Ep 65: Resources to Help You Live a Sustainable Lifestyle

We are rounding out our sustainable investment series by talking about a couple of key topics on how you can transition into a sustainable investment lifestyle.

How to own sustainability in your life.

We know that truly living sustainably isn't just about doing one thing, but it is about making a change in our overall lifestyle.

And by no means in today's episode, am I asking you to do every single thing that we talk about. Maybe just pick one thing.

So how do you do that in a giving strategy? How do you do that in a volunteering strategy?s And how do you do that when you make a simple trip to the grocery store?

I have some advice and free resources to help you decide if the businesses you frequent align with your values.

And, I also admit my weaknesses. I'm not perfect, and I'm not asking you to be, either. But we can all make a difference, and that's what we will talk about now.

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Securities offered through LPL Financial, a member of FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Advisors' Pride, a SEC registered investment advisor. LPL Financial, Advisors' Pride, Forethought Planning and the guests of Thrive For[e]ward podcast are separate and unaffiliated parties. Lisa Harris and Lisa Harris & Co are not affiliated with Forethought Planning, Advisor's Pride, or LPL Financial. The views expressed here are those of the participants, and not those of Forethought Planning, Advisor's Pride, or LPL financial. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. LPL Financial and Forethought Planning do not offer legal services.   

Transcript

0:00  
Hello friends, welcome to the Thrive Forward podcast, I am excited to have you today, we are rounding out our sustainable investment series and we are going to be talking about a couple of key topics on how you transition from that sustainable investment conversation. But really, how do you own that sustainability in your life? We know that truly living sustainable isn't just about doing one thing, but it is about making a change of how we live our lifestyle. And by no means in today's episode, am I asking you to do every single thing that we talked about, maybe just pick one, one thing, we're going to talk about how it intersects with your day to day life, as well as the impacts that you make in the roles that you play? So how do you do that in a giving strategy? How do you do that in a volunteering strategy? And how do you do that when you make a simple trip to the grocery store, so tune in to today's episode, and if you know somebody that could be a value in listening to this conversation, share it with them. That's how we continue to spread this great entertainment, sometimes and education. So hit that share button, send us somebody either via text or share on your social media. Thanks so much and tune in.

1:19  
All right, so today we're gonna get into the nitty gritty, and maybe not the true nitty gritty of living sustainably. So we've spent the entire month talking about investments and sustainable investments and kind of unpacking a little bit about what that looks like the history of it, what it is, and what it means for you as an investor. And what is the future of sustainable impact from an investment standpoint. So that's one really big piece. The other piece that I think are pieces that I think are important are what do we do in our day to day life? Right? How do we make a difference in the world? So by all means, I am not a sustainable living expert. I try my best I am human. So yes, I still make mistakes. And yes, sometimes I still use plastic. Yes, sometimes I still use, you know, all of the things that maybe we shouldn't, yes, I drive an SUV, I am not perfect. I am human. And I need you all to remember to that you are human. And we can't do everything perfectly. But we sure as heck can try to make a difference, right. So that being said, let's look at some of the things. I think the first and foremost is every week, you probably go grocery shopping, or go shopping of some sort. It's October, last month school started for most of the kiddos and probably in August, you were doing some back to school shopping. So you find yourself in different retailers or online shopping for various different things. And next month, we're going to talk a little bit about spending as well as we gear up for the holidays and Black Friday shopping and all those things. But what are the companies that you buy from? Have you ever thought about what their impact is? How about the packaging that you utilize when you buy things? Is it plastic? Is it recyclable? Is it compostable? What are the elements that are surrounding the package that you are actually purchasing? And at the end of the day, what does that company look like? I think about it from a journey as you enter into the door, the door of the store that you're shopping at how are they sustainable? What is the impact that they're doing? How are they making sure that their their team is paid? Well, how are they making sure that their carbon footprint is smaller? How are they making sure that their waste is decreased? How are they promoting individuals and giving back to the community that they live in? I think we look at some of these companies as we walk in and you're like, Oh crap, I need all of these things for dinner to make this weekend because the in laws are coming over. And it's one more efficient, and you're telling me there's one more thing I need to think about where I shop and what what do I do? Well, if you truly want to live in a space, that makes sense, yeah, understand, we're writing that check to who you're making that credit card payments you Who are the people that you're partnering with to make those transactions occur. It's not just what ends up in your cart, figuratively or literally right, whether you're online, or legitimately in a brick and mortar store. It's what ends up in our cart and the companies that we shop and support. So do they align with the things that are important to you? Right, I'm not here to tell you what is important to you, but rather for you to say, yeah, you know what they actually do align with my values. Sometimes there are places I don't eat at and there are places I don't shop at because I know that their company values don't align with the things that are important. To me. It doesn't matter how good their products are or how great their sales are. And sometimes it's really hard because I

