6 ms·

This is true of most money behaviors! My mom taught me the same thing about giving. And even today, knowing way more about personal finance than I did at the s

This is true of most money behaviors! My mom taught me the same thing about giving. And even today, knowing way more about personal finance than I did at the start of my working life, I'm still amazed at how blocking out money in the budget astronomically increases your chances that that money actually goes to the thing you want.

tonyhart7 1y ago
"My mom taught me the same thing about giving." care to share what you learn???
- imp0cat 1y ago
  Probably something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ayPuijerjQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ayPuijerjQ tldr; have your kids split their money into three separate "jars": Spend (can be freely spent), Save (this jar generates interest from the money in it, they also have to wait some time to access the money if they want to spend them) and Give (for charity).
- vasco 1y ago
  They mean don't wait till you're rich to start giving charity. Just give what you can when you can. Many people tell themselves they are great people because of all the money they'd give away just as soon as they are rich enough to do it but die without giving anything.
  - Brendinooo 1y ago
    More or less: yup. The great thing about saying "give 10%" is how well it scales.
    - simianparrot 1y ago
      Except it doesn’t. If you’re poor, 10% directly impacts your life negatively. It means less (or lesser quality) food. It means less money set aside for yourself in the case you need it — and you will. 10% for middle class is fine. That’s just one less night out. People should not give to charity if they themselves are likely to be dependent on charity.
      - mathgeek 1y ago
        This comment perfectly illustrates the mindset folks are talking about. "I'll give when it doesn't hurt me so much" is another form of "I'll give when I have more." It doesn't make the person "bad" or any such thing for not giving, but you won't convince folks to not give by saying "but what about you, don't you want nicer food/clothes/etc."
        bluGill 1y ago
        Most people do think they have less than they really do - which is to say there are families living on less income than they are thus proving it is possible with some luxury quality of life compromises. However that doesn't destroy the point that there are people at or near the bottom who shouldn't be giving.
        simianparrot 1y ago
        I live in reality. It's me first, then it's my family and my close friends, and then my local community and then, finally, local charities. That's how my budget works. A budget is money in and money out. And when all of that is good, then maybe I'll think about larger charities where I can't be directly involved to see where my help actually goes.
      - vasco 1y ago
        > give what you can when you can
      - Brendinooo 1y ago
        I could get into virtue ethics or religion but I know this is Hacker News, so maybe I can frame it like this: Telling people to wait until they're financially stable before giving risks creating a dynamic where people never start. The person who says "I'll give when I can afford it" at $30k is likely to say the same thing at $100k, because the scarcity mindset scales with income. Small-scale giving early on helps build the identity and habits of someone who contributes to their community rather than just consuming from it. And arguably there are network effects formed from generosity of time/money that can bring long-term benefits as well. It's a spicier idea, but I could even suggest that giving helps you see money as a tool rather than as security itself.

tonyhart7 1y ago

"My mom taught me the same thing about giving." care to share what you learn???

imp0cat 1y ago
Probably something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ayPuijerjQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ayPuijerjQ tldr; have your kids split their money into three separate "jars": Spend (can be freely spent), Save (this jar generates interest from the money in it, they also have to wait some time to access the money if they want to spend them) and Give (for charity).
vasco 1y ago
They mean don't wait till you're rich to start giving charity. Just give what you can when you can. Many people tell themselves they are great people because of all the money they'd give away just as soon as they are rich enough to do it but die without giving anything.
- Brendinooo 1y ago
  More or less: yup. The great thing about saying "give 10%" is how well it scales.
  - simianparrot 1y ago
    Except it doesn’t. If you’re poor, 10% directly impacts your life negatively. It means less (or lesser quality) food. It means less money set aside for yourself in the case you need it — and you will. 10% for middle class is fine. That’s just one less night out. People should not give to charity if they themselves are likely to be dependent on charity.
    - mathgeek 1y ago
      This comment perfectly illustrates the mindset folks are talking about. "I'll give when it doesn't hurt me so much" is another form of "I'll give when I have more." It doesn't make the person "bad" or any such thing for not giving, but you won't convince folks to not give by saying "but what about you, don't you want nicer food/clothes/etc."
      - bluGill 1y ago
        Most people do think they have less than they really do - which is to say there are families living on less income than they are thus proving it is possible with some luxury quality of life compromises. However that doesn't destroy the point that there are people at or near the bottom who shouldn't be giving.
      - simianparrot 1y ago
        I live in reality. It's me first, then it's my family and my close friends, and then my local community and then, finally, local charities. That's how my budget works. A budget is money in and money out. And when all of that is good, then maybe I'll think about larger charities where I can't be directly involved to see where my help actually goes.
    - vasco 1y ago
      > give what you can when you can
    - Brendinooo 1y ago
      I could get into virtue ethics or religion but I know this is Hacker News, so maybe I can frame it like this: Telling people to wait until they're financially stable before giving risks creating a dynamic where people never start. The person who says "I'll give when I can afford it" at $30k is likely to say the same thing at $100k, because the scarcity mindset scales with income. Small-scale giving early on helps build the identity and habits of someone who contributes to their community rather than just consuming from it. And arguably there are network effects formed from generosity of time/money that can bring long-term benefits as well. It's a spicier idea, but I could even suggest that giving helps you see money as a tool rather than as security itself.