How I Earned A Priceless Return For My Money
Or My Unexpected Swooning Over Changing My Checkbook!
Okay, it’s true. Switching to a new bank was one of the most exhilarating things I did last year. I even sent out an email to my (closer) friends to let them know I was “ swooning” over this new bank I’d found. I never in my life dreamed I would have such a soaring feeling in my heart, or an expansive new experience of breathing room and recharged outlook in my life, related to shifting to a new bank! But I did, and I do. (Don’t worry — I’m already married to the love of my life, so this doesn’t mean I’m going to marry my new bank!)
Yet, this is how it has felt to me. I knew I wanted to switch to a new bank that was more aligned with my values and that cares about our planet. Though it was a long and disheartening experience to research and find a bank that could both meet our needs (both personal and business accounts, low fees), and was aligned with our values (not funding fossil fuel, deforestation, tenant eviction, speculative development, all while supporting diversity and the local community). This, as I knew, was a tall order, and I only half allowed myself to believe that it was possible. I ALMOST settled on another bank, but the bank representative didn’t really know what the money in the bank was actually funding. I took some time off the project and thought about other things for a bit (a critical step for me to avoid giving up altogether!). Just as I was about to give up, I did one last round of research and that is when I found it! In my close research of this new bank, with each new angle that I looked at, I was increasingly astonished by what appeared to be actual integrity! This bank, Community Bank of the Bay, was the first in California to sign on to a charter for community banks. I since learned that 80% of their money goes to local investments that actually serve the community.
On top of that, they created an option for customers to choose to put their balance toward a “green fund” that they created to go only toward green, local investments. They even signed a code of conduct to agree to not participate in funding speculative real estate deals that lead to eviction of disadvantaged or marginalized citizens! When I saw that this bank, whose employees are diverse, actually seemed to be living and breathing their values — I was astonished. I think I cynically doubted whether a financial institution could ever be fully in integrity with my values, and remain solvent. And yet, here it was!
Now, let’s be clear. When I said I “switched” to a new bank, that makes it sound simple, like flipping on a light switch when you come home after a long day. Well, in the case of changing banks, the process was more like coming home in the evening during a power outage, feeling around where I thought a candle might be, and after much exploration in the dark, finally finding it to my delight and relief. Then, to light it, fumbling around for a little longer than expected to try to find the matches…and finally! Yes! The flame ignites on only the second match! I can see! Oops but now I see I need to go find a small tray to place under the candle to catch the wax. After some shuffling around in my cupboards, which I kind of had to straighten anyway, I find a good tray and place it under the candle. Ahhhh. Now my room feels luminous!
Since “switching”, I have experienced such joy, energy, and pride that I took action toward this level of alignment with my money. And I found that the inconvenient obstacles along the way (they needed to see my signed articles of organization and official documentation from the Secretary of State for my business account, whereas Bank of America just needed my EIN number), made my crossing the finishing line with my new account set up that much sweeter in the end. I gained the insight that the conveniences I valued with the simpler set up at the big bank, were exactly the mechanisms of an oppressive system to subtly wind into my daily life. And while things seemed to take a little longer, we also witnessed the employees of the bank, a socio-economically diverse crew, go to exceptional lengths, such as staying 30 minutes past closing to complete the account set up! I was able to see more clearly for myself that behind the convenience of the big brand was hiding an enormous cost to my energy and peace of mind that I was only dimly aware of before I got the challenge from a friend to “break up with Chase” to save the environment based on this chart.
Now that I had switched banks, I still had the tall order of switching credit cards. I had been using my Chase credit cards which were very convenient for me over the years, earning me mileage on United and no foreign exchange fees. What was not so obvious in my monthly statements, however, were the “hidden costs” of some of the decisions this company was making with my money (funding fossil fuels and environmentally destructive projects such as Line 3). And when I did the math to calculate how much money I was saving with the no foreign exchange fees, it was actually trivial, adding up to not very much with my travels over the years, even though I had traveled all over the world. And while the mileage was a nice perk, the actual savings did not amount to as much as I had thought when I calculated it out, even though I had been a United Premium Platinum member at one point. When I looked closely, the cost of being out of alignment with my intentions was far greater in taking my hidden energy than I imagined.
In searching for a business credit card that was contributing to the thriving of the planet, I found that it was not easy. I found that Green America.org had offered several personal credit card options, but I couldn’t find any business credit card choices among them. After lamenting to a friend, he helped me finally find one that aligned with my values and would benefit a local community. I opted to go with the business credit card associated with the M&F (Mechanics and Farmers) Bank based in North Carolina, which has a very powerful history. True the community that this bank supports would not be my own local community as I’m in California. However, this step, in fact, has led me to experience an even wider circle of compassion to act on behalf of communities far from my own. And again I experienced a budding new joy when I activated my MasterCard from this bank. I noticed that this new credit card came with it’s own cash-back perks, but the real reward is still this outsized energy and inspiration I was beginning to experience as a result of these small steps.
Since then, I’ve found this irrepressible urge to tell people about this, even though I have no affiliation nor gain any monetary benefit from doing so. Who knew that taking action on something so mundane as which bank I open a checking account would yield such unexpectedly rich rewards? Discovering this new energy was possible by aligning my actions with my values has been invaluable. This experience has given me fuel to further continue these small sweet steps with my money, as I see the luminous impact of what is possible. This, in turn, has led me to discover even more resources like this incredible treasure, and to support others on their own money journeys as well.
Can you imagine the impact we might have if we collectively took small sweet steps to align our money with our intentions and values? Priceless!
