In debt but still give to charity?

chubsta

You could almost draw an analogy here with the way the Government says our country is in terrible debt but we still give billions away on foreign aid, but please, no discussions of that here, i am just wondering how many people are in debt, be it big and unmanageable or small and manageable and yet who still give to charities rather then putting their own problems first.

Personally, my debts are ok - mortgage, loan for a car and home improvements - and certainly manageable, every now and then i will have a LBM and pay a little extra off the mortgage but generally i just bumble along. I am very careful about tracking my spending and have a monthly spreadsheet showing all bills etc which i then add to as i pay for shopping etc, and on this long list of Direct Debits and Standing Orders there are a number of payments i make to some charities.

Of course, I could always cancel them and use the money to pay off some of my debts, but i am very happy to keep helping them - they are small charities which are generally pretty much a bunch of volunteers looking after hedgehogs so i know the money is being used very wisely and visibly (and as I also help with such a charity I know how much hard work and money is involved!). As well as the monthly payments i also spend money on food and equipment donations for them via Amazon etc.

So, my question is, how many other people, despite being in some form of hardship themselves, continue to help charities - my impression of the British people is that we are actually a very caring bunch and often willing to put others first so at this time of year where 'giving' is very much the thing i would love to hear what others thoughts are on this? Of course, i wouldn't expect anyone who is drowning in debt to give anything away, but i bet there are a fair few people out there who do, and i would love to know the reasons why.

sourcrates

I play the Lotto, I guess that's a form of giving to charity !!

tlc678910

I heard somewhere that giving to charity should hurt just a little bit and it's a sentiment I agree with, whether for you that means finding the cash for an extra item with your weekly shop for the food bank or a richer person writing a cheque for thousands.

While in debt we have a chippy tea each week (meaning we put over £60 a month over the counter at the chippy) and always other non essential spends too like this month socialising for big family birthdays and going to the hairdresser.

If we were to cut back harder it would not be on the small charity direct debit I have or the small things I did for the food bank, local appeals and international appeal donation I made this month, which to be fair were in total less than we spend on chips!

Tlc

January2015

Yes, we give to charity. Not on a regular basis, but always at Christmas (instead of sending Christmas cards) and throughout the year through sponsorships for fund raising by family and friends.

DrWatson1

If you're in debt and still wanting to do a little for charity, you can always give up time rather than money.

However, to answer the main question, you can still give a little as and when you can afford it, however it's probably prudent to suspend the direct debits.

MrsTinks

I support various charities to be honest. One in the US saving horses bound for slaughter and a number in the U.K. - mainly food banks, homeless charities and the air ambulances - this is a choice absolutely but things that I feel are important to me to support ��

chubsta

DrWatson1 wrote: »

If you're in debt and still wanting to do a little for charity, you can always give up time rather than money.

However, to answer the main question, you can still give a little as and when you can afford it, however it's probably prudent to suspend the direct debits.

Im happy to pay the DDs - its not huge amounts and i can afford it as my debts aren't huge anyway, in fact i would rather cut down on my weekly 'allowance' (I only allow myself a certain amount each week for treats etc) rather than cut the charity money. I am no hero by any means, I guess you can look at it as a hobby of mine, certainly cheaper than golf and given the way charities can give updates via social media these days it is a way to feel involved.

Nice to see other people do the same though, 'grass-roots' charities such as i support can take so much time and money from the people who do it out of love that it would feel wrong not to try to help a little. Of course, the big 'charities' who employ loads of people on huge salaries can go xxxx themselves in my opinion...

Richey_

Do you want a medal?

You chose to get into debt - a child of abuse, a person homeless through no fault of their own or child in a third world/war torn country has no choice in this matter.

No one is making you give monies to charity, I know what I do (privately)......

freshcotton

I'm always proud as to how much the UK gives to charity.

Slightly off topic perhaps; however the UK economy thrives by exploiting many third world countries in terms of trade. The foreign aid budget is a drop in the ocean.

Richey_

I agree totally

Mrs_Ryan

I don't give to any of the major charities anymore as they're all just a bunch of hypocrites. I often give clothes to the local Air Ambulance shop and I occasionally give to Alopecia UK (I suffer from alopecia and they're a surprisingly grass roots charity) and Fightback who do a great job. The other week I also collected some unwanted brand new toiletries and bought hats, gloves, warm socks, chocolates and mince pies for a local homeless charity to distribute to homeless people which they were grateful for.
The only debt I have though are two credit cards with £400 limit between them (and currently only £95 outstanding)When however I was in debt I was forever setting up direct debits to whichever charity did the begging spiel on me...