← So Money with Farnoosh Torabi
So Money with Farnoosh Torabi
1750: Trump, Climate Change and Smart Ways to Spend, Save and Invest Sustainably
00:35:27
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- [00:00]
Farnoosh Khourabi
Hey friend, it's Farnush. Would you love to strengthen your finances as we head into the New year.
- [00:05]
Cara Perez
You want to have me in your.
- [00:06]
Farnoosh Khourabi
Corner ready to answer your financial questions? I'm thrilled to invite you to join my so Money Members club for a limited time. You can join for free. Go to somoneymembers.com use the code somoneybf2024 to enjoy your first month free somoneymembers.com and use the code somoneybf 2024 to get your first month absolutely free.
- [00:31]
Cara Perez
My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for Career day and said he was a big Rozman. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn you'll be able to reach people who do. Get a hundred dollar credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com results to claim your credit.
- [00:55]
Farnoosh Khourabi
That's LinkedIn.com results.
- [00:57]
Cara Perez
Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be to be when you use SAP Concur solutions to automate your business finances, you'll be ready for anything. Accept the new office dog running off with your lunch. With SAP Concur, you can be ready for almost anything. Take control of your business finances today@concur.com.
- [01:33]
So Money Episode 1750 the Smartest Ways to Spend, Save and Invest Sustainably with Cara Perez, author of Green Money. You're listening to so Money with award winning money guru Farnoosh Khourabi. Each day get a 30 minute dose of financial inspiration from the world's top business minds, authors, influencers and from Farnoosh herself. Looking for ways to save on gas or double your double coupons. Sorry, you're in the wrong place. Seeking profound ways to live a richer, happier life. Welcome to SO Money.
- [02:10]
Release yourself from the expectation of perfection, whether that's with your money or with your sustainable actions. Because that's never going to happen. And that's okay.
- [02:18]
Welcome back to so Money everybody. As we face the possibility of a second Trump administration rolling back critical climate action policies, it's not clear if we can rely solely on governments or corporations.
- [02:32]
Farnoosh Khourabi
To solve these problems. The good news?
- [02:34]
Cara Perez
There's a lot that we can do with the power of our own wallets to make an impact. And that's why I'm really happy to welcome Cara Perez to our show today. Cara is the founder of Bravely Go and the author of Green Money. She has incredible and Practical insights on how we can spend, save and invest in ways that not only protect our financial future, but also help to slow down climate change. In her book, Kara gets real about the challenges we all face. Like how social media creates FOMO that pushes us to over consume, which hurts both our budgets and the planet. If you've ever felt overwhelmed about where to start, Cara's advice will show us the way.
- [03:13]
Farnoosh Khourabi
Here's Cara Perez.
- [03:16]
Cara Perez
Cara Perez, welcome to SO Money and congratulations on your new book, Green Money.
- [03:22]
Thank you so much for having me and thank you. Very exciting.
- [03:26]
I know, first time author after so many years helping people with their money. You know, green money, we want to get into it deeply on this episode, but it sort of combines your expertise in finance and your passion for sustainable living. You could write probably a ton of other books on different subjects. Why was this particular topic important to you? And why do you think now is the right time for this conversation?
- [03:51]
You know, I think so many people are really coming to the world of sustainability. And I think as we experience different things happening in the world, like major storms, right. Or hotter summers, I think people are really waking up to the connection of how we live, impacting the world around us. And of course, our money is a huge part of how we live. Right. And I wanted to write this to really capitalize on this awakening that I think people are having and to be a voice for positivity in the sustainability, the money and the climate conversation. Because so often people will think about. I mean, I'm sure you've had conversations with people like, oh, I can't invest, right? It's, it's too much, it's overwhelming. I just, I don't even know where to begin. And it's the same in the sustainable living community of like, oh my gosh, the climate conversation seems so big, or sustainable living, there's so many things I need to do, I don't even know where to start. And so I wanted to write this book as a guide of, hey, here's how you can use your money to live more sustainably and here's how you can use your money to change the world around us from step one to step two to step three. Like, I walk you through it.
- [05:01]
Yeah, you're right, it's, we want the payoff right away. We want to be able to put our money to use, whether that's investing or anything else, and like, feel an immediate reward. Whereas with investing, the reward may not be for many, many years. And I think similarly in the sustainable living market, while there are Some things you can do and immediately feel the impact when we think about like recycling. And what does it even matter.
