Personal Finances
Table of Contents
Introduction
Personal Finances
Don't Fall for Overconsumption
We are constantly bombarded with advertisements and pressure to use shopping as "therapy" despite the evidence that these are increasingly problematic behaviors.
Invest in Efficiency
Sometimes you have to spend money to make or save money. Some of the biggest sources of emissions and pollution are also our biggest living costs.
Insulation
Heating and cooling are generally the biggest energy users, emitting most of our at-home/non-dietary emissions, while gobbling up a large chunk of cash as our seasons get more intense. By investing in better insulation (for example walls, attics, or multi-paned windows), we drastically reduce our monthly energy needs.
Energy Efficient Appliances
We can reduce both energy and water use by investing in eco-friendly appliances. These can cost a bit more up front, but the long-term benefits include lower future bills and a healthier planet.
Travel
Everyone needs to travel whether it's occasional trips to buy necessities, daily trips to work or school, of even the occassional long-distance adventure. How we choose to travel can have a big impact on both our finances and the environment.
Private vs Public
Private vehicle ownership (cars and pick up trucks for example), are not only a massive waste of resources, and source of pollution, but they're also terrible for your wallet. We're supposed to pay thousands for a the vehicle itself, then yearly maintenance, license fees, insurance, with some places charging extra to drive in certain places and of course our tax money paying for all the damage these vehicles do to our roadways and bridges.
Public transportation on the other hand may charge a fee, but it is generally more efficient (more so when there are more riders and particularly so when public transport is renewably powered), and is almost always more affordable than private vehicle ownership.
How Cars Keep You POOR!
4:47 minute video explaining just a few of the problems with car ownership.
Active Transport vs Passive Transport
Active transport options including walking, bike riding, skateboarding, canoeing, or any other mode that uses your own energy to move. These have been scientifically linked to better health (mental and physical), money saving for movers/increased spending for areas with safer/slower travel routes, reduced crime, reduced pollution, reduced wear on roadways, and stronger/safer communities.
Passive transport tends to cost more than passive options, cause health problems due to increasing sedentary living habits, and creates higher maintenance fees for surrounding communities, meaning higher taxes. When a fast moving road cuts through a community, this can cause irreparable harm both by physically dividing healthy communities, and by increasing health problems from fumes, collisions, as well as noise and light pollution.
Donating for Change
Donate to Those You Trust
This site is packed with organizations from around the world, but we encourage you to always do your research before giving to any organization.
We recommend starting with their own site or other media such as pamphlets or even talking to or working with them yourself if possible to assess their effectiveness and sincerity.
There are also 3rd party resources such as Charity Watch which can give you an idea of the organizations' spending, ethics, and other metrics. Even these can be a little tricky to interoperate, as some major corporations can get a good rating for programs that may be more of a greenwashing scam than doing much good. Other times it may be hard to research an organization bellow a certain size or age.
So dig for evidence and if something feels off, trust your gut!
International
GiveWell "We search for the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar.
Our goal is to produce the world's top research on where to give. Free, for everyone. We recommend a small number of charities that do an incredible amount of good."GlobalGiving "connects nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country in the world. We help fellow nonprofits access the funding, tools, training, and support they need to serve their communities."
North America
Charity Navigator "Find and support a charity that aligns with your passions."
Charity Watch "America's most independent, assertive charity watchdog"
Give.org "Helping Donors Give Wisely Helping charities build trust. Learn more about the free accreditation process."
Guide Star "Providing you with the nonprofit information you need
Use GuideStar to look up a nonprofit and access the most complete data available."
Eco-Friendly Banking & Investing
Cards
WLTH Ocean Plastic Cards WLTH teamed up with Parley to create a new card with:
"75% Upcycled recovered Ocean Plastic® from the ocean surface or collected from coastlines and communities.
5% Recycled plastics.
20% Functional and compliance components. Including the Microchip, Antenna, Contact plate (as per ISO-7810), Magnetic Strip, Signature Panel, and Scheme Hologram."
Home Loans
WLTH "For every loan settled by, we will empower and assist Parley for the Oceans to clean up 50m2 of Australian beach and coastline."
Investing
Calvert Impact "is a global nonprofit investment firm that helps all types of investors and financial professionals invest in solutions that people and our planet need. We're proud of our 25+ year track record of providing positive social and environmental impact and financial returns — without compromising either."
How Sustainable to Me (no registration; FREE) "Scan dozens of ETFs and mutual funds and find those that best align with your convictions."
Click the Quiet Activism button and scroll to the Financial Activism section to learn about more eco-friendly financial organizations and the different programs they run.
