Tithing

[stuck]

For most of us I'm sure we spent way too much money on tithing I still feel compelled to pay some but not nearly as much as in the past (Because my wife still expects me to be a "full tithe payer". As time goes on however, I feel less inclined to pay to the "morg". But I think I would feel better if I put that money where it could do some real good. Are any of you guys in the same boat and if so, where do you put that money?

[Red Ryder]

In my 401K!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Effing “church” has billions of dollars and they want the members to give more?? For what, intangible religious benefits? So you can attend the temple? Perform ordinances? Such a scam. Pay to play...

The church doesn’t need your money.

Invest in your future today. Pay the church tomorrow if they can’t keep their lights on and actually need donations.

[Linked]

Once a month on a stay-home-Sunday I sit down with my kids and we pick a charity to give to. It's not a ton of money (nowhere near 10%), but I feel good about it and I think it sets a good example of giving for the kids. They pick a cause they are interested in helping, then we search for charities and review the charity rankings together so they can learn how to vet a charity.

And I spend the rest on my family's future and present.

[Hagoth]

Mrs. Hagoth started using her tithing money to help friends in need, rather than feed the church, when she learned about Ensign Peak. I quit years ago. We haven't noticed any reduction in blessings.

[Palerider]

Mrs. Palerider and I have set up a college scholarship fund at our local community college.

It has specific criteria to meet. Namely that the receiving individual must be an impoverished single parent with small children, trying to educate themselves so that they can take care of their family. There are other criteria as well but you get the jist.

Every six months through the school, we receive letters of appreciation from the students.

We have taken steps to ensure our anonymity.

It has been very gratifying.

[Just This Guy]

Our tithing goes to charities.

DW and I have a thing where we will pick a theme for each month and see what organizations we can support based on that theme. It's something we try to have fun with.

August was LGBTQ month. We donated to the local chapter of the ACLU to support their work to protect LGBTQ issues in my state. We also got several rainbow umbrella out of it. Thanks Hagoth for the recommendation!
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5884&p=84503&hilit=umbrella#p84503

September was supporting local animal rescues.

We haven't decided on October yet, but I'm leaning towards literary education.

[nibbler]

For most of us I'm sure we spent way too much money on tithing I still feel compelled to pay some but not nearly as much as in the past (Because my wife still expects me to be a "full tithe payer". As time goes on however, I feel less inclined to pay to the "morg". But I think I would feel better if I put that money where it could do some real good. Are any of you guys in the same boat and if so, where do you put that money?

If you feel obligated to pay tithing and you also feel you overpaid in the past, one approach is to discontinue paying tithing for a while until you feel like you've restored a balance. Once the balance is struck you can go back to paying tithing at the rate that you feel is just.

Example:
Say you paid $1000 in tithing one month but you feel you should have only paid $500. Don't pay any tithing the next month and then the two months together average out to $500/month. Then you can continue to pay $500 from that point on.

[stuck]

In my 401K!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Effing “church” has billions of dollars and they want the members to give more?? For what, intangible religious benefits? So you can attend the temple? Perform ordinances? Such a scam. Pay to play...

The church doesn’t need your money.

Invest in your future today. Pay the church tomorrow if they can’t keep their lights on and actually need donations.

I agree-the church doesn't need my money! If everyone stopped paying tithing now, it could probably survive a long time on that 120+billion right?

[stuck]

Once a month on a stay-home-Sunday I sit down with my kids and we pick a charity to give to. It's not a ton of money (nowhere near 10%), but I feel good about it and I think it sets a good example of giving for the kids. They pick a cause they are interested in helping, then we search for charities and review the charity rankings together so they can learn how to vet a charity.

And I spend the rest on my family's future and present.

That is great Linked! Which charities have you found to be the best?

[stuck]

Mrs. Hagoth started using her tithing money to help friends in need, rather than feed the church, when she learned about Ensign Peak. I quit years ago. We haven't noticed any reduction in blessings.

Helping friends in need is also a wonderful idea.

[stuck]

Mrs. Palerider and I have set up a college scholarship fund at our local community college.

