Post Fourteen: The Colour of Your Money

I'm poorly today so I'm sitting out in the garden to enjoy one of those rare days that the sun is out and I have nothing to do. Admittedly I would rather be in good health doing this, but I'll take what I can get.

Recently I've been seeing a number of different articles, newsletters and websites that talk about how your money can be green ethically as well as in colour. Since I'm constantly thinking about our finances and how we can put them to best use, this has intrigued me and I thought I'd share my findings with you. Please remember, nothing in this blog is meant as financial advice. Where you put your money is completely up to you.

A handy website that gives you the run down of banks and their ethical pros and cons can be found here. It's called Your Ethical Money and it has sub-categories for all kinds of investments, savings and everyday bank accounts. In each category it lists each bank that offers the product and lets you know how they score against other banks. The criteria they have to meet is pretty extensive - covering not only their green policies, but their equal rights, how fair they are to people in financial difficulty, all sorts of things you just don't tend to think about when choosing a bank. They even let you know if the company invests in good causes or if they actively support bad ones. I don't know about you, but I quite like the idea that my money can help others and still stay in my pocket!

I also found an article that goes through some of the other ways you can put your money to good use, for example lending your savings to help others. There are a lot of complicated rules and you can't just jump straight in without doing a little research, but in its simplest concept someone will tell you why you should lend them the money and you decide if you want to or not!
The article itself can be found here.


Tom and I haven't started saving just yet, which has nothing to do with my recent trip to New Look I swear! But when we do, I'll definitely be looking for the best ethical bank as well as the best savings rates. :)