Leaving a Will
Since we can't take anything of value when we die, one of the best things we can do is to include one or more charities in our final will or even set up a trust.
By donating land, money, or other assets when we die, conservation and other groups can carry on the work we care most about.
Consider donating land to conservation groups, equipment to any group that can use it, while funding can easily be used for education, legal justice, funding clean up projects, and much more.
Europe
Ireland
UK
CarbonFootprint: Solar Schools Offsetting "Sponsor Solar Panels At A UK School With Guaranteed Carbon Offset"
Schools’ Energy Co-operative "installs community funded solar panel systems on schools free of charge as well as paying all its profits to its member schools. As a social enterprise, we are dedicated to supporting our school members and providing an alternative to the prevailing commercial rent a roof or leasing model. Central to this is our aspiration to retain as much as possible of the benefits for the schools, their students and the surrounding communities. We also work with our school members and local community groups to maximise the environmental, educational and community impact of the solar installations."
Offset Your Emissions
Be super cautious about carbon offset scams! Many companies have jumped onto the offset bandwagon without taking the time to ensure their programs are doing more good than harm. There's been a huge lack of oversite in this sector, which has focused heavily on mass reforestation projects which then totally failed, often causing more ecological harm, instead of the promised good.
For this reason, we've tried to focus on finding carbon offset programs that can remove more emissions than trees (such as bog protection and restoration), or which help communities reduce their emissions in ways that they would have otherwise struggled to pay for on their own. For example solar panels for schools with limited funds.
Europe
Ireland
Irish Peatland Conservation Council: Offset Your Garbon Footprint "Known peatlands only cover about 3% of the world’s land surface, but store at least twice as much carbon as all of Earth’s standing forests. In addition, at least one-third of the world’s organic soil carbon, which plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and stabilizing the carbon cycle, is in peatlands."
UK
CarbonFootprint: Solar Schools Offsetting "Sponsor Solar Panels At A UK School With Guaranteed Carbon Offset"
Schools’ Energy Co-operative "installs community funded solar panel systems on schools free of charge as well as paying all its profits to its member schools. As a social enterprise, we are dedicated to supporting our school members and providing an alternative to the prevailing commercial rent a roof or leasing model. Central to this is our aspiration to retain as much as possible of the benefits for the schools, their students and the surrounding communities. We also work with our school members and local community groups to maximise the environmental, educational and community impact of the solar installations."
Things That Can Support Personal Finances
Minimalism
Welfare & Wealth Redistribution
On this page we explore topics including
Negative Income Tax (NIT)
Universal Basic Income (UBI)
Reparations
Universal Healthcare
Free Public Transport
Apps & Blockchains
Apps can make tracking our money and environmental or social impact a little easier.
Blockchains can be used with apps (behind the scenes) to track important data securely, ensuring fair wages and other important goals are fairly and honestly met.
Buycott (phone app) "Scan barcodes when shopping to learn product history & make an informed decision"
Kredible "70% of CO2 emissions are from just 100 companies*
55% of the world's plastic waste comes from only 20 companies*
Why should we pay the price?
It's time for companies to act - let's push for transparency and towards sustainability.
Connect your cards to our app to see whether businesses really care whilst tracking your impact so you can be clear on how you spend your money."
Plastic Bank "Our proprietary blockchain-secured platform records every transaction and gives traceability to your impact."
"By partnering with Plastic Bank, you are enabling plastic collection within 50 kilometers of ocean-bound waterways and coastlines. Our communities gather plastic waste directly from local beaches, riverbanks, neighbourhoods, and even households – so we are able stop ocean plastic directly at source.
Together, we are revealing value in plastic waste and improving lives. Our members exchange plastic waste as currency at local Plastic Bank branches for bonuses that help provide basic family necessities, such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, health insurance, digital connectivity, and fintech services. By offering safe, secure, and traceable sources of income, we’re empowering communities in vulnerable areas with a path out of poverty."
Tools & Trackers
Europe
Airlines
Reviews & Ratings
This section includes reviews, ratings, and some are just sites listing companies according to their impact on the planet. For example the Forest500: List of Companies which are causing driving deforestation, and Cruelty Free Investing which lists companies with and without animal cruelty.
International
Forest500: List of Companies 🔥 🌳 🪓 Learn which 500 companies care causing the deforestation.
GiveWell 🎁"Our goal is to produce the world's top research on where to give. Free, for everyone. We recommend a small number of charities that do an incredible amount of good."
How Sustainable to Me (no registration; FREE) "Scan dozens of ETFs and mutual funds and find those that best align with your convictions."
North America
USA
Charity Navigator 🎁"Use our ratings to find and support nonprofits that align with your passions and values." This organization uses self-reported information from the organizations themselves, and some other concerns have been raised about their updates.
