Give Tzedakah or Pay Off Interest?

Question

I know I am supposed to give 10% of my income to charity. But I am currently in a mountain of credit card debt that accumulated when I was unemployed. The longer I go without paying it off in full, the more interest I am charged. Therefore, the wisest thing to do is to pay as much as I can until the balance is zero. This is likely to take several years. Am I still obligated to give tzedaka at this time if it’ll cause me to end up paying more interest?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    It sounds as if the correct thing to do is to pay off as much of your debt as possible. Perhaps, the correct thing to do is to write down how much money you “owe” to Tzedakah and, b’Ezras Hashem, when you are back on a steady financial footing you can make up the amount that you would have given if you hadn’t have had to pay off your credit card debt.

    Please accept my personal Brocha that from now on you always be able to give generously to others in need.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team