The economy may have been in freefall over the last 12 months but more than half of you say you're still making regular donations to charity.
In a recent moneysupermarket.com poll, 52% of respondents said they have set up a direct debit to give money to their favourite cause; while almost a quarter say they make regular ad-hoc donations.
Yet for many people, giving to charity is something they'd like to do more regularly but never get round to. With the BBC's annual Children In Need event taking place on Friday 20 Novermber, attention will again focus on raising money for worthy causes.
So, we've taken a look at the different ways you can give to the charity of your choice.
Make use of Gift Aid
While many of us frequently chuck coins into rattling collection tins, if you're a taxpayer there's actually a better way donate money to charity.
The Gift Aid scheme, which was launched by the government nine years ago, gives charities tax relief on donations made by individuals.
Charities can claim an additional 25p for every £1 they're given. In addition, the government has agreed to contribute an additional 3p for every £1 until 2011. So for every £1 donated, the charity receives £1.28.
In order for the organisation to claim the tax relief, the individual is required to declare that he or she is a taxpayer. This is simple to do - if you complete a donation form from a charity there will be a box asking if you are a UK taxpayer. Similarly if you sponsor someone you will be asked if you are a taxpayer.
While the charity only gets basic-rate tax relief, higher-rate taxpayers can declare their total charitable contributions on their tax-return and claim a rebate or opt to have that rebate repayment donated directly to the charity.
But, despite the tax benefit for both the individual and the charity only 40% of people make use of Gift Aid which means the UK's charities are missing out on around £750million a year.
Give As You Earn
If you're donating a regular sum to a charity, it's worth seeing if your employer has a Give As You Earn scheme in place.
This enables you to make a charitable donation each month from your gross income, before it is taxed. Some companies even match their staff's donations, doubling the amount given to your favourite cause.
Although this only gives the charity the same financial benefit as a Gift Aid donation, it does remove some of the administrative burden of making those claims.
However, if your employer doesn't have a give as you earn scheme in place, why not set up a monthly direct debit?
Use a charity credit card
In the moneysupermarket.com poll, just 3.2% of respondents said they use a charity-linked credit card or account to make donations to their favourite cause.
There are many charities benefiting from these schemes.
For example, if you take out a NSPCC Charity Card, Halifax will donate £20 the first time you use it and a further 25p for every £100 you spend.
You'll benefit from 0% interest on purchases for the first nine months and a typical rate of 16.9%.
MBNA makes the same donation when people take out the RSPCA Credit Card.
That card has a typical annual percentage rate (APR) of 15.9%, interest-free purchases for the first three months and a full year of no interest on balance transfers - for a 3.0% fee.
For lots of people, these cards a great way to support a charity they care about without paying a penny themselves. Having a charity-branded credit card can also raise awareness.
There's no doubt that a number of good causes benefit enormously from these deals.
Of course, if you regularly use a credit card and pay off the balance each month, you'll probably find a reward card is more generous.
A good example is the American Express Platinum Cashback, which has a typical APR of 19.9%. It gives the user 5% cashback during the first three months, up to maximum spend of £2,000; 0.5% on the next £3,500 spent; 1.0% on spending between £3,500 and £7,500; and 1.25% when you use the card after that.
That means if you were to spend £2,500 each month, you could earn £381 in cashback over the year - which you could then donate to your chosen charity.
Having said that, not everyone would then actually make that donation, so for many people a charity credit card is a hassle-free way to help.
Linked accounts
If you're looking to save and give, this could be another easy way to benefit a charity without opening your own wallet.
Some charities have sponsorship agreements with financial products, such as fixed rate bonds. You can earn a decent rate on your savings and benefit a good cause at the same time.
For example, Coventry Building Society is offering an account called Poppy Bond 2, which is paying a fixed rate of 4.3% until 31 December 2011. It will donate 0.2% of all the cash that's invested to the Royal British Legion.
Last year, a similar account allowed it to donate £1.6million to the help ex-servicemen and women, and their families.
Self Assessment Giving
Believe it or not, if you complete a Self Assessment tax return, you can even make a donation through that.
Once again, this is a great way of cutting down on the administrative burden on the recipient charity.
If you're entitled to a tax refund, you can agree to have part of it - or the whole thing - donated to a good cause of your choice; this is called Self Assessment Giving.
Once you've completed your tax return, you'll need to fill out the SA100 Charity form. HMRC will then pay your donation and any Gift Aid due straight into the organisation's bank account, without it having to make a claim.
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