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Ah you yanks always think everything is better in the US of A.
Well I’m just an Irish country boy and I know nothing of all these new fandangled gizmos and interwebs…
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Xanthippe_Voorhees
Guest
Might be a US thing. We’re much bigger on apps and technology from my understanding (just behind Asian countries)
I got the parish I worked with for my Master’s project to put a QR code by the doors of the church so people could download the bulletin. Calls about Mass times decreased dramatically. They also put QR codes on children’s paperwork so parents could sign up/pay/register children for events rather than turn in a paper form. The response was insane. Something like 90% of parents did it the first day, and they only had about 5% stragglers. Normally it was the exact opposite–5% of parents did the paperwork that day and they had to chase 90% down weeks later.
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PetraG
Guest
Our parish actually has cards that say “Our family gives electronically” for parishioners to pick up as they come into church, so they have something to put into the basket when it is passed.
Parishes like automatic electronic giving because so many families spend a substantial number of Sundays somewhere else. It is like having your mortgage on auto-pay; it isn’t as if you don’t pay that just because you’re out of town or want to go to Mass at a time that your parish doesn’t have a Sunday Mass.
Parishes like automatic electronic giving because so many families spend a substantial number of Sundays somewhere else. It is like having your mortgage on auto-pay; it isn’t as if you don’t pay that just because you’re out of town or want to go to Mass at a time that your parish doesn’t have a Sunday Mass.
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TheLittleLady
Guest
Ask your parish office. I will bet you a dollar they have an online payment option.
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DarkLight
Guest
It also really just helps for those of us who don’t typically carry cash. I know when I tried giving in cash, I would forget repeatedly because regularly getting cash isn’t a thing I usually do.
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Xanthippe_Voorhees
Guest
I think thats why parishes find that when a majority of regular parishioners are enrolled in an online “no forget” weekly electronic giving their donations rise on average 30-50%. Most people DO intend to give but they forget.
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JetteZ
Guest
Y’all know there are these things called checks, right? 
I was interested in seeing if there was an electronic draft option and it appears I’d have to contact the church secretary to set that up. Meh. I could just have my bank mail them a check like online bill pay.
I was interested in seeing if there was an electronic draft option and it appears I’d have to contact the church secretary to set that up. Meh. I could just have my bank mail them a check like online bill pay.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
Yes. They used to be on pieces of paper. These days they are called “e-checks” and are sent electronically by my bank - that is how I pay my bills. I probably write about 5 paper checks a year (usually to contractors who give some type of a discount for being paid in that way vs. plastic) and about 75 percent of the time I can’t even find my checkbook because I have no use for it, with 90 percent of the local businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants, bars, etc. refusing to accept personal checks.Y’all know there are these things called checks, right?
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JetteZ
Guest
Yep, I pay most of my bills via online billpay, too. Except 3 places: daycare, Catholic school, and the Catholic church. The school recently added a way to pay online for school lunches (which is awesome); so, I was hoping the Church might have added a similar feature but apparently not. Oh well!
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Seeksadvice
Guest
Custer: Would you have that same disdain if the fully grown, healthy, adult male refused to work to support himself or who elects to do drugs instead of work, and therefore elect to be “poor”? It’s interesting to see how much judgment is directed at certain members of society, but a free pass is given to others. You might be surprised at how much things wind up costing, despite higher income levels.
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AHapka
Guest
That sounds kind of sexist to me. A male is supposed to contribute but a female is not? Uh…
How’s about everyone according to their means? You don’t know people’s life situations. A female may well have more disposable income than the male next to her but you would judge the male and not the female? You’ve mentioned the sex of the parishioner a number of times, so there must be something more to this that makes it a bigger issues. Is there?
Remember, Jesus also said that someone who gave a penny gave more than those who gave a lot. I’ve purposely looked down so I’m not judging anyone next to me. I have enough to worry about judging myself.
How’s about everyone according to their means? You don’t know people’s life situations. A female may well have more disposable income than the male next to her but you would judge the male and not the female? You’ve mentioned the sex of the parishioner a number of times, so there must be something more to this that makes it a bigger issues. Is there?
Remember, Jesus also said that someone who gave a penny gave more than those who gave a lot. I’ve purposely looked down so I’m not judging anyone next to me. I have enough to worry about judging myself.
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Socrates92
Guest
Easy peasy (assuming you’re talking about a single individual with no dependents). For example, in Ottawa, On, it’s fairly easy to get a room for <600/mth. With groceries at @250/mth, bus pass ~100/month, you’re looking a base amount of under 12000. That being said, someone working $15/hr, 40 hrs/wk, 50wks/yr is making gross $30K/yr, or about 24K/yr after taxes (counting CPP and EI premiums as taxes of course). Such a person would not only be able to survive, but would be able, in general, to save and reinvest 50% (a perfectly reasonable goal) of their take-home income, further increasing their future income due to interest.
