Your Money Or Your Life: Why I Bank Consciously
by ShoreBank Micro-Essay Contest Participant on June 29th, 2010
This guest post from Aldra is part of ShoreBank’s new 5th Tuesday ShoreBank Fan post series. Aldra is a grant writer who found her way into the non-profit sector via her membership with AmeriCorps VISTA. With more than 10 years in the non-profit industry, she learned the fine art of living a good life with a small salary and a commitment to social justice. She is the author of Consciously Frugal and a ShoreBank Facebook Fan.
Although personal finance books are quite popular, few have garnered the notoriety enjoyed by Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin (later editions include author Monique Tilford). Even though Your Money or Your Life was first published nearly 20 years ago, you can still find a study group in virtually every city working the book’s holistic, nine-step program.
The program asks participants to base their earning, saving and spending patterns on their core values. My core values are simple. I believe that my purpose on this spinning blue ball is to ensure that all people have the right to health, safety, security, and happiness. If I truly believe that, then I must pay attention to the how and who of the products that I purchase (Is it sourced from sustainable practices? Are the workers fairly treated and compensated?). It eventually dawned on me that this sort of thinking should extend to all my fiscal activities, not just when I buy stuff. But in a culture devoted to upward mobility and the material trappings of “success,” reorienting our financial lives to an internal compass is a radical concept.
As I began to align my finances with my values, I investigated the world of banking. What was my monolithic bank doing with all those billions of dollars? Who was benefiting from my deposits and the interest I paid on loans? To whom did they market their credit cards?
I didn’t like much of what I found. I discovered that I was putting my money into a system that seemed to disempower and exploit people. I knew that there had to be a better way. The primary thing I wanted to see in a financial institution was an active engagement in bettering the community. I also wanted to see a measure of respect for clients, regardless of income levels or portfolio dollars. Community reinvestment is a concrete example of that respect.
After spending a few months hunting for a bank that invested in communities, I found ShoreBank. Through ShoreBank Direct’s online savings account, I am earning interest on my savings far above that being offered by my previous bank while knowing that my money is also being put to good use.
However, what I have most enjoyed about transitioning to a community development financial institution is the human connection. Through blogs, email correspondence, and Facebook interactions, I have been able to engage with staff and fellow ShoreBank customers, and discuss political, environmental and social issues important to us all. It gives me hope that amidst all the economic doom and gloom of late, we can find ways to create a values-based economy in which all of us are respected and empowered.
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Tags: community development, move your money, ShoreBank Direct, socially responsible investing, your money or your life