5:00  
Really want to eat that certain type of sandwich or shop at that certain type of store. But for me, it's a gut check. And I say, you know what, I don't really need that thing or that sandwich. As much as I want to believe in the values that are important to me. So I want to urge you that there's actually certifications out there that you can find from companies that are supporting things or looking at small business owners. Small Business Saturday is coming up. It's actually the Saturday following Black Friday. We'll talk a little bit about that in upcoming episodes in November. But there's actually a certification for companies in is called the A B Corp. So it's B Corp dotnet. And you can go up and look for certain companies, I've got their website pulled up right now. And you can find different companies that have gone through this a vetting process, it's an application process, something that's important businesses have to go through, it's actually a very rigorous process. And at some point, I really hope that forethought can go through this process. And we ourselves can be a B Corp, but they're asking questions about like, how do your employees get to work? What? What does that process look like at work? How much paper waste do you use? How are you making an impact in your community? What are what are the things that you are doing? If you're producing a product? What does that look like? So lots of various different things go into this certification, it's not just something that you can apply to get. It's a process. And it's a continual understanding of what you're making an impact for. So for instance, not that I'm endorsing this company whatsoever, but for one company that is a B Corp is TOMS shoes. So you think about it, you buy a pair of TOMS Shoes, and someone else in a underserved country is getting another pair of shoes. And now you're doing good on both sides of things, Toms Shoes had to go through more than just the fact that they're giving away a pair of shoes. How is their product made? What? What is their community? Or what is their company culture look like, say that time 10 times fast? And their actual imprint to their employees and the community? How does it get shipped? How does you know? Like, there's all these different things that play into that actual qualification from a B Corp standpoint? And then I think about like, Okay, well, when you leave the store, how are you leaving the store, I am famous for this, I'll be stopping at the store. And I will be like, shoot, I forgot my reusable bags, right? And so oftentimes, you'll either catch me like carrying all the stuff out or trying to make sure that I reduce as much plastic bags that I have

7:50  
that come into my house, or find a way to reuse them. I think it's not just about that guilt factor, I think we can always have that assessed with us, especially in today's culture, where everything's in front of us, and everybody's doing these things. And I have to do all of this. And man, I'm a bad person. If I don't do that. That's not the reality. And that's not what I'm saying, either. But what can we do to lessen our imprint or reuse different things? So for one, we've started to try to use different things in our house. So transition from once you leave that store, now you're going home, and you're putting it away, right? Maybe it's food, right? So how do you put it in your refrigerator? What are the food storage units that you use? Is it reusable? Is it plastic? Is it class? As I talked about in a previous episode, I believe last month, we talked about, like what we put in our body and on our body where we store our food to has an impact not only for ourselves as humans and our health, but also the health of the environment. So what is it that you know, is it is it black freezer bag, is it a reusable bag, so if you are at Target,

9:04  
you can see on an end cap, I was just there the other day, and they've got tons and tons and tons of reusable bags, they're not plastic, they're rubber. Correct me if I'm wrong, I might not have the exact ingredient correct on how it's made. But we utilize those and the girls really love it because they're more durable. They even come in fun patterns and different things like that you can throw them in your dishwasher, and they're easy to reuse and you're not using the plastic bags. Now don't get me wrong. I also still have some plastic bags for mergency things that we have to use them for. So again, this isn't just a be all or end all type of situation. But if we do want to make a difference in the world, we just got to think about how can we repurpose some of these things. And I've had friends who even think about like what are the things that are in your house?

10:00  
What are the chemicals that you use? And how do they not only impact you, but how do they impact the environment? I think sometimes we too need to think about, like, where were things

10:13  
manufactured? And what do things look like? And I mentioned this again, in a previous episode, we become so trusting as a society that things are going to be okay. Right? And we don't end up questioning the process behind some of these things. And the reality is, unfortunately, we do have to question the process if we really want to understand the impact, because there is a lack of transparency. On the last episode, I joked with Emily, a little bit about the lack of transparency in our industry? Well, I think it's just a lack of transparency across the board, when it comes to investing when it comes to companies and growth, and how do we do those various different things? So when you look at your everyday life, I think you think about what are the companies that you're supporting by shopping at? What are the companies that you're buying goods from within those companies? How are they manufactured? How are they packaged for your use? And how are you utilizing them in your home? And then what is that? What is that throw away look like? What does that mean to the end? Like when you're done using it? What's the disposal mechanism? And what does that impact look like? I'd love to be able to transition not only just into this topic of what do we do with the things that we purchase, but also how do we give back I think there are so many different ways that we can look at impact. From a lifestyle perspective. It's not just where we buy things, but it's where we give. And I argue that it's not just giving money, but where we give our time. It's a lifestyle, I was standing on the drive with my daughter last night and talking with some friends in the neighborhood. And we were trying to pick a date for something I said, Oh, I have a board meeting that night, I can't do that. And my daughter looks up to me and she goes Mommy, you so much for that community. And she's eight years old. And

12:19  
that warms my heart that my little girl, like, recognize that I do so much. And my friend goes well. And so you can do something else yourself to going forward. You can volunteer, you can do all these things just like your mom. The reality is, I know we all have so much going on.