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DarkLight
Guest
I suspect this depends on where you are. For example - for me to get a $600/month room, I had to live 30min drive outside of town. Like most places in the u.s., public transit simply isn’t workable; I have to own a car. I’m also spending maybe $5k+ on medical bills a year, because good health insurance is considered something you have to work your way up towards. It’s doable, but saving and reinvesting 50% of my income most certainly is not!
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Xanthippe_Voorhees
Guest
Yeah…
$600 a month is not happening in my area, even outside of town. And I’m not even within 45 minutes of the HCOL city. And what about heat? Lights? water? None of that is ever included.
There is no bus in my city. None. You MUST own a car.
And that doesn’t take into account that most jobs require a degree, and thus, require debt to get said degree.
Living on $15 an hour would be tight for a single person and $20 would not be much better.
$600 a month is not happening in my area, even outside of town. And I’m not even within 45 minutes of the HCOL city. And what about heat? Lights? water? None of that is ever included.
There is no bus in my city. None. You MUST own a car.
And that doesn’t take into account that most jobs require a degree, and thus, require debt to get said degree.
Living on $15 an hour would be tight for a single person and $20 would not be much better.
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Socrates92
Guest
Fair point. I’m coming from a Canadian context, so I can’t speak to particulars in the states. I get the general impression, that while US families on average earn more, the variance is also much greater, meaning that people on the low end have more difficultly than low-end people in Canada. Maybe I’m also spoiled with transit here. I’m not sure - that would depend what you mean by “not workable”.
On the other hand, my example also isn’t that far fetched for many circumstances. Granted the 50% figure may be an exaggeration for many, but I emphasized it mainly for the sake of wiggle room in the numbers. Granting $5,000/yr car expenses and your Stateside healthcare mess, savings might be minimal. But struggling to “survive” on $15/hr, in normal circumstances, still seems like an exaggeration.
Of course I don’t know your particulars. It just bugs me when people do take their particular situations and generalize them with statements such as “how can anyone survive given X?” Therefore, I counteracted this attitude with my own generalization. There’s no reason to assume the negative automatically. Often there are ways to improve, or even drastically things. Of course, particular situations will differ.
On the other hand, my example also isn’t that far fetched for many circumstances. Granted the 50% figure may be an exaggeration for many, but I emphasized it mainly for the sake of wiggle room in the numbers. Granting $5,000/yr car expenses and your Stateside healthcare mess, savings might be minimal. But struggling to “survive” on $15/hr, in normal circumstances, still seems like an exaggeration.
Of course I don’t know your particulars. It just bugs me when people do take their particular situations and generalize them with statements such as “how can anyone survive given X?” Therefore, I counteracted this attitude with my own generalization. There’s no reason to assume the negative automatically. Often there are ways to improve, or even drastically things. Of course, particular situations will differ.
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Socrates92
Guest
My $600 was based on renting 1/4 of a 4 bedroom house. The total would be $2400 split between 4 people. And yes, this would easily include all the utilities. I you want to be technical, this hypothetical arrangement could be 2000/month rent + utilities, variable based on usage. As an estimate, the difference isn’t overly significant either way.
I’m not sure about the degree thing. In Canada, I would say that if you are getting a degree in order to make $15/hr, you probably didn’t choose your degree very wisely. In that case, that’s more a problem of bad personal decisions, rather than an inherent difficultly in getting by in the given economy.
Also, how mobile are you? Is finding a job in, and moving to, a bike/bus friendly area feasible?
You could be right. I just tend to be automatically skeptical of pessimism.
I’m not sure about the degree thing. In Canada, I would say that if you are getting a degree in order to make $15/hr, you probably didn’t choose your degree very wisely. In that case, that’s more a problem of bad personal decisions, rather than an inherent difficultly in getting by in the given economy.
Also, how mobile are you? Is finding a job in, and moving to, a bike/bus friendly area feasible?
You could be right. I just tend to be automatically skeptical of pessimism.
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Rosalie
Guest
You’d have to move hours away from my city to find an apartment for $600 a month. A studio around here is $1200.
ETA: We cross-posted. A 2 bedroom cramped townhouse in my neighborhood goes for $3000 a month. Not to mention, families with kids can’t really just take a room in a shared house.
ETA: We cross-posted. A 2 bedroom cramped townhouse in my neighborhood goes for $3000 a month. Not to mention, families with kids can’t really just take a room in a shared house.
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Rosalie
Guest
Exactly. My parents live on a dirt road. There’s no public transportation anywhere near them. We need nurses, teachers, etc everywhere and these people need to make a living. Teachers in California are facing horrible commutes because it’s impossible to find a reasonable apartment in their school district.
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