What can the rationale possibly be?

happymomof1
Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:05:57 +0000

Do you have family members who tithe to their church and/or other charitable organizations? If you are the first person in your family to deliberately choose to set aside income this way, your mom may be reacting to the novelty of your decision - particularly if she doesn’t like the organization(s) that would be receiving the money. If there are relatives who do this now who she disagrees with on some fundamental level, it may be about her and them, not about you.

Some people would say that charity begins at home. In other words, until you have paid all of your own current expenses (like that cell phone bill) and set aside money for future expenses (like that college fund), you don’t have much business dedicating any certain amount of money to charity. In fact, an argument could be made that you need to cut back on the cell phone bill and other optional expenses so that you can save even more money for college.

Other people who have a tradition of tithing, do indeed take 10% off the top before anything else. They plan their savings and expenses based on the 90% that is left over. If this is the lifestyle that you want to start practicing, it would be useful for you to discuss your rationale for choosing it with your mom. Again, evaluating all of your expenses and cutting back on unnecessary ones may be part of the overall process.

Michelle Singletary has authored a number of books on personal finance. Some of them specifically address tithing as a factor in financial planning. You, and your mom, might profit from reading some of her publications. Google her to find out more.