know that the act of giving is a reward in itself. Along with that, giving to charity can be tax write-off come April 15th. Few would argue that donating money to a cause is not worthwhile and fulfilling. However for some, having money to give can be difficult. Young people at the start of their careers may be on a tight budget, or freelancers with varying incomes might have trouble putting the money aside while maintaining their lifestyle. As I am a member of both of those categories, I have developed a system which I use in order to ensure that I have a gift when the time comes to give one.

First, decide what you want to give. Take a real good look at your finances. What do you have left over for spending on every paycheck? How much are you spending from that? This is also a great time to look at where your money is going and evaluate any frugality practices you could employ to save some. For instance, do you know that there are children starving in Africa? Then why are you eating out at nice restaurants three times a week, huh? Obviously I'm kidding, but a look over your spending never hurt anyone. Then decide what suits you. For example, my grandmother always said, "If we all gave a dollar a day..." So that's what I decided to do. I have a transfer of seven dollars go from my checking account into my savings every Monday. You could do whatever amount you determine whenever you decide; twenty dollars every paycheck for example. You could also have a contingency plan for windfalls. I usually say that any amount of "free money" like a large tip at work or a stimulus check, anything over $200, ten percent of it automatically goes into the charity fund.