Saving is a prudent choice | Earthday Birthday 2009 |

For some of us, the concept of “Saving” is a quantum leap in our thinking. But we have to remain optimistic especially in this financial crisis. We have to realize that as a collective force, we can make a difference. Whether we may or may not need to evaluate or exercise our feelings regarding the issue of money and consumerism, helping the earth is an issue that requires attention and immediate action. Change will only ever take effect through deeds, not words. We, as consumers, need to curb our lavish spending habits. We are using up the Earth’s scarce resources. These days, the housing market is falling. People have stopped eating out at restaurants and going on vacation. Many of my relatives have down-sized their lifestyles. This is a great time to generate this experiment and consciously adjust our thoughts on saving.
Some economists assert that the rising rate of savings was a natural reaction, penance for America’s spendthrift ways. “If American consumers are less indebted, live within their means and have more money in savings, they are better positioned to spend on a sustainable basis for years to come,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “As painful as that is economically in the short run, these developments will better serve us in the long run”. On the flip side, consumerism is an important factor in bringing about economic activity to pull the country out of recession.
So this crisis can be contained. We just have to buckle up, re-prioritize and focus our attention to this Earth Day campaign. Collectively, we can all play an active role in contributing our efforts towards the on-going environmental issues. Instead of ordering take-out one night this week, one could just save that money and donate it to the Social Traffic Group concept that is organizing Earth Day (April 22nd). If we all not only pitched in about $10 to the cause, but get another 10 people to do the same, we can collectively raise $1 million and upwards.
I figure we all do our part. Most of us recycle. We keep our friends and families from littering on the streets and use bio-degradable and organic products. Basically, we all do what we can to try to follow a healthy and green lifestyle. But is this making a huge impact on the Earth? One does not have to think or even be an environmentalist. After all, this is OUR Earth. We should limit our spending on worthless consumer goods and focus on saving our planet for our future generations! Think of the world we want to leave our kids.
I mentioned re-prioritizing earlier. We should take a look at the social benefits of saving. The aim should be to have a green environment and enrich our surroundings. If we took the initiative and told 10 of our friends to pitch in $10 from their savings once every year (this being the first of many), and tell them to ensure next year 10 of their friends are on board to do the same, we could end up with a staggering amount of money each year! Since it happens to be our money, we can do whatever we want with it and in this case, we are helping the Earth Day cause. As a citizen of the Earth, it is our responsibility to preserve and protect the global environment.
The concept of saving in order to be able to participate fully in the Earth Day campaign aims to alter one’s thinking about their spending habits and lavish lifestyles. This cause hopes to promote a positive attitude about the Earth and to raise consciousness of environmental protection (especially the rainforests) and calls for the citizens of the Earth to protect their natural surroundings and save energy!
If you have been following us, you’d know that this is more than just about the charities. Its a social marketing experiment to see our community’s ability to call on others to act. People can donate money to whichever organization they want. We are not promoting a specific foundation, we are promoting a movement of people prepared to do what it takes to get others to act. This is where the true value of the Social Traffic Inc (STi) becomes evident. Together we can make a difference in social marketing, that nobody else has done before.
The money amount doesn’t matter - Donating $10 is the easy part. The real challenge is getting another 10 people to follow suit. If everyone could do this we could raise infinite amounts of money, year after year. If we all stick together and work towards common goals the collective sum raised would be influential. The cost to each of us in being able to enjoy the feeling of contributing millions of dollars to a cause we believe in is just $10.
I cannot say this enough. The easy part is donating $10. The challenge is in us recruiting and maintain 10 contacts who we can depend on that will each do the same. Ten contacts who won’t let us down. If each of us can get the latter part right and if we all stick together,…. our capacity to make a difference is exponential. It should be so easy, 10 people capable of maintaining a commitment from another ten people to donate $10 towards a good cause on Earthday. I mean it’s worth $10 just to know what donating $1 million dollars to a good cause feels like. Not to mention knowing we have been pro-active in doing something to ensure the legacy we leave our children is something we can be proud of.
To be honest, I don’t think we were ever in a position to raise a million dollars this year. People need to see us here doing the same thing next year before they were ever going to trust us. People are not going to ask their trusted friends to trust in us until they can be sure we are the real deal. The only way that’s going to happen is for us to be here, executing this same campaign year after year. Earthday birthday was always a 10 year plan. By next year let’s aim to be in a position where we can actually raise $1 million dollars for a good cause by sending an email..
Join Earthday Birthday, beyond 2009 here. You will be asked to nominate your ten friends so have their names email addresses handy. Everyone that signs onto the list will be sent an email letting them know how much money we raised for each of the different charities we supported this Earthday, 2009.
Join Earthday birthday, beyond 2009 to receive a list of charities we are supporting here.
Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)
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