This year I'm only giving 2%, but am also paying back a lot of student loans and setting up long term investments for the first time. I'm a little on the fence of how much I plan to give next year, but looking at Bolder Giving, and particularly stories like yours and Julias, help put into perspective what "normal" can look like. Thank you.
I'm currently in college. I have trouble giving time (that is, working and donating the money), but I seem to be fine not spending money on myself. I plan on giving as much as I can when I have a career. I suspect that it will be most of my money.
For what it's worth, I figure I'm investing my money, and since 100% of the marginal increase in my income will go to charity, everything I spend on education is for charity.
I don't think you need to be concerned about giving too much in college, so long as you're practicing living frugally (which you probably are, because you're in college). Possible exception being to assure yourself that yes, you're the sort of person who ACTUALLY does donate, not just talk about it.
"I plan on giving as much as I can when I have a career. I suspect that it will be most of my money."
Good for you!
"I have trouble giving time (that is, working and donating the money), but I seem to be fine not spending money on myself. "
I think you're right to think of your time in school as investing. My guess is the money you could earn while in school would be less than the future money you would lose out on by making less effective use of your school years.
College is one place that I think volunteering can make a lot of sense, though, if you set up something like a local giving what we can chapter.
If you're trying to do as much good as possible, earning money to give away is a strong contender. Convincing other people to follow your example multiplies your impact. Julia and I have a profile on the philanthropy promotion website Bolder Giving. Much of the site consists of stories of people giving. I was talking to one of the co-founders, Anne Ellinger, and she would be interested in hearing from you if you give away a substantial fraction of your income or wealth, especially if you have been giving 20%+ of your income for 3+ years and are open to having your story posted on their site. I would be happy to introduce you, or you could write them yourself.