I think that you raise a good point that in a partnership with fully shared finances and joint decision-making, there’s a reasonable argument that each partner could view their effective “personal income” as 50% of the household income. This could align with the spirit of the pledge, which is about committing a meaningful portion of one’s resources to helping others.
Another approach could be to sign the pledge together as a couple. Many GWWC members have found this to be a meaningful way to approach their giving as a couple. You can track your joint donations through a single pledge dashboard, making it easier to manage your giving together.
Ultimately, the goal of this advice is to help members stick to their plan of taking significant action to benefit others. All guidelines about how to calculate income should be thought of as serving that goal. In other words, our overall advice is to follow the spirit of the pledge, which is using a significant portion of one’s income to benefit others. We recognise that a simple rule won’t work perfectly for all possible situations, and encourage pledgers to define 10% of income in the way that makes sense to them.
I think that you raise a good point that in a partnership with fully shared finances and joint decision-making, there’s a reasonable argument that each partner could view their effective “personal income” as 50% of the household income. This could align with the spirit of the pledge, which is about committing a meaningful portion of one’s resources to helping others.
Another approach could be to sign the pledge together as a couple. Many GWWC members have found this to be a meaningful way to approach their giving as a couple. You can track your joint donations through a single pledge dashboard, making it easier to manage your giving together.
Ultimately, the goal of this advice is to help members stick to their plan of taking significant action to benefit others. All guidelines about how to calculate income should be thought of as serving that goal. In other words, our overall advice is to follow the spirit of the pledge, which is using a significant portion of one’s income to benefit others. We recognise that a simple rule won’t work perfectly for all possible situations, and encourage pledgers to define 10% of income in the way that makes sense to them.