Wealth again

[ralphmelton]

Gee, I really seem to be obsessing about questions of money and the emotional meaning of money. I suppose it's no surprise where that's coming from.

Anyway, I realized another thing for which I say "I could do this if I were just a bit richer": Charity.

For the year 2000, I gave a full 1% of my income to charity, and I was very happy to do so. I said to myself, "I'm pretty darn well off. It should be totally feasible for me to give 1% of my income to charity every year."

But this year, despite the fact that I have a lot more income than I did in 2000, I am feeling much less able to give to charity. This makes me sad.

(A side note about the question of charity: before we were married, Lori and I had a few awkward discussions about charitable causes. She would urge me to give to some cause, because she is generous beyond words. I would agree with the desirability of giving to charity in general, but I would angst about whether any particular cause was the best use of my charity money. We resolved this tension by me deciding on a charity budget for the year and giving it to Lori to spend as she saw fit. I think it made us both happier to do it that way.)

Comments

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

Lori blushes at the computer to be complimented so sweetly.

Thanks, sweetie *hug*

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I remember when you told me about your donation-money agreement (I don't know why, but I loathe the word 'charity'.) I think that is an excellent system, and I always liked the way you handled it.

Yay!