People think it's counterproductive to be thrifty and financially generous, at the same time, but that's because they're discounting how regularly giving money away will change you and your social environment positively.
Not in the least, it's a constant reminder of the value and the scarcity of money.
well said.
imo, thrift is being a tight ass against your wants
generosity is being abundant with your projection of some need you value
Yes, it's the goal of financial virtue, rather than wealth-maximation, but it often leads to a net-increase in wealth.
Being careful with your finances and serious about running a tight budget, while reminding yourself that money isn't everything by giving some of that money away, versus being stingy and miserly.
I've never been good at this. Either being thrifty or generous. I have been recently working on this by trying to support things I find important, like nature preservation or buying books for kids when I go to the book store. Even donating to open source.
Give where you want to see growth.
As for thrifty, it becomes a hunt rather than an I have to
It's also about making decisions and prioritizing.
There are things I splurge on, like shopping at farmers' markets, buying well-made shoes, or being a Nostrich patron, and I don't feel bad spending that money because I otherwise run such a tight ship.
It's my little luxury.
I had to learn this the hard way, when I reverted to Christianity, because we're expected to be charitable and I was completely broke and in debt. 🙈
I started out just putting $2/week in the collection plate and eating noodles with ketchup for dinner, to cover the cost. 😂
That really motivated me to get my financial house in order. Took months to get up to $5/week, but that $3 difference made me feel like
My trick is strict budgeting and including "generous stuff" as a line-item. Even when I only had $10/month to give, it was regular and consistent, and when it was gone it was gone.
I wholeheartedly agree. Just chatting up someone the other day who was arguing about how “irrational” people are — which dangerously opens the consideration of central planning/censorship etc. — and proposed that response suggests they lacked a broader perspective of incentives.
Humans are extremely complex, social animals.
Few.
