5 Spending Swaps You Can Make To Make A Positive Impact

Stories | December 7, 2020

Giving to causes that align with your values is a great way to ensure your successes and privileges are shared with those less fortunate. But, while many of us would like to donate to charity, stagnant wage growth and rising costs of living can make it harder to find the surplus income required to make substantial donations.

We spoke to finance blogger Emma Edwards from The Broke Generation about how everyday Australians can use simple tricks and swaps to allocate more money to charitable giving. In this blog, Emma shares 5 spending swaps you can make to help you give to causes that matter to you on a regular basis, without feeling like you’re compromising your financial situation.

1. Swap that extra coffee

Find yourself ducking into your local coffee shop for a flat white and an almond croissant? An easy way to donate more to charity is to occasionally swap out your coffee treat and send some dollars to a charity you care about instead. You’ll get all the warm and fuzzy feelings you would’ve got from your coffee, but in bucket-loads of good vibes from your donation instead.

2. Funnel your discount savings to your favourite charities

Snapped up a bargain and saved yourself some coin? Why not pay your savings forward and donate the difference you saved to a charity you love. If you were going to buy the item anyway, it’s like donating free money!

3. Skip the takeaway

Ever consider ditching your meal prep and ordering in instead? No judgement here, but on your mission to donate more to charity, consider swapping out that takeaway spend and allocating it to a cause you care about instead. It’ll save food wastage by prompting you to eat at home, and remind you to send some monetary love to your chosen causes.

4. Add 10% on to luxuries

Luxury spends are those things that we know we don’t need, but that give us doses of joy. If you’re looking for ways to find extra income to give to charity, adding a buffer onto your little luxuries can be a great way of sharing your indulgences with your favourite causes.

5. Split your sales with causes that matter to you

If you’ve been on the lockdown clearout hype, you might have made bank listing your preloved treasures on Facebook Marketplace. If you’re trying to give to charity on a more regular basis, try applying a percentage rule to your preloved sales. Donating just 20% of your clearout sales can really add up, and help you spread the benefits of your decluttering spree.

CBM is a Christian international development organisation devoted to supporting people with disabilities living in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Our focus is on ending poverty, advocating for more inclusive government policies, preventing avoidable blindness, and breaking the link between disability and poverty. Currently 80% of people with a disability longer live in poverty, and we say that’s simply not okay.

 

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In an initiative that began in the USA, GivingTuesday will take place on 1st December 2020, and encourages Australians to show their generosity, both on the day, and everyday. By making a donation, large or small, to CBM Australia this GivingTuesday, you’re helping us fight for an end to inequality that leaves hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities living in poverty all around the world.

 

Emma Edwards is a finance blogger at The Broke Generation. She creates content to empower millennial women to take control of their finances, and loves finding nifty ways to make a difference through purposeful spending and finding space in your budget for a little extra giving. 

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