Extending Tithing To What I Already Have
Some of us are frugal by choice, and some by necessity. And many, like me, are a combination of both. I am somewhat naturally frugal, in that I like to conserve my resources and use as little as possible, but I also have a tendency to shop and to treat myself and others. Our financial situation forced me to become more conscious of our money, and I have developed a love for frugality and for using what I have wisely, even when I don't desperately have to.
The holiday season is a time to give as well as receive. To share with others as well as be touched by generosity. For most of us, we'll be bestowed with gifts from friends and family (even if we don't want to be) and we'll be giving gifts to others.
So this year, I'm extending the idea of giving 10% to charity (or tithing) and giving 10% of what I already have as well as the "normal" idea of giving 10% of what comes in. I'm a hoarder by nature, and over the past year or so have developed a talent for getting items for free (or close to it) using coupons, sales, and what others refer to as "The Drugstore Game" (bargains at CVS, Walgreens, and RiteAid). I have a hoard of non-perishable food in my pantry, toiletries and cleaning items in my cupboard, and on top of that more free samples of items than I ever thought possible.
But out in the rest of the world, there are people who are hungry. People who don't have a clean pair of clothes. Food banks are suffering in this recession, donations are down, and others need help. My help. If not me, than who?
So I am donating 10% of what I have (that can be donated) this holiday season. I have 20 shirts in my closet. So two of them will be donated to Goodwill. I have 25 boxes of cereal. 3 will be donated to our local food pantry. 11 cans of soup = 1 can donated. And the list goes on. My children will help as well, they will go through their things and choose ones to be donated. And the result will be a distribution of our resources to others who need them more than we do.
What do you have that can be given to someone less fortunate this year?
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8 Responses to “Extending Tithing To What I Already Have”
December 4th, 2008 at 10:12 am
I subscribe to your RSS feed via Bloglines. As of yesterday or today, the feed stopped sending any content and just has the headline. Could you put the content back, please? Love being able to read my 100+ blogs in Bloglines and not have to follow links. (For instance, I only read this post, not the other two that came w/o content, since I don’t have time to open 100s of posting pages each day).
December 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
AnnMarie,
Thank you for letting me know. I’m the administrator of Frugal Hacks, but I didn’t change the settings. I’ll see what I can find out.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Love the idea of donating 10% of what we have. It’s helpful to those in need, frugal and helps with decluttering. A win win situation!
December 4th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
donating alot to freecycle chapter here in Marin – because i know it goes directly to someone who has a specific need for the item
Wrote about it here.
http://www.movingfrommetowe.com/2008/10/17/save-cash-swap-or-give-it-away-2-of-5-ways/
And, donating my time to help sort donations at a very efficient in-take non-profit (Canal Community Alliance) that carefully distributes the basics to immigrants who have recently arrived here.
Here’s a thought for other speakers who ready your wonderful blog: When i am given a mug or t-shirt when speaking at a conference, I bring it back to CCA because both are handy basics. Also complimentary room soaps and shampoos…
December 4th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I’m pretty good about cleaning out the house each season and donating what we don’t need. But today I decided to donate at least 2 non perishable items to my local food bank each week. It will only add a couple dollars to my grocery bill (I can always base my purchase on sales or coupons) and the more people that can make this small commitment the more difference we can make.
December 5th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
What a wonderful idea! We have been clearing out our excess in order to bless others for the past month or so. It is amazing how what I view as unnecessary or excess someone else treasures.
December 9th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
This is a wonderful idea! I have a lot of clothes that need to be donated (probably 3 trash bags) from when we moved into our new house quite some time ago. I also have another closet to go through, but I could definitely do to part with a few of the MANY canned good and non-perishable food. I love being able to help out, but due to our financial situation I haven’t felt that I can give much. Canned food is definitely something I can do!
December 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
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