12:38  
I don't envy you listener who is going through whatever it is, you're going through my friend.

12:45  
And it just feels like I don't know if I can take on one other thing. So let me just caveat with, you don't have to do everything that I'm talking about today. may just pick one, just pick one thing, whether it's from a previous episode, and looking at investing with your 401k in an impactful way and looking at sustainable investing. Maybe it's you're switching out the bags that use the grocery store, maybe it's you are you do have the capacity to volunteer and make an impact in a neighborhood organization. How are we looking at the issues that are going on in our communities? What is important? How are we making that impact with our time and our money. So just talking a little bit about time, looking for organizations that are really truly making a difference. And you can use nonprofit scenarios where you can find the ones that are actually really making a difference, both from $1 amount perspective, but also from a volunteer perspective.

13:56  
So talking a little bit about the financial side of things and switching gears away from the element of the actual, like time that you spend with an organization I think it's always about, you know, what are you doing? Does it fit with your schedule and the things that you are passionate about. But when we start to think about where we invest our dollars, not just in our investments, but where we give our dollars, I also look at that as a future investment. We're paying it forward for an organization to be able to do good. It's not just always throwing them at any 501 c three or charity that we can find there's actually a resource on charity navigator.org that I truly enjoy being able to look up and help my clients understand the organizations that they're working with and talk about transparency, they are rating these 501 c three is based on the transparency of their financials. So when you make a donation, how much of it is actually really going to the cause that you are trying to support? How much is going to operations How much is it going to marketing how

15:00  
Is it going to other types of costs? And I think it's important as a donor or investor in these charities that we look at it from a perspective of what is the end goal with our finances? If we're donating this money? Where is it going? Is it going to the improvements that these organizations are saying they are making, I think there are lots of different vehicles you can look at from a donations perspective, of course, you can make a direct donation to any 501 c three, you can also structure your complex financial planning to really include other aspects of it as well. So some of the hot topics right now around Donor Advised funds, and understanding how those might benefit you. From a planning perspective, there are also plenty of ideas that you can do from an insurance planning and estate planning piece where you actually truly named charities as beneficiaries of your assets. A Donor Advised fund actually takes money from your current investments and puts it into a fund where you get to control it, it's still invested, and you get to the control of where it goes. And when it's dispersed. You don't own it anymore from an accessibility to buy a car or a house or go on a trip, it's truly just set aside. That money is set aside for you to be able to do good with it. And and choose those organizations. But that doesn't mean that it has to occur just in that one time or that one year, over time, you can decide to give that usually doesn't make sense for anybody to start one of those unless they're going to do it in a larger dollar amount. To make it more sensible from a tax planning perspective. Again, we're not here to provide you tax or legal advice, but it is something that you can bring up in conversation with your advisor, either your financial planner, or your tax advisor to be able to see if it makes sense in your area of planning. So if we kind of put a bow around today, we kind of talked about a lot of different things, right? We talked about how our power, we're making an impact with the places that we go into. And I challenge you to think about this every week as you go into the grocery store, or if it's a daily trip, like my dear mother, who always made daily trips to the grocery store, instead of one big huge shopping trip. As you go in, what is that experience look like for you? And what are those organizations that you are supporting? And then as you go home? What does that impact in your house? And what does that waste look like? What does that energy consumption look like in your house? What are the things that you're doing in your daily life, to make a difference? And then as you transition into you as a person, how are you making an impact in your community, with your time and your money.

17:55  
And if you don't have the time, that's understandable. But if you have the money, then you have the ability to also make a difference in a different way, utilizing resources like charity navigator.org, so that you can make sure that you know your money is going in a direction that is actually supporting a cause that's important to you. I know it feels like a lot, my friends sometimes that we have to do all of this research to make sure that things are actually done the way we want to. But the reality is, if we aren't actually in control of it, we do have to ask some questions. And although we want to be really trusting, I am one that gives trust out and takes it back when it's broken, but gives it out very freely. I think one or two times in our lives, we got to be a little bit more cautious and understand I think around our finances is one of those pieces that touches every aspect of our lives. So if we aren't choosing the impacts that it makes wisely. What other areas of our lives is it going to impact I talked about in our last episode, how important this subject is for me, as I think about our future. I think about our future not only for myself, but also for my children. I'm a mom, and it is absolutely the most important Title I hold in my life. Yes, even as CEO and wife to Jim foreman, mom is very important to me. And I think about the future of my children, of their friends, and of this world. And I know we are at a crossroads in our lives right now where we have the ability to truly look at and dig deeper and see what our impacts are. So my friend, I challenge you I challenge you to think about just one of those things. If it feels too overwhelming to think about all of them. I'm not asking you to be perfect, because perfect does not exist. I'm just asking you to make an effort.

19:54  
If not for yourself for the next generation. They deserve to have a life

20:00  
Better than the one that you and I have had. I know my parents believe that for me, and I believe that for the next generation. So, as I sign off this episode of the podcast, I want to say you are worthy of wealth

20:15  
and ask you the question, don't you believe that everyone else's as well.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai