Day 239 - Church giving and tithing

I have decided that, for our family's purposes (and every family is different), for now, our kids can decide who and how much they want to give their DONATION money too.

I'm not going to tell them that they have to give it all every week to our Church. They are having too much fun - and, in 11 and 13 year old language, that means, they are curious and genuinely interested (doesn't happen often to 11 and 13 year olds) - with this experience that for me to start wrecking it now.

As for us, the family has always put something in the basket, usually close to the same amount on a fairly regular basis. But, we've never committed to a number. And, we've never really thought about what that number or percent should be.

So, what's my next step? Increase it by 10% until I get to 10%. Tithing 10% right now, out of the blue would just blow away our "budget" (as it is, which is much better than it was about 8 months ago). I'm estimating what I put in the collection plate for all of last year and increasing it by 10%. That's how much I'm writing on the pledge card for next year. Then I'm dividing it by 12 months - and setting it up for AUTOMATIC debit from our checking account each month.

Yahooo!

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Theresa Markham, Esq.
Author, The Kids' Bank Book