In a move that’s akin to the time you gave back your $5 allowance to help your parents with the mortgage payments, Americans have dug into their own pockets to contribute $7.7 million in 2012 to help pay down our national debt. Even though that amount is just a wee drop in a ginormous bucket, it’s the thought that counts, right?

We’re the most generous toward our national debt than we’ve been in years — and we’ve given double the amount we did in 2011, reports CNNMoney. Donations are usually about $3 million a year since 2009.

“So this is obviously a big jump,” said a spokeswoman for the Bureau of the Public Debt.

How far will that sum go? Well, it’s only about 0.000007% of the approximately $1.1 trillion deficit our country rung up in the last fiscal year. Our total outstanding debt is over $16 trillion, just a hop skip and a jump away from the $16.304 trillion debt ceiling. Gulp.

As for why we’re feeling particularly generous toward our nation’s debt right now, that might be pinned on the fact that more of us are aware of how awful it is to have a massive deficit.

Americans couldn’t even pitch in with donations toward the debt until 1961, when an estate anonymously left $20 million to the Bureau of Public Debt. Then Congress had to pass a law allowing it to rake in donations.

If you’re interested in pitching in your allowance to the country, you can leave it in your will, give online at pay.gov or send a check right to the Bureau of Public Debt. Or when you’re paying taxes you can just add a separate check with your federal income tax return.

American donate $8 million to cut national debt [CNNMoney]

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