A Wealth of Knowledge.Books, Journals and Websites To Help Eco-Manage Your Money While the art of acquiring money can be reduced to hard work and good luck, handling it once you have it is infinitely more complex. How much to spend? How much to invest? Should you buy stocks? Bonds? CDs? Mutual funds? Issues of personal finance are complicated enough on their own, but for the environmentalist environmentalist a person with an interest and knowledge about the interaction of humans and animals with the environment. seeking not only to guarantee security, but to avoid funding natural catastrophes, they're even trickier. Fortunately, these difficult issues have already been tackled by conscientious investors, entrepreneurs and economic experts. Now available is a library of books, magazines and websites that demonstrate how money can be managed effectively--while simultaneously steering corporations away from destructive practices and onto ecologically and socially benign paths. A Single Step Marshall Glickman's The Mindful Money Guide (Ballantine Wellspring well·spring n. 1. The source of a stream or spring. 2. A source: a wellspring of ideas. wellspring Noun , $13) is a great place to begin a holistic journey to responsible money management. Glickman warms up with lively philosophical discussion about finance and an individual's environmental and social responsibility. He then shares practical lessons on spending, earning, investing, saving and donating money in ways that will make a positive impact. For those testing the waters of socially responsible investing Socially responsible investing describes an investment strategy which combines the intentions to maximize both financial return and social good. In general, socially responsible investors favor corporate practices which are environmentally responsible, support workplace diversity, (SRI), Co-op America Co-op America is a nonprofit membership organization based in the United States. It promotes ethical consumerism, dedicated to harnessing the economic power of consumers, investors and businesses to promote social justice and environmental sustainability through helping offers a great primer See under Type. See also: Great that's neatly organized and easily referenced. Its Financial Planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against Handbook (free with $15 Co-op membership) includes 10 easy steps to start investing responsibly, a directory of SRI services, financial planning worksheets, and other easy-to-use tools. If you want a more in-depth look, Investing With Your Values: Making Money and Making a Difference, by Hal Brill, Jack Brill and Cliff Feigenbaum, is a must-read (Bloomberg Press, $23.95). Tracey Rembert of Co-op America's Shareholder Action Program says the book "very clearly articulates different components of socially responsible investing, explores challenges and concerns people have, and presents a really entertaining, interesting read." Timely advice on saving, purchasing and investing, including profiles of hot stocks and recent mutual fund performance charts updated quarterly, can be found in Co-op's Real Money newsletter. Each issue features tips on interesting in the stock market, buying mutual funds and developing a retirement portfolio. The journal also goes beyond investing to include financial topics from choosing a credit card to ideas for inexpensive dates. Another resource for responsible consumers and investors is The GreenMoney Journal ($35/year). In each quarterly issue, the Journal profiles companies and institutions seeking creative environmental solutions. It also offers current news in the SRI industry, gives a calendar of events and reviews the performance of socially responsible mutual funds. For a more active role,in tracking investments, websites offer the advantage of daily updates. One helpful site, the Social Investment Forum at www.socialinvest. org, gives a solid introduction to SRI, while keeping tabs on recent trends in the field with periodic news releases, research reports and links to other sites. For thorough, up-to-the minute coverage of the industry, however, www.socialfunds.com is unmatched. The site features a rolling stock rolling stock Any of various readily movable transportation equipment such as automobiles, locomotives, railroad cars, and trucks. Rolling stock generally makes good collateral for loans because the equipment is standardized and easily transportable among ticker listing the closing prices of SRI funds each day. Socialfunds. com has daily news about SRI as well as community banking and shareholder activism updates. The site also offers advice on finding investment professionals and getting involved in microcredit microcredit, the extension to poor individuals of small loans to be used for income-generating activities that will improve the borrowers' living standards. The loans, which may be as little as $20 for very poor borrowers in some developing countries, typically are . In the corporate world, entrepreneurs stay competitive by responding to the concerns of the public. In The E Factor: The Bottom Line Approach to Environmentally Responsible Business (Times Books, $23), Joel Makower explores the relationship between business and the environment and shows how improved profits can coincide with environmental responsibility. The bimonthly bi·month·ly adj. 1. Happening every two months. 2. Happening twice a month; semimonthly. adv. 1. Once every two months. 2. Twice a month; semimonthly. n. pl. Business Ethics business ethics, the study and evaluation of decision making by businesses according to moral concepts and judgments. Ethical questions range from practical, narrowly defined issues, such as a company's obligation to be honest with its customers, to broader social ($49/ year) will keep entrepreneurs, employees and investors abreast of evolving social issues in the rapidly changing business world. Recent issues include reports on the best corporate citizens, MBA MBA abbr. Master of Business Administration Noun 1. MBA - a master's degree in business Master in Business, Master in Business Administration programs for environmental and social responsibility and social investing social investing Limiting one's investment alternatives to securities of firms whose products or actions are considered socially acceptable. For example, an investment manager might decide to eliminate from consideration the securities of all firms engaged awards. For people already with very significant net worth, the quarterly journal More Than Money ($35/year) delves into the personal, political and spiritual impact of wealth. More Than Money is targeted at topics like choosing a financial manager and making charitable contributions. If aligning your personal finances to your environmental values seems insurmountable, don't despair: good guides exist to lead you through the investment jungle. CONTACT: Business Ethics, (612) 879-0695, www.business-ethics.com; Co-op America, (202)872-5307, www. coopamerica.org; The GreenMoney Journal, (505)988-7423, www.greenmoney. com; More Than Money, (541)343-2420, www.morethanmoney.org. DAMON FRANZ FRANZ France, Australia and New Zealand (pact) is an environmental writer, still waiting for money to manage. |
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