Considering the characteristics of our financial lives, I believe giving to others is the most underrated, most overlooked and most gratifying component of our financial lives. When we give to other people it does something to us physically, emotionally and often spiritually. When people give from the heart, they show their selflessness and compassion for other people. There’s nothing in this world that compares quite like giving to assist another.
Incredibly Fulfilling
At our core, we are built to help each other. As parents, we have to raise our children. We have to nurture and teach them everything we can to help them be productive citizens. Financial giving is an extension of our nature to serve. We can serve many ways and many times it’s more important to serve in a capacity other than financially. The takeaway is when we give and help others we are fulfilling our spirit to serve. Think about the times you have done something for someone and walked away feeling like this person was so appreciative and thankful of what you did, but you were more than happy to help them. That’s the fulfilling relationship of freely giving.
Example for Children
Parents all want their children to be intelligent with money. Many schools don’t teach classes on personal finance or wealth creation. Therefore, as parents, we want to work to set guidelines for how our children handle money. Much of what they learn comes from our discussions, but also from watching how we manage our finances.
It’s important to not only teach children about budgeting, saving and spending, but to also teach them about giving. When children learn to give, they learn to be selfless. For example, my young daughter pays her own offering at church. She has developed a strong spirit of giving, to the point that when the offering is collected, she wants to give and is prepared to give before she leaves home. She realizes that giving doesn’t keep her from gaining, it adds to someone else’s life. Give in front of your children and give with your children and they will build those good habits as well.
Paying it Forward
As Americans, we are blessed in so many great ways. We have our freedom, access to health care, good schools, paved roads, clean water, many forms of accessible transportation and the list goes on and on. We must realize that someone paved the way for us. Their sacrifices are the foundation our lives are built on. Our founding fathers, the civil rights movement, the equal rights movement, even my great-great-Grandmother that was a slave and others have sacrificed and “paid it forward,” monetarily and otherwise. This should remind us we must pay it forward. We are compelled to do so in many ways, but specifically financially, we must help where we can to continue progress. If it’s an Alumnus at a school who can assist in a small way with funds for building a new building or if it’s buying someone food because they don’t have anything to eat that night, both of those are helping our society move forward in a positive way. We can’t grow, learn or build with a closed hand. We have to open our hands to help others. Giving is a means of everyone pulling together as we build a better tomorrow. Paying it forward is vital to our lives and you will be glad you did.
Giving has many financial rewards, including tax write-offs. Charitable giving will allow you to write off what amounts to 20-30% of the charitable gift depending on your personal tax situation. That’s a great benefit we are offered which many other countries do not offer. As great as that benefit is, giving should be based on the condition of your heart and not tax ramifications. Giving is a privilege. When you give with the spirit of no reciprocity needed, that’s when you get the most reciprocity ever…you are given the gift to serve another human being in unconditional love.
BMWK – can share examples of how giving has increased your life?