The short explanation:
1> I counted my blessings beyond my regular salary and gave 10% of that to charity.
2> I fasted one day per week and contributed $5 for each day fasted.
The long explanation:
Last year, I read two dozen books on poverty and philanthropy. One was a pamphlet titled "40 Day Spiritual Journey to a more Generous Life" which I requested and received (for free!) from one of Brian Kluth's websites on giving. I think it was MaximumGenerosity.org. It's a wonderful pamphlet filled with practical tips. One suggestion was to give 10% of my regular income to my church and 10% of all other sources (gifts, services provided, money saved from sales and coupons, etc.) to a charity. It suggested "counting my blessings," so that if I received a gift or a service (i.e. a sweater) then I could estimate the fair value or what I would have been willing to pay for the item (i.e. $20) and give 10% of that ($2) to charity.
I counted my blessings every weekend, making an online donation after I accumulated at least $50. After a while, I felt the need to give more so I brainstormed. At the time, I was regularly fasting one day a week (breakfast and lunch only) so I decided that the money I saved on meals from fasting I would also give to charity. Since I'm a vegan, shop at a farmer's market, cook most of my meals from scratch, avoid processed food, and rarely eat out, I estimated that on average I spend $2-$3 per meal. I like a nice round number so I made it $5 a day, which meant I could give an extra $20 each month.
So that's how I calculated my giving last year. Since I gave $905 to parachurch organizations in 2012, that means (after accounting for fasting) God blessed me by an extra $8000 last year!
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