How I Give Away 41% of My Income, with Bob Lotich

Afford Anything

Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

Entrepreneurship, Business, Investing

4.6 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2022

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#415: The average American donates 2.1 percent of their income to charity, according to data from the Giving Institute. But an ordinary couple living in Nashville, Bob and Linda Lotich, refuse to be average. When they were both 31, they decided to “give their age” – they pledged to donate 31 percent of their income to worthwhile causes. They’ve increased their charitable giving every year since, to match their age. The couple is now 41 years old, and they give away 41 percent of their income. When they began this project, the Lotich’s were earning a combined household income in the high five-figures. They were making just under $100,000 combined, living in St. Louis. They carried a mortgage on their home. They worried that their commitment to giving might impact their ability to pay the bills. Over the last decade, their income has fluctuated – up some years, down in others. They moved to Nashville and had three children. These higher living costs have drastically impacted the family budget. But their commitment to giving persists. In today’s episode, Bob Lotich joins us to talk about why and how he committed to the “give your age” philosophy – and shares his advice for anyone who wants practical tips for increasing their capacity to donate to meaningful causes. Enjoy! Timing of discussion points as of November 2022: 04:46: Adjusting mental and budget space to allow for more charitable donations 13:12: The decision give to individuals vs. charitable organizations 14:57: Does giving to an individual impact the relationship? 16:56: Recommendations for platforms with giving opportunities 25:01: Managing the giving budget after starting a family 25:56: Guilt and shame around generosity 27:41: Giving from a place of gratitude and a place of pain 28:47: The concept of giving dreams 30:19: Building for a continuous impact vs. a large impact 31:48: Getting the children involved 37:48: How to increase your charitable giving For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode415 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You can afford anything but not everything.
0:11.5	Every choice that you make is a trade-off against something else and that doesn't just
0:15.1	apply to your money.
0:16.6	That applies to your time, your focus, your energy, your attention to any limited resource
0:21.6	that you need to manage.
0:23.5	That leads to two questions.
0:25.1	First, what's most important to you?
0:27.4	And second, how do you make decisions accordingly?
0:31.2	Answering those two questions is a lifetime practice and that's what this podcast is here
0:35.3	to explore and facilitate.
0:37.9	My name is Paula Pant, I'm the host of the Afford Anything Podcast and today, as we head
0:43.2	into that post Thanksgiving season, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, all the sales, all the commercials
0:50.1	and the spending and the 50% off, which still means 50% on.
0:55.1	Is it something that you truly love or is it an impulse that you're going to forget
0:59.7	about?
1:00.7	These are the questions that come up right around this time of year.
1:04.7	Questions around consumer spending, questions around the temptation of discounts and deals,
1:12.4	that psychological sense that we are, quote, unquote, saving money by virtue of taking out
1:18.1	our credit cards.
1:19.6	When, in fact, we're upping our consumption and right now, we're doing so in a time when
1:24.1	a lot of people's budgets are stretched thin because of inflation.
1:27.5	So in the midst of all of this, we decided that this week's episode is going to take
	...

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