By Amanda Morrall
1) A Deeper Shade of Green.
It's not easy being green -- least of all for investors. Fortunately, times are changing.
Ethical investing firm Hunter Hall's Global Deep Green Trust is proof of it. The Responsible Investment Association of Australasia, in its latest newsletter, reports July returns were up 5.2% in July 2011, beating the global share market benchmark by 9.5%. The reasons are explained in both aforementioned links.
I interviewed Hunter Hall's David Buckland a few years ago. (Read the story here). He impressed me for two reasons, well three to be honest:
1) HH's above average returns
2) because he was using a reusable green shopping bag for a briefcase
3) he donates a portion of his profits every year to support a school in Africa which otherwise wouldn't exist.
2) Do gooders
On the subject of do-gooders, I have recently discovered a website dedicated to the reporting of people and companies out there working for a greater good. This totally goes against the grain of traditional reporting techniques which screen for news on a negative basis, which is skewed.
This post from good.is offers some tips on how to channel your passion into a worthy project. Bookmark it for those glass half empty days.
3) Bad habits die hard
Never go to bed angry, or worrying about money. Apparently the latter will only make you poor(er).
Here, Milk-your-money.com outlines the 8 worst habits for saving money. How many can you identify with?
4) Financial freedom
At what stage can you declare financial freedom? And how much money do you need in the bank before you give your notice at work?
Some good suggestions here from comluv.com how to adjust your level of savings along with any income growth to help you along your way.
5) Organic or bust
I used to think it was impossible to go organic without also going broke. While it's true organic costs more, it doesn't have to be a luxury.
Growing your own is one way to lower costs. Here momsplan.com outlines 10 tips for buying organic on a budget.
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