to Woke Souls,
It’s been a minute since I wrote to you.
Although the past few months have felt fairly mellow, in hindsight they have in-fact been action-packed. Time has been applied to rebrand TWS, create content for, and launch my Conscious Living column in Velvet Magazine, work on a variety of collaborations, photoshoots, and most importantly: to plan, action, and complete a site-lift, get it. For those of you that have ever even attempted to revamp a website – you will understand how crucial a step this is, and how much time and energy it consumes, but here we are! It’s live and kicking, and a much needed update – I love it and I hope you do too.
What’s next?
Having finally made it around to updating the brand and website, in addition to accomplishing other objectives, I have found myself ruminating: what’s next for both to Woke Souls and myself. Money has been a fairly consuming subject, and one which not many people wish to openly discuss. I’ve had a sum of money sitting around for a little while now, and whenever there seems to be an opening in my mind for further contemplation, it tends to trail off on this topic, I often find myself asking the following question: what should I do with my money?
I’ve always been fairly responsible with the stuff, even from a young age, except for that one time I allowed my sister to convince me into combining our piggy bank savings together and get the total sum changed over into £2 coins, it was when the brand new £2 coins had just come out and she was totally obsessed. It took very little time for that money to disappear, as we began to exchange it for sweets, Pokémon cards, and giant £20 chocolate eggs for my parents when Easter came around, which we struggled to carry home. Remember those ones?
Money Matters
Fast-forward 20 years or so, I’ve just turned 32, and unlike most of my peers, I’m not dating, I’m not saving for a wedding, children, or a house, I’m not completely sure what I’m doing to be totally and utterly honest. I mean, what I do know is that I’m not particularly interested in being tied down in any way whatsoever right now, I’m also not overly keen on purchasing a home, as I’m satisfied with the flexibility, freedom and peace that renting provides for me at this moment. If something breaks, I call the agent, if I want to explore a new area, I write to the agent – it’s a pretty sweet deal to be honest, one that I don’t really want to mess with.
I am however focused on building on where I’m at. Although I’m on the property ladder already, this is an area that I wouldn’t mind expanding, investing is another consideration, in addition to saving for a future start-up or two, as I currently have a couple of ideas brewing. Up until I shut shop back in 2018 I had always considered myself to have managed my money as effectively as possible – I had a few savings accounts which were earning interest every month, I was paying off my loan, I steered clear of credit cards, and I had very little in terms of personal outgoings.
Mind your own business
More recently however, a few close friends signed up for Amex, Premium Bonds, invested in property, and more, so naturally I felt inclined to explore some of these avenues myself. However, it wasn’t until I came close to submitting my application form for an American Express account, and a registration form for an NSandI bond, that the thought occurred to me: how am I voting with my wallet? For those of you that have been reading for some time, you may have come across several articles where I talk about supporting local, ethical and independent businesses – where your money goes really matters.
Despite all of this, it’s never really occurred to me that the same goes for banking. I had never really given much thought as to what the bank does with my money – which is ironic, as I try fairly hard to make ethical choices in so many other areas of my life. Much like myself, perhaps you eat mindfully, shop responsibly, and try to live purposefully and these are all fantastic, yet have you ever thought about how you may subsequently be supporting causes that go against your ethics and values, simply by putting money into your bank account?
Responsible & ethical banking
“Where your money goes is important as a business or as an individual. Money is the nutrient of the economic system, so where the money goes is going to grow. Banks use your money to invest and if your bank invests in environmentally or socially adverse activities then you are indirectly supporting and growing these.
I would encourage everyone who wants to make a positive change to check their bank’s environmental and ethical policy, and ensure that their bank does not support the extraction, production or distribution of fossil fuels, that it only invests in activities which promote human rights, that it does not support the unsustainable harvest of natural resources, and that they do not invest in chemicals known to cause damage to natural environments and human health.”
Having read the above words by Jewellery Designer, Bleue Burnham, in an interview with Form Nutrition, earlier this week, it became increasingly apparent that none of the previous accounts were right for me. I don’t feel comfortable handing my money over to the Government via an NSandI bond, in the same way that I don’t like the idea of handing it over to banks and corporations that will most likely invest in detrimental and destructive ways. Having made the decision to reach out to Bleue directly, I came to learn that the best two options in the UK are The Co-operative Bank and Triodos, with The Co-op being better for business banking.
Both banks feature pages that are dedicated to their ethics and values, highlighting where money goes. The Co-op have a fairly extensive timeline which reveals exactly when and where policy changes have been made, and where additional causes have been considered and backed. Tridos’ page is transparent enough to showcase specifically which initiatives and projects are being funded. They publish details on every organisation that they lend out to and fund, and you can click on each project to find out more.
In summary, if there’s only one change you make this year in the pursuit of living a more conscious, and sustainable lifestyle, let it be to be more mindful of where your money goes. In addition to this, for anybody that has a little spare cash and is considering supporting a good cause, or engaging in a selfless deed – be sure to check out Kiva. By lending as little as $25 you can be part of the solution and make a real difference in someone’s life. There’s a high chance of you getting your money back, and it’s a fantastic way to engage in a selfless act that will no doubt mean more than you can imagine to someone else out there. From refugees and conflict zones, all the way through to single-parents and agriculture from around the globe, you will find a cause that resonates with you.
I’m also keen to resume learning more about other banking options and initiatives, so please do feel free to continue the conversation in the comments section below.
Until next time,
A