Charitable giving at young age

busdriver11
Sun, 23 Apr 2017 03:04:24 +0000

Isn’t this the reason to donate more today while you can? You may be the one who needs help and kindness of others tomorrow, no matter how much you save and plan ahead…

I think it is very important to donate when you can, however, as a young person, unless you have a substantial inheritance, it is unlikely you have built up a large safety net to take care of yourself, should something drastic in your life happen. So I don’t know that heavy giving is the best idea right now. I can understand if someone had been brought up where the family donates substantially (and yours might), if they are highly religious, or they have a cause that they have totally fell in love with.

But what concerns me is that you mentioned her feeling guilty and privileged, that she feels she isn’t doing enough, and that there isn’t a specific cause that she’s attracted to. I think it’s worth figuring out her motives, how much is enough, and why does she not feel like she’s doing enough, even though it’s far more than most.

There is great value in working hard, and saving your money for the things that will come up in life. If she’s making a high income, she’s paying plenty of taxes…if she’s paying 30% of her income or so in taxes, Medicare and FICA, that’s certainly being a productive citizen and giving to others. Does she consider that a contribution?

I’ve seen young people that seemed to have all the privilege in the world fall into awful circumstances. Accidents, unemployment, cancer, violence, death. If you find she is feeling guilty about her life, maybe you can find a way to remind her of this, though the way I say it sounds depressing. Hopefully that’s not the case!