It has specific criteria to meet. Namely that the receiving individual must be an impoverished single parent with small children, trying to educate themselves so that they can take care of their family. There are other criteria as well but you get the jist.

Every six months through the school, we receive letters of appreciation from the students.

We have taken steps to ensure our anonymity.

It has been very gratifying.

That is awesome Palerider! How much did it take to get the scholarship started?

[stuck]

Our tithing goes to charities.

DW and I have a thing where we will pick a theme for each month and see what organizations we can support based on that theme. It's something we try to have fun with.

August was LGBTQ month. We donated to the local chapter of the ACLU to support their work to protect LGBTQ issues in my state. We also got several rainbow umbrella out of it. Thanks Hagoth for the recommendation!
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5884&p=84503&hilit=umbrella#p84503

September was supporting local animal rescues.

We haven't decided on October yet, but I'm leaning towards literary education.

That's great JTG!

[stuck]

For most of us I'm sure we spent way too much money on tithing I still feel compelled to pay some but not nearly as much as in the past (Because my wife still expects me to be a "full tithe payer". As time goes on however, I feel less inclined to pay to the "morg". But I think I would feel better if I put that money where it could do some real good. Are any of you guys in the same boat and if so, where do you put that money?

If you feel obligated to pay tithing and you also feel you overpaid in the past, one approach is to discontinue paying tithing for a while until you feel like you've restored a balance. Once the balance is struck you can go back to paying tithing at the rate that you feel is just.

Example:
Say you paid $1000 in tithing one month but you feel you should have only paid $500. Don't pay any tithing the next month and then the two months together average out to $500/month. Then you can continue to pay $500 from that point on.

That's a great thought Nibbler! I think I have paid enough tithing to last a lifetime. However, if I get any guilty feelings, donating to a charity, helping out friends or setting up a scholarship are wonderful ideas.

[Linked]

That is great Linked! Which charities have you found to be the best?

There are so many charities it is hard to pick a "best", but there seem to be a lot of good options for all sorts of causes. Typically we pick a cause and then use https://www.charitywatch.org/ and https://www.charitynavigator.org/ to review the various charity organizations. Those websites will provide some details and share what percent of funding goes to the cause vs. overhead, as well as how much it costs them to raise money (like $10 to raise $100).

We've donated to our local Meals on Wheels, The Road Home, a green energy lobbyist group, the Humane Society, among others.

[Palerider]

Mrs. Palerider and I have set up a college scholarship fund at our local community college.

It has specific criteria to meet. Namely that the receiving individual must be an impoverished single parent with small children, trying to educate themselves so that they can take care of their family. There are other criteria as well but you get the jist.

Every six months through the school, we receive letters of appreciation from the students.

We have taken steps to ensure our anonymity.

It has been very gratifying.

That is awesome Palerider! How much did it take to get the scholarship started?

The school never required a specific amount. They helped us set it up and were just happy to have the funding available for students who were in financial straights.

We started with "several" scholarships at the $500 mark and "several" more at the $1000 mark. As the years went on we just increased the number of scholarships available while the $500 and $1000 amounts stayed the same.
It's a small school and tuition isn't like a major university. Most students are just trying to get some marketable skills so they don't have to be 23 years old working at McDonald's trying to support kids that came too early.

[Hagoth]

Mrs. Palerider and I have set up a college scholarship fund at our local community college.

Excellent!

[Cnsl1]

Your local public schools also always need money, especially to help support extra curricular things like athletics, music, arts, drama, not to mention basic school supplies. Some schools have more funding than others. Some are in dire straits. Sometimes $100 will go a long way.

[stealthbishop]

I haven't paid tithing in years because my wife paid 10% and I figured that was enough for the both of us. She still has urges to pay tithing even though she has started to distance herself from the church and only attends occasionally now. We'll see how it goes for her.

We talked about alternatives. There is a charity (and I'm trying to remember the name) that helps LGBTQ+ students at BYU who run into problems and are forced to leave or feel they need to leave BYU and helps them to have a smooth transition to another college that is LGBTQ+ affirming. I also like Affirmation and put some tithes there. Queer Meals in Provo is another good one that I like.