- [05:32]
Right? Like, oh, I think a lot of people think, oh, it's just like one drop in a bucket. If I can't fill up the bucket, it doesn't matter. And the book really focuses on it all matters. And here are a variety of people. Each chapter starts with a story of people who are doing things differently and really impacting the world around them. And I just think that's, it's so encouraging to see people already doing it. And then you're like, where do I fit in? Right? How can I find my spot? And that's really what the book helps guide people to.
- [06:03]
So how do I find my spot? I think you already brought up the overwhelm and the lack of direction. And so what are some practical ways for someone who wants to live at the intersection of making smart money moves but also being conscious about the environment and living sustainably? How can they sort of begin to develop their roadmap?
- [06:25]
The first thing I say in the book, and the first thing I say all the time is throw the idea of being perfect out the window. I have been someone who's been working on my money and specifically working on making my money more sustainable. For example, I don't invest in fossil fuels for years. Do I still use single use plastic? Sometimes? Yes. Do I still have a gas powered car? Yes. So release yourself from the expectation of perfection, whether that's with your money or with your sustainable actions, because that's never going to happen and that's okay.
- [06:55]
We're going to be conflicting realities along the way.
- [07:00]
Exactly. We live in a complex world and our money systems make our sustainable actions more complex. So we have to accept a level of complexity and a level of okay, I did A, I wasn't able to do B, that doesn't mean I'm a bad person. So you have to throw out the black and white thinking, step one. The second thing is I ask people, and we have exercises for this in the book to explore what you're interested in. Like, if you don't care at all about recycling, don't be like, you know what I need to do? Become my town's like chief recycling officer. Because you hate that. That's fine. There's so many ways that you can practice sustainability. Maybe you're really into food, you really appreciate fresh food. Okay, Maybe you start volunteering one hour every single weekend at a community garden, right? You get your hands in the dirt, you see how food is grown and you help provide food for low income families. That's a way to align a value and interest with a sustainable action. So I encourage people to think about what am I interested in, what do I like doing. And then I promise you there is already an organization or a person or some sort of effort out there that is working on that.
- [08:15]
At the same time, I'm sure you address this in your book. There is this culture of overconsumption that we live in. Fast fashion is something that a lot of us are getting accustomed to and it's a big business. There's obviously a reliance on fossil fuel, fossil fuels and these are by and large systemic issues. So while you're volunteering at your local organization or doing things on an individual basis, how do you, how do you. Kara? Actually I'm. Here's how you do it, like feel like you are making a global impact, especially when you're just one person. And then there are these changes that are really reliant on policies to change and corporations and boards to actually move the needle. So how do you I guess stay motivated?
- [09:02]
Yeah, you know, there's a phrase, and I'm not sure who said this originally, but it's think global, act local. And that's what I always, always, always tell myself. I'm not the president of the world, right? Like I can't change policy in China or a policy in, you know, Ethiopia around how they manufacture clothing or how they produce food. What can I do in my own life? Oh, and I need new pants. Instead of going out and buying fast fashion, which we know is an environmental disaster, we know is a human rights disaster, I can host a clothing swap with five women who are of similar sizes to me or not, whatever. And I can meet people in my community, I can get new to me clothing and I don't have to spend any money. So I encourage people to. And there's a whole, again we mentioned this in the book. There's a whole section on how to get your needs met without having to spend money in an effort to counteract that easy over consumption that is so common in American life. And I think we're really seeing an interest in this with the under consumption core trend on social media right now where people are sick of everything being so expensive and people are sick of things being kind of garbage, right? Buying something and it breaks after two uses and you're like, that's $40 now, I can't return it. So that was just a waste. Question mark, question mark. So I encourage people to lean into the idea of community, to lean into the idea of borrowing and really acting on local levels in order to build out impact that has a ripple effect.
- [10:38]
I love that. And I also want to offer that while we're talking about, you know, sustainability and trying to save money, sometimes there's something to be said about spending more money on the higher quality product that's going to last. That's not going to be a $10 shirt that you'll just, well, it's $10. Oh, well, it's spaghetti stain. I don't care. And then you go and you buy another one. Whereas the nicer things that you have in your closet, the more likely you're going to take care of it. And you paid more. But maybe you also worked with a vendor that is being thoughtful about their carbon footprint. So I just want to throw that option out there as well. That spending a little bit more upfront for the higher quality goods that will last is another way to be sustainable would 100%.
