Dec. 20, 2021

20. Where to start with donating

Today’s letter is about where to start with donating. Here’s the letter: What to do if I feel overwhelmed by donating? It’s natural to feel overwhelmed, I don’t think most of us learned anything about donating as kids, except...

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Dec. 13, 2021

19. Convincing others to shop more sustainably

Today’s letter is about convincing others to shop responsibly. Here’s the letter: I can't seem to convince my family to shop responsibly. Any ideas? This is a tough one. You can’t really control what anyone else does, so let’...

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Dec. 6, 2021

18. Investing in the Underinvested

Today’s letter is about investing in the underinvested. Here’s the letter: I'd like to invest in some underinvested entrepreneurs. How can I do this? In today's episode, we discuss 3 approaches: Equity crowdfunding for exampl...

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Nov. 29, 2021

17. Can you spare a dollar to help me get home?

Today’s letter is about a listener who wonders about giving money to a person with a cardboard sign. Here’s the letter: Last weekend, my partner and I were out walking our dog and I gave a guy $20. He had a sign that said he'...

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Nov. 22, 2021

16. Where to start with socially responsible shopping

Today's letter is about where to start with socially responsible shopping. Here's the letter: When I think about all of the harms created by all of the products I buy, I get overwhelmed. Where can I start with socially respon...

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Nov. 15, 2021

15. Housekeeping and other dirty secrets

Here's today's listener letter: One thing I realized pretty quickly during the pandemic is how much I was relying on my housekeeper and my kid's nanny. It has left me feeling a little uneasy about that, especially as I learn ...

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Nov. 10, 2021

14. When your donations aren't stacking up

Today's letter is about donations that aren't quite stacking up. Here's the letter: I feel like I donate all the time, but when it is time for me to do my taxes in April every year and I gather up all my receipts from the yea...

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Nov. 7, 2021

13. Why we shouldn't worry about a charity's admin expenses

Here's today's letter: How do I find charities that have low administrative overhead expenses? Let's begin by discussing a less common question: why do we hold nonprofits to a higher standard of scrutiny than other organizati...

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Oct. 25, 2021

12. For busy people looking for socially responsible investments

Today's letter is about how to find socially responsible investments if you are a busy investor. Here's the letter: I don't have time to make sure companies are on the up and up, is there a way to quickly pick socially respon...

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Oct. 18, 2021

11. Moved into a gentrifying area? Now what?

Here's today's letter: I'm a gentrifier and I feel guilty about it all the time. Is there a way to spend my money in the neighborhood in a socially responsible way? Your question isn’t about whether or not you should move int...

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Oct. 11, 2021

10. Fair trade or bust

Today's letter is about shopping fair trade. Here's the letter: How do I know if the places I shop really are sustainable? There are some phrases that sound good, but might not actually mean anything, or anyway, aren’t offici...

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Oct. 4, 2021

9. When your company doesn't offer a socially responsible 401k

Today's letter is about getting your company to offer a socially responsible 401k. Here's the letter: My employer doesn't offer a socially responsible 401k, what should I do? In order to maximize your chances of success, I ha...

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Sept. 27, 2021

8. Where to find charities and what to ask

Today's episode is about where to find charities and what to ask. Here's the letter: How should I research a charity to decide if I want to give to them? Where do I look and what questions should I be asking myself? Start by ...

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Sept. 20, 2021

7. Giving up brands with shaky values

Today’s letter is about giving up brands with values that are different to our own. Here’s the letter: Before I offer up two suggestions for things you can do, let's be clear that it was never intended to be our responsibilit...

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Sept. 13, 2021

6. Picking a focus for my investments

Today's letter is about picking a focus for socially responsible investments. Here's the letter: How should I pick the focus of my socially responsible investments? If you tend to pick from the 401k options at your job, I wil...

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Sept. 10, 2021

5. Where to donate when everyone needs help

Today's letter is about trying to decide where to donate when it seems like everyone needs help: Is it better to split donations across many groups or pick one to consistently support? I care about so many things its hard to ...

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Sept. 9, 2021

4. Socially responsible shopping- is there any point?

Today's letter is about socially responsible shopping: My twin says that socially responsible shopping is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. What do you think? So your twin’s a skeptic. It’s good to keep skeptics ar...

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Sept. 8, 2021

3. Investing in line with my personal values

Today’s letter is about Socially responsible investing...here’s the letter: I'd like to invest more in line with my values. How can I do this? I want to set expectations up top. It is difficult to find publicly traded corpora...

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Sept. 7, 2021

2. How much should I donate?

Today’s letter is about deciding how much to donate. Here’s the letter: How do people decide how much money to give? I'm not religious, so 10% doesn't hold a personal significance to me, so how much should I give? 1. Even if ...

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July 17, 2021

1. Welcome to Spend, Donate, Invest!

This past year has made the inequality in our society even more blaringly obvious than it was before. A lot of us are grappling with our own role in the current movements towards a more just society. More people have hit the ...

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