Description:
Take it from a Wall Street stockbroker turned Vermont environmental activist: Life is about more than just making money. In The Mindful Money Guide, Marshall Glickman lays out a "holistic" approach to wealth. "Holistic money is about striking an appropriate balance: finding that golden mean--between a life that neither bows down to money nor neglects financial responsibilities; getting a good return for yourself without forgetting about others; between curbing materialistic impulses without becoming austere or stingy," Glickman writes. In a New Age twist to personal finance, he talks of "the cosmic laws of money," "tax yoga," and socially responsible investing to make "Wall Street gurus green--with envy." But behind the philosophical musings is some practical advice. Glickman tells you how to cut consumption as a way to boost your bottom line and save the environment. He explains how to reduce your taxes while increasing charitable contributions. He even advocates owning stock in some of the worst polluters, like General Electric, and exercising your rights as a shareholder to bring about change. Glickman, publisher of the magazine Green Living and treasurer of a $7 million natural-foods cooperative, left a career as a stockbroker in the 1980s after saving $135,000. He practices what he now preaches. But he concedes to an ongoing struggle between being mindful of money and becoming obsessed through greed or stinginess. While Glickman targets people with likeminded philosophies, the book can help anyone make money with a conscience. --Dan Ring
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