I’m confused; can you explain why a student shouldn’t … prioritize fuzzies?
Whenever I think of purchasing utilons, I always figure I could get 10x later in life with each donation when I’m financially better off, so I walk away from the experience feeling like a utilon failure. So I worry that feeling of failure is going to make me less inclined to donate later. Meanwhile, if I stock up on fuzzies now, I can tell myself later that, not only am I not failing at utilons, but my utilons also feel 10x as fuzzy as those modest fuzzies from my student times.
Is there an obvious error in here? I guess I should also mention that I don’t really spend a lot on … stuff.
The point is to get into the habit of giving efficiently. Going through the process of choosing which effective charity to give to is a distinct skill from choosing to give in the first place or acquiring the jobs that will give you more money later. So it’s worth practicing. And it’s worth conditioning yourself to take pride in that effective-charity-selection process.
I don’t think most people actually “stock up” on fuzzies. Donating to fuzzy charities may simply build the habit of donating to fuzzy charities and then make you feel bad later when you have to switch. (One or both of us may be generalizing from one example here). You’ll still want fuzzies when you’re older (if you care about fuzzies at all), but you should, at all ages/incomes, practice acquiring fuzzies through the cheapest manner possible. (This probably varies from person to person)
There are good reasons not to donate a lot of money when you’re a student or still searching for good jobs, but getting into the practice of thinking about charity rationally is still important.
I’m confused; can you explain why a student shouldn’t … prioritize fuzzies?
Whenever I think of purchasing utilons, I always figure I could get 10x later in life with each donation when I’m financially better off, so I walk away from the experience feeling like a utilon failure. So I worry that feeling of failure is going to make me less inclined to donate later. Meanwhile, if I stock up on fuzzies now, I can tell myself later that, not only am I not failing at utilons, but my utilons also feel 10x as fuzzy as those modest fuzzies from my student times.
Is there an obvious error in here? I guess I should also mention that I don’t really spend a lot on … stuff.
The point is to get into the habit of giving efficiently. Going through the process of choosing which effective charity to give to is a distinct skill from choosing to give in the first place or acquiring the jobs that will give you more money later. So it’s worth practicing. And it’s worth conditioning yourself to take pride in that effective-charity-selection process.
I don’t think most people actually “stock up” on fuzzies. Donating to fuzzy charities may simply build the habit of donating to fuzzy charities and then make you feel bad later when you have to switch. (One or both of us may be generalizing from one example here). You’ll still want fuzzies when you’re older (if you care about fuzzies at all), but you should, at all ages/incomes, practice acquiring fuzzies through the cheapest manner possible. (This probably varies from person to person)
There are good reasons not to donate a lot of money when you’re a student or still searching for good jobs, but getting into the practice of thinking about charity rationally is still important.