CharityWatch 🎁 "is the pit bull of watchdogs. Its staff members dig deeper than most other overseers, going to state and federal records to get information that charities do not volunteer, honing in on program efficiency and exposing abuses."
Cruelty Free Investing 💹 🐷"is a non profit organization that makes it easy to align your investments with your values. Our research team has looked at every publicly traded company in America."
Legal Resources
North America
USA
Organizations
International
Beyond Animal "Where investors and vegan businesses meet" "Using technology, for online funding, networking and business services, to accelerate the transition to an economy free of animal exploitation. Our vision: a kinder, cleaner, healthier world."
Calvert Impact "is a global nonprofit investment firm that helps all types of investors and financial professionals invest in solutions that people and our planet need. We're proud of our 25+ year track record of providing positive social and environmental impact and financial returns — without compromising either."
The IMF "is a global organization that works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries. It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation, which are essential to increase productivity, job creation, and economic well-being. The IMF is governed by and accountable to its member countries."
Oil Change International "is a research, communication, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the coming transition towards clean energy."
Asia
The Asia Society Policy Institute "works with policymakers, scientists, economists, business leaders, and experts from other fields to enhance the regional and global fight against climate change through accelerating the transition to net zero emissions, carbon pricing, clean energy and climate diplomacy."
Europe
UK
Make My Money Matter "Our banks and pension funds financially support almost every sector. Lots of them put money into industries like fossil fuels, tobacco, and arms. We’re here to make sure they do better. After all, what’s the point in retiring in a world on fire?"
North America
Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.
Canada
Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.
USA
Agriculture Fairness Alliance ® "is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit whose mission is to strategically employ lobbyists to accelerate policy changes that make sustainable plant-based food accessible to everyone at a price they can afford, empower communities to develop local plant based agriculture systems, and give farmers tools and strategy to transition from animal ag to plant based farming."
The Bail Project "The Bail Project National Revolving Bail Fund is a critical tool to prevent incarceration and combat racial and economic disparities in the bail system."
Congress for the New Urbanism The organizational center for the New Urbanist movement, promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.
Lobbyists 4 Good: Help Farmers Transition Away From Animal Agriculture "We will advocate for re-allocating subsidies to help farmers restructure from animal agriculture and toward growing plants intended for human consumption.
Farmers would be supported in transitioning to supplying the country with vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, fungi, and other plant-based crops. The objective isn't to put anyone out of business. Rather, the objective is to provide incentives and support to transition to a food supply chain that is sustainable, healthy, and humane."
Connecticut
The Connecticut Green Bank "is the nation’s first green bank"
Grants, Funding, & Reparations
International
Beyond Animal "Where investors and vegan businesses meet" "Using technology, for online funding, networking and business services, to accelerate the transition to an economy free of animal exploitation. Our vision: a kinder, cleaner, healthier world."
Asia
Livable Cities: Financing Partnership Facility "The urban operations of ADB benefits from the support of notable trust funds, which are collectively referred to as the Urban Financing Partnership Facility. Under this umbrella, strategic, long-term, multi-partner investments on innovative urban solutions are implemented. These investments help to achieve the vision of livable cities." These include:
Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) eligible countries include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
North America
Canada
Grants to Reimburse Treaty Negotiation Loans to Indigenous Groups Who Have Settled a Comprehensive Land Claim "The overall objective is to ensure that Indigenous groups, who have repaid their comprehensive land claim negotiation loan debt resulting from their comprehensive claims settlements, are treated fairly and compensated for this amount.
The nature of the repayment of loan debt repaid to Canada as a result of a settled comprehensive land claim does not lend itself to the development of direct targets/indicators as it is funding provided for a unique one-time transaction and gesture of reconciliation, ensuring fair treatment between groups for which loans were forgiven and those groups who have already settled their claims by reimbursing any monies already repaid to Canada and providing the means with which to further their achievements in gap-closing investment opportunities.
The expected result is that all groups who have repaid their comprehensive land claim negotiation loan debt are reimbursed according to the schedule of payments contained in the letter sent to each Indigenous group.
Performance results will be reported in Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s (CIRNAC) Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Report.
In the Departmental Results Framework, this authority falls under the core responsibility, Rights and Self-Determination."
Oceana
Australia
New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme and Funeral Assistance Fund "The New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme provides ex-gratia payments of $75,000 to living Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families and committed to the care of the New South Wales Aborigines Protection or Welfare Boards. This payment is made in recognition of the harm that these removals caused.
The Funeral Assistance Fund provides one-off payments of $7,000 to Stolen Generations survivors to assist with the cost of funerals."