How we track

You might be curious about what counts toward our $1,000,000 goal. Here are the answers to all of the most common questions we get.

What counts

• What counts toward your goal?

  We count money given to non-profits. In some emergency situations, we may give funds to an individual who is in a medical, or housing situation.

• Do you count tips, or gifts to family?

  No. We view both tips and family gifts as more of a social responsibility than true charitable giving.

• Do you count volunteer time?

  We considered it! We try to give time to local organizations whenever we can spare it, but we find it hard to place a dollar value on that time. We do not count time toward our goal.

The Spark

• What is the spark?

  Often, when we share our goal people are inspired to give more themselves.

  If you have caught “the spark” and want to share the details with us, we will count it in the spark totals, and want to celebrate with you!

  Read our story about how the very first time I shared our goal publicly, an impromptu live auction and a chain of donations were sparked.

• Are you asking others for money?

  No. We recommend people give funds directly to an effective non-profit.

  Check out our giving guide for our recommendations on how to choose a non-profit that aligns with your values.

Personal Questions

• When did you start counting?

  We started the goal in 2025 when we realized our goals had more to do with how much we consume rather than how much we contribute. Read the whole story here.

  We’ve looked back through our giving receipts and bank statements as far back as we had record. All of that previous giving (as early as 2000) is reflected in our totals.

• Do you use an app?

  Spreadsheets and sometimes paper! For personal finance, we have a budget that is rarely updated and a continuous cashflow spreadsheet that we use to track everything.

• Are you still saving money too?

  Yes! We want to retire some day. We have a special needs child that will require lifelong care. We have goals to save for those things too.

  We believe that you should have little to no debt, a well established emergency fund, and a plan for the future before giving away significant funds. We actually used the desire to give away more as motivation to get completely out of debt.

• Wait, are you guys rich?

  Far from it! We’ve actually lived near the Federal Poverty Level for most of our married life. We are financially stable, but nowhere near millionaires. You can read our whole story here.

Still curious? We’re pretty open.