- [11:25]
There's another phrase that I love. I'm sure you've heard buy once, cry once. And it's like, you buy.
- [11:34]
Oh, I love that. I had to think about that for a second.
- [11:37]
Yeah, I saw it on Reddit. So again, I don't know who to credit for that. But yeah, you buy something once, it's expensive, and you're like, oh my God, I can't believe I'm spending $200. A thousand dollars, right. Depending on what it is. But then I'm going to use this every day or I'm going to use this for the next two. Two decades. Right? And I think about it a lot when it comes to appliances or furniture. Like, I recently moved and I bought a new bed and I was shooketh to my core at a new mattress price. I just hadn't bought a new bed in about 10 years. And I didn't realize they had also experienced inflation. But I thought, Carrie, you sleep every night, okay? And sometimes you just lie down in bed like, it'll be noon. You'll be like, I need a little break. Let me lie.
- [12:21]
Ever heard of a nap?
- [12:22]
Yeah, exactly. So this is something that it's very well worth it to buy high quality. It is going to be better for your health, it's going to be better for your lifestyle. So just buy once, cry once. And so I did, you know, and I'm so glad that I did that. Now I'm looking into getting nicer sheets for myself. I'm really turning into like a bougie betting person. But I do think that that is something to keep in mind of. Okay, I could buy. Yeah. Cost per use. And, and to your point of, if this brand is attempting to make a high quality thing that will last its consumers a long time, that's a brand I can trust. As opposed to the Sheens and the Teemu's of the world that want to sell you garbage so that you come back next week and buy even more garbage. Right.
- [13:09]
It's a business model shifting from spending. Let's talk about investing. Carol, you brought it up a little bit in the earlier in the show. And how. Well, investing in general can be overwhelming. And then I often get folks who want to know, okay, how do I layer onto my investing strategy this idea of being ethical and sustainable? And you talk about not investing in companies that are in the fossil fuel category. We've come a long way with socially responsible investing, or erg, but there's still a lot of unevenness in how companies are being branded. It's hard to understand really what you're investing in. And is this company really aligned with my values? And even if the answer is yes, we still want to make money. Right? Like, we're investing for the purpose of growing our wealth, not just to be socially conscious. That would be great if both things can happen at the same time. But what's your approach and how can we address those two desires? Right, to be ethical while we're investing, but also get a return.
- [14:16]
Yeah. So this is what chapter six is all about, sustainable investing. And I'll use myself, myself as an example. So I don't invest in fossil fuels, Right. I don't invest in oil, coal or gas. So no Exxon, no Shell, nothing like that. For me, I invest in companies like Amazon. Would I say that Amazon is ethical? Absolutely not. But you are never going to find a perfect company, a company that treats its employees perfectly, that has a completely ethical supply chain, that has, that doesn't use fossil fuels. Right? Like, because we live in an interconnected world that's operating under various levels of capitalism, which is an economic system designed to create as much profit as possible. So again, we have to release the idea that, like, there's a perfect company out there that I can invest in that will always go up, always make me money and never do anything bad, that's just simply not realistic to the world we live in. So I tell people, again, find a value that you really care about. For me, it's environmentalism. And the biggest problem with environmentalism right now is the damage that fossil fuels do to our planet. So I have decided as an individual, I'll take my money out of fossil fuels. I still have my money in companies that use fossil fuels. I still heat my home with oil. Right. Like.
- [15:38]
Right.
- [15:39]
And that's the compromise that we have to make. I sleep just fine at night with that because I know I'm making an effort. And I know that there are hundreds of thousands, millions of other people that are also making an effort. Right. They're driving electric cars. They are volunteering. They are voting in legislators who want to do carbon taxes and who want to protect our national parks and things like that. And together, we all have an impact. And just back to your point of I want to do the right thing. I also want to make money. Yes. That's totally fine. That's 100% how you should be approaching, I think, your life and your money in this world. I encourage people to find something that is important to them and to either put their money into it or withhold their money from it. As I am. I also encourage people to diversify the way that they think about wealth. So something I recently moved. I spent 11 years in Texas. I did a year and change in North Carolina. I moved back to Massachusetts, where I was born and raised. And all of my family is here. And I moved back because I have that social capital. Right. I have family wealth. And since being back here, one of my aunts gave me a free kayak. Right. One of my uncles was like, hey, I'm going to come over and fix your car. And so there's a way of thinking about wealth in the world that isn't just money in the bank. It is our social capital. It is our skill set. It is how we move and build community in the world. And so, as we think about building wealth for ourselves, Yes. I want to invite you to utilize the stock market in a way that feels good for you. I also want to invite you to build these other forms of capital.
