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If your discretionary income is reduced, do you first cut back on personal luxuries or charitable giving?
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October 31, 2009 05:40 PM
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Most people will cut out the charitable giving first. If we can't take care of ourselves we won't be much help to anyone else anyway. Why they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first on the airplane. Maybe I'm selfish, but my first obligation is my family and myself so that the charity of others can go to someone else.
Then of course I'd cut out personal luxuries. If I can't pay my bills I don't feel that I deserve "luxuries" and I try to cut out as much frivolous stuff as possible. I don't believe in not having any rewards, because in the end I need to know that I'm working hard for a reason, not just to pay the utilities. Work becomes a lot more difficult if you don't ever get to enjoy the money you make.
Then of course I'd cut out personal luxuries. If I can't pay my bills I don't feel that I deserve "luxuries" and I try to cut out as much frivolous stuff as possible. I don't believe in not having any rewards, because in the end I need to know that I'm working hard for a reason, not just to pay the utilities. Work becomes a lot more difficult if you don't ever get to enjoy the money you make.
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October 31, 2009 05:00 AM
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I know that most people will *say* that they'd try to keep their charitable donations going, when in fact everyone knows that charity would probably be the first thing they'd cut, but, oddly, I found that's not necessarily the case.
Years ago I went through a very tough spot, wherein everything was being spent to keep the business going, such that I had so little money for personal luxury that I was budgeting to have a tin of peanuts and a package of cheep wafer cookies and one chocolate bar per week...
Yet, curiously... during that time... if I was lucky and some windfall money came to me, I was strangely easy about sharing part of it with panhandlers and buskers, when in fact that should have been the time when I could have stockpiled the cookies and chocolate bars.
So... I know what I would *plan* to do... but what I ended up *doing* was not the same thing.
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Years ago I went through a very tough spot, wherein everything was being spent to keep the business going, such that I had so little money for personal luxury that I was budgeting to have a tin of peanuts and a package of cheep wafer cookies and one chocolate bar per week...
Yet, curiously... during that time... if I was lucky and some windfall money came to me, I was strangely easy about sharing part of it with panhandlers and buskers, when in fact that should have been the time when I could have stockpiled the cookies and chocolate bars.
So... I know what I would *plan* to do... but what I ended up *doing* was not the same thing.
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October 31, 2009 11:47 AM
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I would personally cut back on both.
I don't have many personal luxuries, but I do have a few inexpensive ones that I do not want to give up. So I purposely find ways to enjoy my lunches out with friends by using "buy one get one free" coupons or watching for "specials". Also my bingo games (which I only play at our clubhouse, where it is very reasonable to play -- plus I keep that money separate so have money in that purse if I have a few times when I don't win anything -- I am lucky enough to continue to have enough winnings over-all to keep playing on that money and not have to go into any household money at all).
As for charitable giving, I have never had enough extra funds to go into this in a big way, but I still support certain children and veteran associations. Plus I find it very rewarding to spend whatever other funds I can set aside on LOCAL needs -- families that have had their house burned down, a local food bank, shelters for abused women or children, etc.
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I don't have many personal luxuries, but I do have a few inexpensive ones that I do not want to give up. So I purposely find ways to enjoy my lunches out with friends by using "buy one get one free" coupons or watching for "specials". Also my bingo games (which I only play at our clubhouse, where it is very reasonable to play -- plus I keep that money separate so have money in that purse if I have a few times when I don't win anything -- I am lucky enough to continue to have enough winnings over-all to keep playing on that money and not have to go into any household money at all).
As for charitable giving, I have never had enough extra funds to go into this in a big way, but I still support certain children and veteran associations. Plus I find it very rewarding to spend whatever other funds I can set aside on LOCAL needs -- families that have had their house burned down, a local food bank, shelters for abused women or children, etc.
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October 31, 2009 09:56 PM
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I'd probably try and do both equally. If you cut everything you like out of your life to give to other people, your quality of life will seriously begin to suffer. However, to be honest, I'd probably instead choose to work harder to make up for the lower income and keep everything the same. I believe in supporting the causes I care about and wouldn't want them to have a shortfall if everyone lightened up on their giving at the same time.
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