The same reasoning also says to take out loans to bunch the donation now rather than later, to align your future self with your present self because paying off your loans is in your own best interest.
Hmm I actually think there might be a psychologically optimal idea close to this.
Let’s say you expect to earn $200k/yr for the next 10 years and you want to donate 10% of your income to charity, which is $20k/yr over 10 years, which has a net present value of about $100k. Sell someone an Income Share Agreement (ISA) for $100k which you donate now, then pay the ISA 10% of your income for 10 years.
This could be, like you say, a good commitment mechanism for your present self to get the upper hand over your future self. The ISA protects the downside risk of having a loan you can’t pay if your income unexpectedly decreases.
The same reasoning also says to take out loans to bunch the donation now rather than later, to align your future self with your present self because paying off your loans is in your own best interest.
Hmm I actually think there might be a psychologically optimal idea close to this.
Let’s say you expect to earn $200k/yr for the next 10 years and you want to donate 10% of your income to charity, which is $20k/yr over 10 years, which has a net present value of about $100k. Sell someone an Income Share Agreement (ISA) for $100k which you donate now, then pay the ISA 10% of your income for 10 years.
This could be, like you say, a good commitment mechanism for your present self to get the upper hand over your future self. The ISA protects the downside risk of having a loan you can’t pay if your income unexpectedly decreases.