- [17:20]
That is awesome. I love that so much. I say similar things when people, like, lose their jobs. A lot of people getting laid off and feeling as though they've lost everything. But it's like, do you still have your education? Do you still have your network? Do you still have your work experience? Do you still have your gumption and your grit? Yes. Well, let me tell you, my friend, those are all assets.
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Yes.
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And resources.
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Exactly. Yeah. I think about all the time. Like, there's this Arnold Schwarzenegger interview that I love.
- [17:51]
All these references in the. That you're bringing up.
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I Know, I just, I've been thinking a lot about all of this stuff recently and he says something along the lines, like, I hate when people refer to me as self made. I'm not self made, like some in Austria and somebody like, fact check me on his exact life story, but I think like his village or his gym, like fundraised for his ticket to the United States. Like, he didn't have to pay for that himself. When he first got here, he like lived in a. I think he lived in his gym where he was working out and they were like, yeah, you don't have to pay rent. And he's very upfront about the way he's been supported by other people. And I just think about that all the time of, wow, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who now has a ton of money, right?
- [18:36]
Yeah.
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Really has such a good perspective on other types of wealth, other types of capital, and I wish more people would talk about it that way.
- [18:45]
Yeah, wow. Makes you want to go and get an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger now and then talk to him about his money story. I wonder if living abroad and being an immigrant is maybe partly why he has these broadened views on what wealth is. You discuss eco anxiety in your book Eco Anxiety. Can you talk about what that is and how you are advising people to sort of work through that and cope with that? I mean, I can already tell you're going to be talking about the existential questions surrounding climate change. And you're right. You said at the top, like, everyone's feeling this now. I think that's a good thing. I think that pain is needed sometimes to sort of waken the world and everybody up to this urgent, urgent issue.
- [19:35]
Yes. So eco anxiety is an anxiety that people feel specifically around the future of the planet or current ecological health on the planet. So when we talk about, like, saving the bees, that can cause a lot of eco anxiety because people are thinking, well, why do the bees need saving? Like, why are the bees disappearing? Which also, we've done a great job on helping rescue the bees. The bees are doing much better than they were thanks to awareness, thanks to people making lots of changes and taking effort on that. But eco anxiety particularly shows up in Millennial and Gen Z, who are legitimately asking, you know, what will water be like in 50 years? Like, are we going to have the same amount of clean water in 50 years? Are we going to have summer eight months out of the year in 50 years because of climate change? And, and this anxiety, I think, is important to address and name because it can be paralyzing for some people. And that's exactly the opposite of what we want, both as individuals in our own lives and as a collective. If we're going to kind of right the ship, we can't get frozen in fear. So I do talk about eco anxiety in the book and ways to overcome the fear, overcome the paralyzation, and ways to make changes at the individual level in your own life and at a bigger picture, higher level in the systems we live in.
- [21:01]
So if you are that millennial who's like, what is going to happen to my water source in 50 years? What can we do that will make us feel more empowered towards the fate of water?
- [21:13]
It's a good question. It's a big question. I think the very first thing is to really to consider who you listen to, especially if you're just beginning to educate yourself around this. There is a lot of misinformation and disinform out there, and there are a lot of people who prey on your fears. They want you to be afraid so that you will follow them or pay them. Right. They are using fear as a marketing tactic. And when I was writing this book and when I pitched this book, I was really clear that I didn't want to do that. I was like, no, no, no, no. This is going to be a very practical book. I'm a very practical person. But it's going to be a very hopeful book because there's a lot of amazing things that have already been done. We've largely saved the bees and there's a lot of people solutions. And it's really, it's, it's like disrespectful to listen to the voices that are preying on your fear as opposed to the voices that have the education and have the work experience on issues like this. So, for example, like there's major drought issues in the Western United States and there are tons of people who are working on that. So I would say if you've identified a fear, oh my gosh, I'm worried that California is going to run out of water. Great news. There are tens of thousands of people working on that, specifically in California. So again, find them. See how you can be a part of that. And I really encourage people on these levels. Yes, you can do things like planting drought resistant flowers in your yard or setting up timers so that you're not using as much personal water. But really for things like this, I encourage people to think bigger picture and to get involved at the state or federal level or to find an organization, a nonprofit that they can volunteer with that is working on changing that legislation. Because that's the way that you're going to not only overcome the fear, but move so far beyond it into action that you're like, I for I even forgot I was ever afraid because look at all of these people and look at myself. Look at what we're doing and look at what we've already accomplished and what we're pushing for.
