I did something good today

After a couple of months of procrastinating about it, today I handed in my Give As You Earn form. For the last 18 months or so that I was at Orbis, 10% of my salary was going into a Charities Aid Foundation Account, and now it is again, en route to whatever is the most cost effective poverty relief charity I can find (most likely SCI, but I'll see what Givewell and Giving What We Can are saying when I've accrued a reasonably substantial balance.)

There's a theory that one shouldn't talk about ones charitable giving, that to do so is bragging and self-aggrandising, although the_alchemist does a pretty good job of taking that viewpoint apart here.

And I'm going to talk about it, because I want to encourage you to do the same. Because those of us who are relatively well off (and if you're reading this, the chances are high that you're extremely well off compared to the people who SCI help, even if you're not compared to me), have the ability to make an enormous difference to people's lives at very little cost to ourselves.

Now, in an ideal world I'd want to convince everyone I know to start giving 10%, or indeed more, but that can feel like quite a hit to one's income, especially if you're feeling pretty hard up to begin with, so here are some things that might make it easier to get started.

• Begin by just giving 1%, perhaps even just as a trial for a couple of months, and see if it's bearable. If it is, maybe push it by another 1% every now and then. Even 1% of the salary of someone on UK minimum wage will provide another 400 vacinations each year if donated to SCI.
• Decide now that when you next get a payrise you'll start donating half of it. That way, you don't have to take any hit at all
• In a similar vein, if you're paying off student loans, or other debts, resolve to switch some of the difference to charitable giving when they're paid off. (This wasn't my idea - I think it's either shreena or lavendersparkle who deserves the credit.)
• If you're already making regular charitable donations, but to charity which works in the UK or another rich nation, consider switching to a more efficient way of giving. Even if you feel closer to the people who are being helped by your current choice, is that really worth overlooking the fact that tens, or hundreds, perhaps even thousands more could be helped with the same amount of money if you direct the funds elsewhere?