At some point along your financial journey, generosity will become a topic of discussion. However, it is sometimes found at the bottom of the money spectrum. Our financial priorities often fall in this order:
- Spending - on both our wants and needs
- Managing Debt
- Minimizing Taxes
- Saving for the future
- Giving
When this happens, living a generous life financially can be confused with random acts of kindness. Random acts of kindness are great…but they typically only happen reactively.
Here are three tips for moving generosity to a higher priority:
- IDENTIFY: Identify the areas you want to support financially in your life. You can do this by asking two simple questions:
What am I grateful for?
Are there people or organizations that have blessed you or your family in such a way that you want to give back?
What breaks my heart?
Are there injustices in the world that perhaps you can’t fix alone…but you can support those that are making a difference?
- PLAN: Be proactive and develop a plan. Once you decide what to support, determine the amount or percentage you plan to give and how often. For example, will it be a one-time gift or an ongoing commitment?
- SCHEDULE: Be proactive and schedule your generosity. What gets scheduled gets done. This is not meant to limit those random acts of kindness…but will provide the foundation to support a generous life.
It is often said that a generous person is never regretful. What we do often regret is money wasted over the years that could have been used to help others.
Although building wealth is at the core of every financial plan, it is often not the end-all goal. Ultimately, building wealth can be a means to facilitate a life of generosity.