- [23:23]
Coming up, Kara's going to give us her best advice for tackling eco anxiety and finding balance between ethical investing and financial growth. But first, a commercial break.
- [23:34]
Farnoosh Khourabi
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- [25:43]
Cara Perez
Yeah, I said it. And Slipping into a cozy sweater from.
- [25:46]
Farnoosh Khourabi
Quince Quince is known for their Mongolian.
- [25:48]
Cara Perez
Cashmere sweaters from $50.
- [25:50]
Farnoosh Khourabi
And it's not just that all Quince Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. That includes beautiful leather jackets, cotton cardigans, soft denim and so much more. How are they able to do that? By partnering directly with top factories and cutting out the cost of the middle which passes the savings on to us. I just did a huge Quince haul because I'm obsessed with their cropped button down cardigans. Perfect to go with my high waisted jeans. They fit perfectly and look like a.
- [26:17]
Cara Perez
Million bucks and I only spent 49.
- [26:20]
Farnoosh Khourabi
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- [26:40]
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- [27:43]
Cara Perez
How did you get so passionate about this Kara? Both personally and professionally? I know that as the founder of Bravely Go, you know this is a financial education company. Financial literacy is your mission. And then as well you're promoting sort of social justice eco initiatives. What came first and how did you kind of marry the two the two themes eventually.
- [28:05]
Okay. When I was a kid, like elementary school, I was obsessed with the rainforest. I just really wanted to like move to the Amazon and like befriend a jaguar.
- [28:15]
I was very befriend a jaguar.
- [28:19]
I read a lot of books about like kids who survived in the wild. Yeah. And I thought I could totally do that, you know, and they have like the Disney princess animal friends. And I was like, I'll definitely have a friendly jaguar.
- [28:32]
Kind of jungle kid. Yeah.
- [28:33]
Yeah. Kind of like Jasmine with her pet tiger in Aladdin. I was like, yeah, I too will have a pet tiger. So I think that obsession, that elementary school obsession with the rainforest really got me into nature as a concept. And then I was a voracious reader as a kid as well. And I read the Little House on the Prairie series, which is really all about surviving off of the land and farming and hunting. And I, I just feel like I grew up with this fictional world very much. Like I did not, I was not farming actually, you know, but with this fictional world that felt very real to me, that was rooted in nature. And so I've always been interested in recycling. I've always been interested in, you know, like biking instead of driving and making these personal changes. That's just how I live my life. And the older I've gotten and the more I've educated myself around environmentalism and the more I've gotten involved, you know, when I lived in Charlotte, I volunteered with a tree planting group for a year. And the more I've realized this is so interconnected to our money. And in my early 20s, I was very broke, which is what jump started my interest in personal finance. Before that I was like, I'm an artist. I'm going to be a writer. I'm going to write the next Casablanca and win an Oscar at 25. Money is for the, you know, set in the jungle. Yes, in the jungle. You know, I don't need to know about money. Money is for other people. I'm a creative. Creatives don't need to think about money, which I now think is very wrong. But being very low income, you also, like, the most sustainable people in the United States are low income people because they don't have money to over consume. Right. They are re wearing their clothes, they're fixing their clothes because they don't have money to go buy something if you, they just get a little tear. And I just kind of realized, oh, these two passions of mine are so beautifully connected. And I would love to explore that more because I don't really know that anyone else in the personal finance space is really talking about that. And that's kind of been the path that I've been following ever since.
- [30:49]
Wow. Yeah. And. But I also think that there is this at the same time, you know, the $10 shirt. Right. Or the she and halls.
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Farnoosh Khourabi
This is.
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Cara Perez
They're being targeted. They're. The target audience is like lower income.
- [31:05]
Right.
