My experience going from donating 60% to 10% of my income

By Eric Arellano 🔸 @ 2025-04-14T20:20 (+34)

This is a linkpost to https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/en/blog/recalibrating-for-sustainable-giving

Hi, I'm sharing this blog post I wrote with Giving What We Can about my experience earning to give. I hope it's helpful to others trying to figure out how much to donate. 

tl;dr:

• A few existential crises prompted me to recalibrate: moving unexpectedly, realizing I had wanted kids, the 2024 election and climate change, homophobia in my personal life, and career anxiety.
• Julia Wise's writings and Susan Wolf's essay "Moral Saints" greatly helped me.
• I found a more sustainable balance by shifting from a framework of "each starfish matters" (maximization) to "help the starfish I can," which better recognizes my limits.
• I'm still excited about effective giving, the 10% Pledge, and especially effective volunteering!

Feel free to ask me any questions, DM me, or email me at ericarellano [at] me.com!