If you’re at a place in your life where you have a lot of spare time but little or no spare money, then by all means volunteer. But that’s not the situation Sharon’s asking about. She does have some spare money, and is wondering how much of it to give away and how much to save for herself. Saying “just give your time instead” doesn’t really answer the question, because once she’s given her time, she’s still left with the question of what to do with her money.

If you’re in a situation where you need to decide between giving time and giving money (although I have trouble imagining how that would arise – why not give both, if you have some of each?), the way to decide is to ask the organization you want to help what they need most. (And be prepared to hear that what they need most is not what you’re most interested in giving.) Because in the end, that’s what it’s all about – what’s the most beneficial to the people or cause you want to benefit, not what’s most “meaningful” or “deliberate” for you.

Once I no longer needed all my money for myself, I had the same question. Part of me felt that I should give as much as I could afford to without going into poverty myself. But part of me didn’t want to give away half my income–I wanted it all for myself. I looked up the average amount that other Americans were donating (back then it was something crazy small, like 3%) and decided that anything more was a good compromise. I ended up settling on the Biblical 10% as a final goal (I worked my way up to it slowly). That doesn’t all go to the poor–much of it is for the environment and to fight pain and abuse.

Since then I’ve added another 1% for things I actually use but don’t have to pay for (like public TV and free computer resources) and another 1% to promote things I wish we had (like more biking trails). The former is kind of like paying people back and the latter is almost wholly selfish, though it helps others with my same wants.

I’ve also decided I’d like to set aside a certain amount to lend family and friends when a loan could help them get to a place where they could better help themselves, though currently I just take that money out of my “fun” budget.

I’ve decided not to feel guilty that I could afford more but don’t pay more. Mostly because feeling guilty is no fun. Because I’ve chosen a percentage, then when I make more, I also donate more, so that’s good, though it probably should be like income tax where the percentage goes up as my earnings go up.

It’s been estimated that a transfer of 1% of the rich world’s income to the poor world would be enough to alleviate the worst effects of poverty. (The number may be a bit higher now, with the increasing effects of climate-related disasters, but that’s the right order of magnitude.) So I regard 1% as a good minimum amount to give – it’s doing your share, but no more. But eventually, you’ll want to give more, to make up for other people who aren’t doing their share.

So start by giving 1%, and then as your income increases (as hopefully it will), increase your donation by a portion of your pay raise. That’s what I did, starting five years ago, and my donation is now up to 7% of my income. Could I give more? Sure I could. And in the very near future, I will.