- [31:06]
Because that's who could, you know, theoretically afford. Like they live aspirationally too. You know, they kind of create these like trendy clothes and so you get.
- [31:16]
Farnoosh Khourabi
The look for less.
- [31:17]
Cara Perez
Is there a change you're seeing where now it doesn't even matter what income level you're at? Like everyone's just over consuming because they can.
- [31:26]
Yeah. So two things I. The interesting thing about Shein is they released data around their average consumer and it's a woman in her 30s who makes $60,000 a year. Now, depending on where you live in the U.S. 60, like in New York, $60,000 is not a lot of money. Right. But there are people who live in New York on $40,000 a year, on $20,000 a year, not everyone is making 200k. And then if you're in like Iowa, 60k hits different, as the kids would say. But I would say the. So the median household income in the United States is something like $72,000. I think 72 to 75,000. So 60k is not that far behind that. Right. That's not federally low income is how I would phrase that. And so that to me says she and actually isn't targeting specifically low income people. It is offering low income people to use your words, like to get the look for less. But they actually want to target like middle class people because middle class people disposable income, whereas the actually low income people, they're going to buy maybe one she and top and then they're going to make that top work for a while. Right. Because they have to. And that was my, like when I was in my 20s, like I said, I was very low income. I mean I was making 15k a year, 16k a year. I remember I had these Forever 21 leggings that were literally $2 to get new. And I was like, nope, I got to sew these bad boys up.
- [33:00]
Like, yeah, because your value your money more than your time. Time.
- [33:04]
Yes, 100%. And so I do think that we are shifting and I kind of lay the blame for this at the feet of social media because we can view how everyone consumes so we can See how the wealthiest among us consume, right? There was a woman who had like a $59 million wedding and she broadcast it on TikTok. Right? Or Sophia. Oh gosh, there's someone. Richie. Yes, thank you. I was like somebody's famous daughter.
- [33:39]
Was it $59 million?
- [33:41]
No, no, these are two different people. But she had that very fabulous wedding, I think Italy, right. That took broadcast it and everyone was like, oh my gosh, I really want that. Like even if I'm only making 60k, if I'm making 100k, we can see these hyper wealthy people and we compare ourselves to them and that leads to the over consumption. Like oh well, I have to buy more to keep up, right. Or I have to. The trends have changed, I have to fit in. I think social media and TikTok in particular have sped up the life cycle of how long something is cool or how long something is trendy and it's shortening it, which leads us to buy more. And so I do think overconsumption overall is a very big problem. I do think social media feeds that. But I also think that these big fast fashion companies or, or any kind of company really will take their dollars wherever they can get them.
- [34:35]
Right.
- [34:35]
Like whether it's from low income or high income people, they are focused on that bottom line.
- [34:40]
Farnoosh Khourabi
This is so fascinating.
- [34:41]
Cara Perez
I feel like we've moved now into an industrial examination of like what's really happening behind the scenes, the engineering. And these companies are manufacturing your FOMO.
- [34:51]
On purpose 100% and they're no dummies. Like they know, you know every time you put something in your basket online and you don't actually buy it, what happens? Oh, you get a little reminder email. Hey, did you forget something?
- [35:03]
Kandi Burris
Right?
- [35:03]
Cara Perez
Like it's not just we made something available online and if you happen to find it, great. They are using targeting advertisement, they're using email marketing, they're using influencer marketing, they are using a bunch of tools to get you to spend money.
- [35:18]
How about some good tools for us? Do you like any online resources or even like how is there a way to use AI to just achieve more of this lifestyle that is financially smart and sustainable? We need help, right? We need, we. Even if it's just like I really like this, this tool because. Or it could be an investment platform, it could be, you know, this AI prompt.
