Not a DFW but still an SOA

BexInLondon

chewmylegoff wrote: »

basically, you have asked how to reduce your non essential expenditure.

the two obvious ways are to spend less on food, and to stop giving £185pcm away.

you don't want to do this because you like to buy local organic stuff, and you like giving money to charity. ok...but really in that regard you might as well have £100 on sky tv on there and then explain that you don't want to give it up because you like watching live football. if you need to save more money, then stop giving £185pm away.

plus i would be surprised if your church started paying your mortgage if you fall upon hard times. maybe i'm wrong...

Fair enough, and very true, I was just hoping someone would be able to suggest ways to save on any of the other bits (phone, net, bills etc).

Bufger

BexInLondon wrote: »

Fair enough, and very true, I was just hoping someone would be able to suggest ways to save on any of the other bits (phone, net, bills etc).

It looks like you've cut back everything else.

That is a very big monthly donation and to be completely honest you dont actually see where its being spent. I do alot of charity work and rarely see the benefits of donations, it must line hundreds of pockets on the way - you would be extremely suprised.

If you must donate that much to charity then it would be a far more rewarding (and helpful) experience to save that money and get a flight out to uganda/zimbabwe etc and help build a school/well etc. Im involved with one such project and at £700 for the flights with your accomodation and food free with the project it actually makes a massive difference to the people that need it. You will find some local churches running such things. If you're a complete charity nutcase then have your honeymoon out there, it would certainly be very different and would save you the 1,800 you have saved for it currently.

poppysarah

It's a huge charity donation. Give time instead.

Get an allotment and put your time into growing organic veggies and fruit. Has a cost outlay but not more than the charity donation I shouldn't think.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/01/iplayer_does_not_require_a_tv_1.html

So a live simulcast over the web from the BBC - of, say, the Beijing Olympics - will require a TV licence, but watching an on-demand (non-live) stream or download through the BBC iPlayer will not.

BexInLondon

Bufger wrote: »

It looks like you've cut back everything else.

That is a very big monthly donation and to be completely honest you dont actually see where its being spent. I do alot of charity work and rarely see the benefits of donations, it must line hundreds of pockets on the way - you would be extremely suprised.

If you must donate that much to charity then it would be a far more rewarding (and helpful) experience to save that money and get a flight out to uganda/zimbabwe etc and help build a school/well etc. Im involved with one such project and at £700 for the flights with your accomodation and food free with the project it actually makes a massive difference to the people that need it. You will find some local churches running such things. If you're a complete charity nutcase then have your honeymoon out there, it would certainly be very different and would save you the 1,800 you have saved for it currently.

Thanks Bufger - really loving the idea of using our honeymoon fund to actually go out and visit a project - I'm going to do a bit of research into that. If you know of any starting points I'd be very grateful, though we only have 2 weeks to use so can't go too far!

As it goes, almost all of our giving is very local, and we know the projects involved very well (have done a lot of volunteering there too), so we know exactly what things are spent on. And as for our church, well we see what they're using money for too, and it doesn't seem wasted at all! I find it really rewarding to see the money we give changing the community we live in, which is one of the neediest in the UK. I grew up round here, and if it weren't for the help we got as a family I don't know if I'd still be around. I certainly don't think I'd have gone to university or have a job! I agree that giving money to far-off causes can sometimes end up only making a very marginal difference, which is why generally we prefer to give to projects we know a lot about.

It's been interesting to see people's responses on here, but I guess a lot of it is down to context. I'm happy (well, most of the time) not to spend the ridiculous amounts I used to spend on clothes and going out and instead to give to those who have so much less than me, but just want to make sure I'm not giving unnecessary donations to my utilities companies! I might start a thread something asking others about their charitable giving, and where they see it in terms of priorities. I suppose one argument would be that paying off the mortgage is more urgent as it frees up exponentially more cash for giving (or spending) later, but OH and I have come to the conclusion that if we don't get into the habit of giving to others now then we'll easily find excuses not to when we have loads of money. I know when I was on the city treadmill I kept moving the goalposts of what being secure financially meant, and I came to the conclusion that you're never secure, though debts are best avoided!

Fire_Fox

BexInLondon wrote: »

As it goes, almost all of our giving is very local, and we know the projects involved very well (have done a lot of volunteering there too), so we know exactly what things are spent on. And as for our church, well we see what they're using money for too, and it doesn't seem wasted at all! I find it really rewarding to see the money we give changing the community we live in, which is one of the neediest in the UK. I grew up round here, and if it weren't for the help we got as a family I don't know if I'd still be around. I certainly don't think I'd have gone to university or have a job! I agree that giving money to far-off causes can sometimes end up only making a very marginal difference, which is why generally we prefer to give to projects we know a lot about.

If you learned to complete grant application forms you could see far more work done in your community - set up a social enterprise.

BexInLondon

Fire_Fox wrote: »

If you learned to complete grant application forms you could see far more work done in your community - set up a social enterprise.

Guess what my first job was? And my second? And my third? Ok not my fourth or fifth but hey!