in
this issue
Your Monthly Money Journey
This month, you uncover your money
feelings, the feelings that come up when you work with your
financial information.
Think about these two terms: net
worth and self-worth. Is your sense of self-worth
affected by the details of your net worth? Note some of your
thoughts in your jounal.
Uncover the feelings
As
you assemble the financial facts of your life, you may have a stong
reaction to some items on your list of assets and
liabilities.
Acknowledge these feelings as you work with your
data by making a list of your key financial facts, such as your
income, IRA balace, credit card debt, etc. Next to each item, record
your feelings about that financial fact.
Typical reactions
include:
- Fear
- Surprise
- Embarrassment
- Frustration
- Anger
- Relief
- Sadness
There is no right or wrong when it comes to
your feelings. Feelings are important clues about what lies at your
core.
A helping hand
Perhaps you are feeling lonely on this
money journey. Do you need more support? Or do you need people who
are affected by your decisions to participate in this process with
you? If yes, collect the contact information for these mentors and
companions.
You can include other people in your work in a
variety of ways:
- Listener - to provide a reality check
- Expert - to provide guidance in making financial
decisions
- Partner - to share in decisions that affect you both
- Group - to travel together in your money
journey
As you collect your information, have you found
holes? If someone else is taking care of your finances, you may
decide to ask more about what's going on. Perhaps nobody is in
charge.
Here are questions to consider:
- Can I manage my money myself?
- Can I let someone else do it entirely?
- Can I work in partnership with a professional or other
knowledgeable person?
Take a moment to note how you are
feeling about being on this spiritual money journey. Do you feel any
different than you did when you first decided to ucover your
financial facts?
Next month:
Create"alignment" by integrating
your money facts, feelings and actions with your spiritual
core.
Can't wait till next month?
Speed ahead on
your Money Journey using A Woman's Book of Money & Spiritual
Vision. The book is featured on our
website, with links to booksellers and the publisher.
Want to share your money journey with others?
We
recommend forming a group of 12 to 15 members, and meeting for 6 or
7 sessions. To help you create a productive and enjoyable
experience, we're creating materials to assist group leaders.
Email us for study group details
Links on Microcredit
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| Welcome to our newsletter on money and spirit. As we send
this issue, we're concerned about our good friends in Haiti,
which has been devastated by floods and landslides in recent
days. If you want to help with the rebuilding in Haiti, click here.
Coming July 24-31: "Aligning the Spiritual &
Financial Aspects of Your Life" at the Chautauqua Institution.
Click
here for details.
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Microcredit Offers Women Economic Hope
Through Self-Employment
 Kate Makaku started selling
snacks house-to-house when the money her husband sent from
Johannesburg was not enough to feed the family. When she
realized that most of her customers were children, she built a
stand near a school. Today, her business supports the entire
family.
Kate Makadu's story is told in To Our
Credit, a PBS miniseries on microcredit and
microenterprise. In most of the world, population growth far
outpaces job growth. For millions, the only way to survive is
through self-employment. But even the tiniest business
requires capital. Through a microcredit program, Kate Makadu
was able to borrow money to buy inventory to sell and wood to
build her stand. She has repaid her tiny loan and become a
leader among the many self-employed women in her South African
community.
Microcredit is very much a woman's issue. Worldwide, four
out of five microborrowers are women. Microlenders have
discovered that women pay back the loans more dependably than
men, and that the money they earn is much more likely to
benefit the children.
Despite enormous success, microloans of $25 or $100 are not
generally available from traditional banks. A wide range of
international agencies are struggling to keep up with the
exploding demand for microcredit in developing countries and
the US.
The UN has designated 2005 as International Year of
Microcredit. Women's Perspective will be sharing information
about this event and other efforts to extend microcredit to
women and their families.
You can be an advocate, a
donor, or a volunteer for microcredit agencies. Just click the
links at the bottom of the blue column on your left.
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Journey to Africa with Women's Perspective
 (left) Songs of
celebration and thanksgiving at the 2002 Widows Conference.
Women's Perspective will travel to Kisumu,
Kenya in November to attend the International HIV/AIDS
Widows Conference. The Women's Perspective group will talk
with more than 200 attendees about "Financial Destiny." You're
invited to join this sojourn in Africa, which takes place
November 20 - December 6, 2004.
In 2002, we attended this moving conference, meeting with
widows of all ages, spanning decades of African tribal and
urban experiences. Widows come to the conference from Uganda,
Tanzania, Kenya and all over East Africa. They are leaders and
ordinary women, all struggling with conflicts between their
legal and tribal rulings. Most are on the verge of abject
poverty because their tribal inheritance laws make them and
their children vulnerable to exploitation by in-laws. We heard
repeatedly of their deep concerns for the future of their
children. Despite these challenges, the widows' joyous singing
- and often dancing - opened and closed every conference day.
At this year's conferece, the Women's Perspective group
will share financial skills with the widows. We'll also look
for ways to share our resources - material goods, information,
connections - to help the widows create a better future for
their children.
Let us know if you'd like to be on the mailing list to
receive details about this opportunity.
Join
Kenya trip email list »
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Book Groups: Sharing the Wealth
We're hearing from books groups that are discussing A
Woman's Book of Money & Spiritual Vision. Thank you!
One group tells us that after working through the
exercises in the book, the members designate a task for
themselves for each session. The tasks are related to their
own personal financial situation. One member asked her husband
to sit down and discuss their finances; one talked to her
11-year-old about saving; another did her own tax return for
the first time.
"We've had lively discussions, with topics ranging from
volunteering in the economic free zone of El Salvador to
living trusts and legacies," reported one member. "What a
great group of women!"
Try these ideas in your own money and spirituality book
group:
- Ask one member to share her money autobiography at each
session.
- Break into dyads and triads to involve everyone.
- Plan a weekend retreat.
- Invite guest speakers.
- Organize a service project.
- Take a field trip related to money and
spirituality.
A book group may also provide a springboard for further
action. For example, one group wants to establish its own fund
to help needy women.
We also invite you to share
your book group experiences with our readers in future
newsletters. If you'd like to form a money and spirituality
book group, please contact us for more ideas and information.
Contact
us about book groups »
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2004 Workshops Near You
Check out our workshops on money and spirit. Based on A
Woman's Book of of Money & Spiritual Vision by
Rosemary Williams and Joanne Kabak, the workshops help you
align your financial life with your core values.
Click for details and register today:
Chautauqua,
NY: July 24-31, Aligning the Spiritual &
Financial Aspects of Your Life, Chautauqua Institution
Darien,
CT: Sept. 18-19, joint workshop with Jean Bolen,
Goddess Archetypes, Money and Women: Tapping into Financial
& Spiritual Wisdom, Convent of St. Birgitta
Westfield,
MA: Oct. 2, Life, Values, Money - Connecting Your
Wallet to Your Soul, Genesis Spiritual Life Center
NEW! Manchester, CT: Oct. 9, Women, Money &
Spirituality. Click
here to join the email list for this event at Manchester
Community College.
Click for
the Women's Perspective calendar »
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