I want to give back! How do I afford it?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 December 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Donating money can induce anxiety if you’re not sure how to afford it or feel pressured into doing so by the people around you.
“Try This” host Cristina Quinn talks to Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary about how to give back, whether it’s through money or time. Singletary reminds us that there’s always a way to give. She explains how to think through where you want to give, how to afford it and how to commit to giving year-round.
Singletary also shares her personal experiences and passion for why she gives, how to make sure you’re giving to a legitimate charity, and what you will experience when you give back.
For more of her work, sign up for her "Color of Money newsletter and follow her on Instagram.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, it's Colby. So it's only a couple more weeks until the new year, which means |
| 0:07.0 | I'm feeling reflective about the past year. And grateful. Grateful for good times with family and |
| 0:15.1 | friends. Grateful for spending most of the last year on this podcast with all of you. It's also a time to think about |
| 0:21.5 | the things you might want to do differently. For me, I've been thinking a lot about how I can |
| 0:26.1 | give back, to pay forward some of the blessings in my life. So today I want to share an episode from |
| 0:31.5 | another Washington Post podcast, Try This. Try This is a series of short audio courses hosted by my colleague Christina Quinn. |
| 0:39.3 | Christina is hilarious and she loves helping people learn how to improve their lives. |
| 0:44.3 | Her recent course is about giving. |
| 0:47.3 | And in this second episode of that series, |
| 0:49.3 | Christina talks to the Post Personal Finance columnist Michelle Singletary |
| 0:53.3 | about how to build charitable donations into your annual budget |
| 0:58.5 | and why it's so important that you do. |
| 1:02.1 | After you listen, be sure to follow, try this in your podcast app. |
| 1:06.1 | All right, here's the show. |
| 1:18.2 | Hey, I'm Christina Quinn. |
| 1:20.9 | Welcome back to try this from the Washington Post. |
| 1:25.1 | This is the second and final class in our course on altruism. |
| 1:28.2 | In our first class, we spoke to Abigail Marsh about how the easiest way to be more altruistic |
| 1:31.3 | is to just start, come up with a plan and go for it. |
| 1:35.6 | In this class, we're going to learn |
| 1:37.1 | how to apply all that we learned in episode one |
| 1:39.9 | through a practical financial lens. |
... |
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