Green Christian Network » Green Money

Get your kids involved!

Lara Velez — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:04:50 +0000

If you are living a green life, your kids will eventually learn green ways and become better stewards of God’s planet. However, there is a way that you can not only get them involved, but they will be passionate about it! LOL!

How?

Making the green stuff…MONEY!

One of my kids decided they wanted to find ways to earn some money to go on a missions trip. Save soda cans and recycle them to earn cash. Sure, it’s not a ton of money, however, it helps the environment, teaches responsibility to earn own money, and the cans are reused for other purposes instead of helping overflow another landfill!

If you have preteens or teenagers, this is a sure fire way to get them active in the recycling movement. Nothing says “worth my time” to a teenager more than money…at least mine!

If they decide to do this, set up an area where they can store their cans. Then, let them loose. Soon they will be telling their friends and family members not to throw away the cans. Before you know it people who are not even greenies will be helping the environment!

You can help too, by saving the cans your coworkers use and helping them “spread the word” for their new “job.”

Seriously, it is a total win win green idea!

Stay Green!

Green Funds

Lara Velez — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:08:07 +0000

There is a lot of thoughts and ideas going around the world today about living and buying green which means to stick with the products, companies, and organizations that are for saving our planet. This type of thinking has also gone into major markets such as the stock market. There are funds that are called Green Funds which are stocks from companies that do not pollute the world and are for natural resources. There are many products that are now being sold in order to help save the earth and keep the air that we breathe clean.

It is nice to know that there are Green Funds that investors can invest in order to keep their beliefs about helping our planet stay healthy. The investors like to have a portfolio that states they will only deal with companies and their stocks who not only care about making the money that they are making through the market but also care about what their products and services do for the world that our children and grandchildren are going to grow up in. This actually states just how far the message of a clean world has gotten.

If a message can break the barriers of money, it can just about do anything and these investors that are only investing in Green Funds are continuing the message onto other prospective investors. The more that we do to preserve our natural resources and keep our planet clean, the better off all of us will be. There are many websites on the Internet that will have lists of stocks that investors can invest in that are connected to companies who follow the message of keeping the world clean and green. It is these websites that people who want to invest in stocks should visit to learn about these Green funds.

Most of the Green Funds that you will find are small funds, but they are still on top in today’s market due to the fact that they focus on the green technology that is growing on a daily basis. People should definitely invest in the environment because this is what is our future and these funds are out there waiting for anyone to invest in them. There are many types of these funds that you can invest in that have to do with helping the environment and alternative energy and it is these funds that have sustainable practices.

Stay Green!

Investing: The Green Way to Go

Lara Velez — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:53:56 +0000

Green investing is a great way to not only find some healthy investment returns but also make sure your money is funding socially responsible companies. Green investing means your money is earning you an investment return while you’re helping to back the companies who are doing the right thing by the environment or by the community.

With green investing you could be making money while you’re helping the environment. An example of green investing could be to invest your money into companies researching and developing alternative energy sources or by investing into companies that make a positive impact on the environment.

Socially responsible investing began by appealing to investors who preferred not to have their money funding companies involved with things like tobacco, gambling or alcohol.

In more recent times green investing now screens out companies who are abusive or irresponsible toward the environment or their communities, companies who might practice poor labor relations or lack corporate integrity. This also means their green investments advocate companies that are making a positive impact on the environment or the community.

So how do you get started in Green Investing?

The simplest way to put your money to work in green investing is to invest it into an SRI mutual fund. A Socially Responsible Investment mutual fund does all the management of choosing green companies with decent returns for you.

A side effect of green investing is that over time as more people pour money into socially responsible companies, this action is sending a message to those companies who are guilty of extreme environmental pollution or poor labor practices that the community has become less tolerant of their corporate practices.

Are Green Companies a Good Investment?

Many governments around the world have begun legislating greener practices relating to a lot of industries in response to public feedback and concerns for environmental damage. As more companies scramble to find ways to comply with legislations and also find ways to meet public approval, green research and environmentally friendly products are on the rise.

This means many green companies are increasing their market share over time, but it may not necessarily make it a good green investment.

As with any other investment, it’s wise to check the individual company for how they generate revenue and whether the company is performing well in terms of available cash flow and overall profitability.

For example, a new green start-up company specializing in green energy research might be funded by government loans, grants and investor money, but may not be producing any revenue of its own, so trying to calculate investment returns on a green investment like this would be difficult at best.

Overall, green investing is a great way to have your investment money aligned to your personal preferences but it’s still important to consider the total investment package and how your money would be put to work before jumping in.

Stay Green!