WHY YOU SHOULD TITHE - EVEN IF YOU DONT GO TO CHURCH

Tithe (noun) - A tenth part of one's annual income contributed voluntarily or due as a tax, especially for the support of a religious institution.

Tithe (verb) - To contribute or pay a tenth part of (one's annual income).

One of the Biblical references for tithing can be found in Malachi 3:10. Many religions encourage a one tenth donation to the religious institution or to charity, but you don’t have to be religious to tithe. If you think about it, it’s a very small amount. If you donate 10% of a dollar to a good cause, that’s a dime. You still have ninety cents to use for other pursuits. Donating a tenth of your income to a religious or charitable cause is a good idea. Let me tell you why.

Contribution to Your Community
Although we may call it by different names, many of us tithe at our houses of worship. The funds are used for the upkeep of the church, mosque or synagogue, etc. But many religious institutions also double as social service agencies for the community, providing soup kitchens, food pantries, child care, elder care, and educational programs. When the parishioners donate their tithes, they are also contributing directly to the upkeep of their community.

Even if you do not attend services anywhere or subscribe to any religion, you can contribute your dime to a local or national non-profit organization working on an issue you are passionate about. Small regular donations can mean the world to a local non-profit. Do a quick Better Business Bureau and/or Google search to weed out fraudulent groups. Then take your dime and make a difference.

Whether due to religious obligation or social consciousness, your life improves when your community is doing better. And giving actually feels good.

Budgeting

Budgeting is not the second “b” word. When you realize where your money is ACTUALLY going, you can make better decisions about where it SHOULD be going. With the real numbers, you can adjust even the tiniest amount of money to do more of what you think is important.

When you decide to give 10%, it may be your first time. Your money may be as tight as a drum and you may need to reassess and readjust your spending to make everything fit. This is a positive opportunity to take a look at where your money actually goes, as opposed to where you think it went.

When I went to my nutritionist for the first time, she had me write down everything I ate and what time I ate it, for seven days. I wasn’t supposed to change or alter any of my eating habits just yet. We just wanted an accurate look at the calorie count, and the timing of my food intake.

Try doing the same with your money. For a week, keep a running tab of what you spend. Don’t change anything, just observe. Carry a small notebook, or make a list on your handheld device. When you get seven days of spending in black and white (or brown and yellow, on your iPhone) you can see clearly where your money is going. You can see where that lost second sock in the dryer money has gone.

For instance: if you get coffee and a breakfast sandwich from your favorite fast food coffee restaurant every morning, you spend about $5 a day, five days a week. You probably also get one weekend coffee to curtail that caffeine headache. This comes to about $28 a week, approximately $120 a month. Or, you can buy your favorite coffee at the grocery store, and make it at home. You can also cut back on some of the breakfast sandwiches. The remaining funds could be used for a utility bill, gas for your car, or tithing.

Drop a Dime on Yourself

Tithing or donating 10% of your income can help you to view and spend your money in a different way. This can also change how you spend money on yourself. Back in the day, your older relatives may have had a “Vacation Club” or “Christmas Club” savings account where they put a little aside periodically during the year so they could be ready for the holidays or that annual getaway. Nowadays, because of technology our parents and grandparents never dreamed of, transferring money and putting a little aside is easy to do.

When you decide to tithe and review your budget, you can determine how much you can put aside each paycheck for yourself. Remember that $5 a day spent at the coffee shop we talked about earlier? Could you skip a day and put $5 from each paycheck in a savings or money market account at your bank? What if the $5 was direct deposited into your savings account at the time you got paid, so that you wouldn’t even “miss” it? You can adjust your direct deposit at your HR Department, or in some cases, at your bank.

As these funds accumulate, you could use them for a vacation or holiday. You could leave it in the account, to be used for emergencies. Or you could let it grow into seed money for your home business or your new home. Once you take a closer look at where your money is going through tithing and budgeting, you can take control of it. And the sky is the limit.

Bonus: A Word about Banking

Banking is not the third “b” word. I will write more about this issue in a later post. Many of us are afraid of, or distrustful of banks. Because of this, many of us also stand on line for hours at a local bank or check cashing spot every payday, to cash a paper check.

Opening a bank account benefits you in many ways, including:

• the ability to direct deposit your paycheck, social security checks and/or tax return checks,
• faster, safer access to your money,
• the ability to transfer funds between your accounts, or to other people, online, by phone or at the ATM,
• electronic purchases with your debit card in stores and online,
• immediate online bill payments including utilities and your rent without paying an additional fee, but most importantly,
• you can eat lunch on your lunch hour on payday, instead of standing on line to cash your check!

If you don’t have a bank account, consider opening one so you can protect your hard earned cash.

Let’s Be Careful Out There.