There should be no secrets among those who continue to prosper in mostly non-financial ways despite the challenging economic times. These people live (and perhaps work) following the laws of nature more than the “laws of supply and demand” of the increasingly dysfunctional “free” and global marketplace.
Here’s how to thrive in the abundance of renewable energy, organic food and a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle. While not all frugality rules, this approach to living more sustainably does require some degree of curtailment, scaling down and living within our means. It means using credit cards less and relying on community members or family more. However, the result can be a rich life filled with health and well-being, friends and family, more time to do the things you love to do (imagine that!), a greater sense of purpose, and, my favorite, happiness.
Below are a few suggestions to get you started or continue your journey. Please add some of your own in the comments. Maybe some of the BIG banks or BIG government folks might take notice that a few ideas do not involve printing and spending trillions of dollars to “spur consumption.”
• Powering the renewable energy revolution
Times couldn’t be better for installing your own renewable energy system or improving your energy efficiency of your home or business (or both!), depending on the state you live in. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 extended the Energy Policy Act of 2005. These new acts extend and expand the federal tax credits available for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements made in 2009 and beyond. There are numerous renewable energy cash-back incentives, tax credits and low interest loans that can help ease the transition from a fossil-fuel based economy to one that thrives on solar income. Check out the Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (www.dsireusa.org) to see what’s available in your state.
If you do not want to waste precious moments searching the internet for the top stories in business and finance, or if you have found an ideal economics news story that you would highly recommend to other readers, then Tip’d might quickly become your business social destination everyday.
In the current business climate, readers are increasingly scouring the web for business and financial news from around the world. Tip’d is here to deliver the best business stories recommended by other readers like yourself. Tip’d (tipd.com) is a community for financial news, ideas, and tips. Given the important political decisions ahead and the evolving state of the economy, this social news site is perhaps more of a necessity rather than merely a convenient online news destination.
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend
Come inside! Come inside!
– Emerson, Lake and Palmer, “Karn Evil 9 - 1st Impression, Part 2″
Welcome back to the Carnival of the Green, the weekly showcase of all things good and green around the blogosphere! And welcome back to sustainablog, carnival-goers: this is our thirdtime hosting the CoG! We’ve got a wide variety of green bloggy goodness to share with you this week.
This is the first of several posts describing “Strategies of Abundance” for ecopreneurs and green business owners.
Even in financially tough times, these Strategies of Abundance reflect interrelationships between personal finance and business, especially for small business owners. The key for ecopreneurs is how they use their business to make the world a better place. Profits from a green enterprise are the catalyst for ecopreneurs to achieve their Earth Mission, whether to restore ecological integrity or make photovoltaic systems affordable to all.
STRATEGY #1: Stop paying the banker.
The longer you hold a mortgage, the more you work for the bank and the more profitable you make them. For comparison, below is a chart from our book, ECOpreneuring, reflecting how interest can pile up on a $100,000 mortgage at 7 percent interest for terms of 15 and 30 years. While the monthly payment is less for the 30-year mortgage (the primary reason many of us choose it), we end up paying more than double for the use of the same pot of money.
By accelerating our mortgage payments on our 30-year fixed mortgage by paying down the principal when we could, we have the ability to earn less income to pay the bank than if we did otherwise over the long-term. Prepayment on principal is usually acceptable and completely legal. Every time you pay down the principal, the remaining interest and balance is recalculated, meaning that more of your regular monthly payments go to the principal and not interest payments.
Market meltdowns, like the one we saw last week, and the one that may be forthcoming this week (as of this morning, the Asian markets took another nosedive), are no reason to panic.
In fact, unless you are on the cusp of retirement (or currently retired), market corrections are mostly positive news. Corporate profits are at multi-year highs. U.S. corporations have as more cash on hand than at any time
There should be no secrets among those who continue to prosper in mostly non-financial ways despite the challenging economic times. These people live (and perhaps work) following the laws of nature more than the “laws of supply and demand” of the increasingly dysfunctional “free” and global marketplace.
