You can afford to give to charity if you’re a little creative about how you do it.  Besides money, goods and service are other valuable ways to contribute to a worthy cause.  Some folks set yearly goals for their donations:  a dollar amount, or a percentage of their income, or set a number of hours.  

I use a percentage, and figure out the dollar amount for the year based off it.   That’s what I OWE to charity.  I start off donating goods, because it costs me nothing to get rid of stuff I don’t use, and helps me keep organized.

Mostly, I donate clothes to the Brown Elephant.  The Salvation Army has value guide for donated goods which I force myself to strictly adhere, otherwise I’m tempted to take the brand or retail price into account.  (Remember, you’re giving it to charity, not selling it on Ebay.) 

My mother has a great thought on donated goods:  that you may only donate that which is in working order, of good appearance, clean, and whole.  She said to me, people who are down on their luck still deserve nice things, and giving them your TRASH is an insult.  Burn!  But, really true. 

I keep my receipts from the Brown Elephant, subtract them from the amount I “owe” to charity, and write them off my taxes.  At the end of the year, I give the balance, in cash, to my favorite charity, The Actors Fund, which we’ll talk about tomorrow.

If you’re donating your service, I suggest dividing the amount you “owe” by minimum wage, $5.85, to determine the amount of hours.  Note, however, that you can’t write donated hours off your taxes.