- [35:43]
Yeah. So I use, for my personal budgeting I use Empower, which is a free to use dashboard. And I use that because you can hook up all of your. I use it, yeah, I Mean, it's not an ad. Yeah. Hashtag not sponsored. But yeah, it's great because, you know, I have my credit cards hooked up, I have my investments, I have my bank account. So instead of having to log into three different companies, I can just log into Empower and I can see, oh, what did I spend on, you know, the capital one. What did I spend on the amex? And then I also have a personalized budget spreadsheet, which I know not everyone is a spreadsheet, girly. And that's totally okay. I am. I love it. So that's kind of how I personally manage my money. Money. I would say to people, you know, if you're more analog, feel free to use a notebook to do the tracking. But I always like to let the robots do the work. But when it comes to, you know, kind of being more sustainable or thinking about where your dollars end up, I do encourage people to join their local Buy Nothing group. Buy Nothing is this company. It's not really a company. It's a nonprofit that was started in Seattle in 2013 by these two women. It's on Facebook, and there's an app so you can go to buynothing.org and the whole point of it is you buy nothing so you can post on app or in Facebook. Like, hey, I'm looking for. Once I got a computer charger, my computer charger just stopped working. And I was like, hey, does anyone have this for, like, a 2009 MacBook? And someone was like, get it out of my house. Great. So I got that completely for free. There's also like, Buy, sell swap or Buy sell trade groups that are all over Facebook. And usually, you know, they go zip code by zip code or city by city. And I also think another great tool for people to kind of live more sustainably, really, is your. Your city. What kind of programs does your city offer? Do they have a compost program? Can you put out your food scraps? Are they going to pick up recycling now? I'm in Massachusetts, and there's a statewide program that will pay you for your cans. 5 cents a can, which not a great way to get rich. I want to be very clear. But they reuse the aluminum, which is great, and you get to walk away with a couple of bucks. Right.
- [37:54]
I would just say for kids, that's a great exercise where they're making money, but they're also being introduced boost to the recycling market 100%.
- [38:04]
Yeah, that's a great idea. So what is your area doing around sustainability in ways that could Help save you money in mass. We also have, there's a. The Mass Saves Energy audit where the state will send out completely free to you an energy auditor and they'll go through your house and they'll be like, oh, you need more insulation. You should switch to electric here, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you get discounted rates on that. So like a lot of states offer that a lot.
- [38:33]
Well, I should say a lot of the utility companies. Yes, various states do offer this. Remember doing stories on how to save on energy bills and get an audit done.
- [38:43]
Farnoosh Khourabi
Yeah.
- [38:43]
Cara Perez
Yes. Yeah.
- [38:44]
In everybody's best interest. Right. To conserve the energy.
- [38:48]
Yeah. Save your bills, use less energy. The state wins, you win. So join your look to kind of recognize cap. Find a way of budgeting that works for you and join your local buy nothing and then look to see what your state or city or town is doing that can help you save money and live more sustainably.
- [39:06]
Farnoosh Khourabi
Wonderful.
- [39:07]
Cara Perez
Thanks for coming on and offering such really important advice, Cara. I really appreciate you. Your book is called Green Money and we'll put a link to that in our show notes. And everybody, if you want to learn more about Cara, she's at bravely. Go.
- [39:19]
Com bravelygo.co.
- [39:23]
By the way, Carol, where in Massachusetts are you? Because I was born in Worcester.
- [39:27]
I'm in Worcester.
- [39:29]
Oh, that's right. We established this on email. Right. Amazing. Wow. I love you more. I didn't know I could, but here I am.
- [39:40]
Shout out Worcester, we love you. You are. People like to hate on it. Right. But it's the second biggest city in all of New England. Okay. And it's got a lot going on.
- [39:51]
Yeah. But you know, I write about Worcester in my book and it's the first page and I said I'm, I'm from Worcester, which the New York Times calls nobody's first choice.
- [40:02]
That's what I'm talking about. People hate on it. And you know what?
- [40:06]
I was like, yeah, that's kind of true. But I think you're right. I think it is a hidden gem in many ways.
- [40:12]
Yeah. And it's. I like to think that Worcester's very self aware. Wooster knows that it is struggling in a lot of ways.
- [40:19]
Yeah.
- [40:20]
Which I appreciate. But trying.
- [40:22]
It's really, you know, it knows it has potential. But you know, it's got a lot of universities, they've got the Amtrak station which is running quickly to Boston now. So I hear.
- [40:33]
Yes. They just reintroduced the express line to Boston. So. Yeah, it's doing a lot.
- [40:39]
Yeah. I'm rooting for Wooster they have you, so they're in much better shape. Here we go.
- [40:46]
Wooster.
- [40:48]
Thank you so much. Kara.
- [40:49]
Thank you for having me.
- [40:53]
Thanks so much to Kara Perez for joining us. Her book is called Green Money and I've got that link in our show notes. I'll see you back here on Wednesday for a fresh episode. And I hope your day is so money.
- [41:17]
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