Mustachian charity

[pumpkinlantern]

In the spirit of the holidays...

I was thinking how MMM helps us become better, more charitable people.  Frugality is often (in my opinion, wrongly) associated with being "cheap" or "not generous" or "uncharitable".  I think the opposite is true.  I often find that my spender friends and colleagues who buy everything in sight and are head over their heals in debt are the ones who are cheap when it comes to giving.  Maybe its because they are so overwhelmed with their weak frugality muscles.  It goes something like this: "Whah!  I have no money.  I haven't even bought the newest iPhone yet and my car is almost 6 years old.  I can't afford the money to give anything.  I am so busy I need to buy delivery/take-out for all my meals.  I can't afford the time to help other people.  Life is so hard!!!"  Whereas mustachians who have their lives on the right track and their priorities in the right place are often able to "afford" both the time and money to be charitable as long as they find the object of their charity worthy.

What do you think?

[Cassie]

I agree and my favorite charities are our local Humane Society because the $ stays local and they are a no kill shelter.  My other favorite is the Salvation Army because salaries are very low and the $ really goes to help those in need. They also have a program where men can stay for free for 6 months at their shelter while working a job for just a few dollars/week. The jobs are at their thrift stores etc and they are fed, clothed during the 6 months. They also refer them to local organizations to help them find real jobs. This program is for substance abusers to help them get and stay clean. The only downside is that it is religion based so people in the program have to attend their church while they live there.  They do much good with little $.

[zephyr911]

I have dramatically increased giving post-MMM even as my SR steadily rose. I find it comes naturally... as my monthly savings went from a few hundred to $1k, $2k, and more, it became very easy to also allocate increasing amounts (both recurring and onetime gifts) to various nonprofits. I fronted my mom the cost of a plane ticket a few months ago to visit us, and after she told me about the work she's been doing, I asked her to donate the repayment to her organization instead of me. It didn't take even a second's thought. Back when I was grossing $120k and blowing 99% of the net, it would never have been an option.
And today's giving will be dwarfed by what I give away later, when I'm old enough to see just how far I've overshot my lifetime funding requirements. Not to mention the lifetime of volunteer work that will be made possible by not needing a paid job.

[southern granny]

I love giving to charities that I believe in and like you our local humane society is one that we give to.  I am more careful now about which charities I give to, but I still enjoy giving.   

[Jim2001]

Lend on KIVA.com, though it's not exactly charity, is helping people help themselves.  Also, since it seems that most people actually pay it back, it enables future loans (of 140 loans made, I currently have a 0% default rate and almost $2K in 90+ outstanding loans) so it's money that continues to benefit people all around the world.

I also regularly donate a small amount to two local shelters which provide meals, beds and classes for the local homeless population.

An abundance mentality seems to eventually become self sustaining and self fulfilling.

[mareofnight]

This year I started keeping 5% of my income as the "charity budget". (Unlike other budget items, it must all be spent.) It's interesting how having a large-ish amount of money to work with, and thinking of it as a budget rather than my own money, opened up some ideas. I might get a bunch of gift cards that let you pick between a few charities  (http://www.charityscience.com/charity-gift-cards.html) next year for frI ends and neighbors. (Fun of them, and might get more people interested.) This year I had a lot going on and just gave it all to AMF, which has one of the lowest life saved per $ (http://www.givewell.org/international/top-charities/amf).

My thinking is, why optimize so much when spending money on yourself, and then be inefficient for other people? So I usually look for charities in poorer countries where the money can help more people, and in particular the charities recommend by GiveWell.

[SirFrugal]

I don't give much to charity.  The government already steals enough of my money to redistribute...I just consider some of that about about the equivalent of giving 10% of my income to charity.

[arebelspy]

I don't give much to charity.  The government already steals enough of my money to redistribute...I just consider some of that about about the equivalent of giving 10% of my income to charity.

Odd. I've never had my money stolen by the government. You should see about getting that stopped, or maybe move to a country where the government isn't corrupt and directly stealing money?  I don't see how that relates to charity though.

OT: I do give more now than pre-MMM mentality, though a lot of it is more due to my working on more gratitude and empathy than before, rather than necessarily having more money to donate.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

I don't think the mustachian mindset leads to more charitable giving (the same way being wealthy doesn't). Someone who was focused on reaching financial independence quickly and maximizing their own personal happiness could plausibly be disinclined to give to charity at all.

Personally, it was my exposure to certain readings/teachings that made me want to give charitably in the first place. The amount is influenced by my savings rate (if I have managed to get my savings rate to X%, I can definitely afford to give $Y - especially if it contributes to saving human lives). So in my case, "mustachianism" helps me increase the amount I can give, but doesn't motivate giving in the first place.