Vol. 35 - Saving Money Socially Responsibly, With Medium Difficulty

Marie Thomasson of Modern Assets is back to discuss socially responsible savings. We cover:

• Greenwood Bank as the new easy button

• Banking at Credit Unions

• Using credit unions to invest in  your local community

• Pros and cons of credit unions

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TRANSCRIPT:

Naseema McElroy: [00:00:00] Hey Nurses on Fire, super honored to have our CFP Marie Thomasson here. And we are going to continue on, on our series of talking about responsible investing. We covered already, like an introduction to what socially responsible sustainable investing is. And then we covered, how you hit the easy button to start saving responsibly.

So where to put your savings in a responsible. Bank. Okay. And we talked about that and I'm doing air quotes, which you probably can't see cause, but,  where to put your money. So that was the easy, that was the easy button today.

We're going to dive into  it's a little bit more complex way to say responsibly. So Marie, take it away.

Marie Thomasson: [00:00:51] So, yeah, I think that, as we already talked about last week, you know, if, if it's easy and that's what you can do, then you do it. but if you don't mind putting in a little bit more work, then there's always ways to be even, more thoughtful with where you save your money and have more of an impact that said.

just this week I was reading some press on. a up and coming competitor for aspiration bank. So before we move on, I want to just quickly, talk about that because, it's called Greenwood bank. And back in June after all the protests and the rioting started, three guys got together and it's killer Mike, Ryan Glover  and a past mayor of Atlanta.

it's called Greenwood bank and Greenwood Atlanta, is where the, the former, basically like black wall street.

Started. And, , I did a little bit of reading and in 1921, there was rioting it's in protest and the opposite direction and they basically obliterated it, over, you know, like basically like race protests. And so Greenwood bank , in honor of black wall street. is, I would say like the social justice equivalent to aspiration, which I think is amazing aspiration.

we've already talked about it. It's really about like this ESG stuff. It's about, being, , sustainability, environmental. topics or, you know, concern, but if where your values lie is with social justice, social equity, then Greenwood bank is like the new easy button. and I think that that's pretty phenomenal because it's been really hard to do anything in what they call the impact space.

To have a really targeted focus on things that you, your values. And now Greenwood bank is one of those options. So. I am. The one thing to the mind is just like aspiration. It is still a for-profit bank. I didn't see anywhere on its website that it's a B Corp. it's black owned, which already puts it heads and shoulders above the pack of options.

I think that if, They've got a good option for checking I'm all in. Right. You know, or, , if they can do business banking, whatever it is, if they can do that and do it well, because it's all online, you know, they've got big backers. it's going to be a good experience and they've got all sorts of things that they're doing that are really,  They're putting money in their pocket.

You know, , there's no way around that, but every month are giving $10,000 to a black or Latin X, business owner. So

Naseema McElroy: [00:03:52] they're actually giving it, these are business loans. These are actual grants.

Marie Thomasson: [00:03:56] These are actual grants. Yes. , and I should preface this all by saying the bank, isn't up and running yet.

So they're taking applications. I just submitted one I'm like 93,000 on the list. And so they're going to start opening up for business in January. so we'll know a whole lot more after January and maybe that's a, you know, a good topic to, to revisit when and when we want information on it. But, definitely, and I'll make sure that I've got information on Greenwood in the show notes.

That is, you know, that's the social justice equivalent of the, the easy button. You know, it doesn't get as much easier than that. Now that said, so this is amazing. And  I'm so excited to see the progress that's happening. but I want to move on to like the super boring, always, , faithful credit unions and, it's kind of an open question actually.

Like, are you better off banking? Was, , someone like Greenwood or going to a credit union. Like, what's the difference? Like why is it better like Greenwood and I, to be honest, I don't know for sure. I don't actually have the answer to that.  I think that Greenwood has huge advantages in the social justice space.

but when it comes down to it credit unions, , they've been around a long time. They're well established and they're very community focused. And that's something that Greenwood bank can't necessarily be or do because they're an online bank. and so when we think about how to have an impact in our communities, then credit unions still  hold a place, and a really important place because, there's still being to be.

a place where you can get loans and banking services for much, you know, usually it's almost always cheaper. You have better terms. they're going to give you an auto loan on a, you know, a car with 150,000 miles, if that's what you can afford. And they, you know, it's like the same people you go into the bank and you see the same people over and over again.

Yeah,

Naseema McElroy: [00:06:13] it's a real community feel. I only use credit unions and that's exclusively why, and they can like really help you on a level that a big bank can't because they know you. And so you can go in there and ask for things that are off the books, per se, for example, I wanted a car loan, but I only wanted to pay a 1.4, 9%.

Cause I knew that that's the rate that would be offered if I would've went through the car companies, but I didn't want to go through the car company. I wanted to go through my credit union and I said, you know, I got approved for this rate. Will you match it? It's not on their books, but yeah, they send it to their underwriter and lo and behold, they mashed it because that's where I want to keep my money.

And so, yeah, I love that about the credit union.

Marie Thomasson: [00:06:57] Yeah. And I think that, you know, something, an important distinction to make is this idea of, of a bank , and a credit union. The fundamental difference is that the banks profit goes to the shareholders. So it's going to, to the investors and the credit union, the shareholders are the members, the shareholders are the employees.

So either you're going to get,  dividend bonuses or you get low rates or which, you know, I think is a good thing, or the employees get like better healthcare or better benefits or higher pay, you know, to keep them, in that job and have, you know, like a sustainable income.

Naseema McElroy: [00:07:44] But also you're a member.

So you also get a vote on where that money is going. Right. Essentially. And so you actually have a say on how your money is spent.

Marie Thomasson: [00:07:53] Yeah, but I think one of the biggest criticisms , of credit unions is like, Man, you know, some of them are just like a pain in the ass to, to use or like, , their technologies from like 1955, , are they like handwriting out their deposit slips still?

  this is one of the big challenges. And I think that it misrepresents credit unions generally because there's a lot of really amazing credit unions. one of my first real jobs, not as a nanny was at a credit union. that was my first job, processing mortgage loans. , and they're just as concerned about like the bottom line as a bank is, but they've got a different, , the profit motive is different.

Right? How was your credit union? How are they on the tech?

Naseema McElroy: [00:08:43] you know what, actually, my credit union is pretty good. And I think I've seen a shift now because I think things are a little bit easier. or they've gotten that push because of a lot of online banks that they had to step up. So my tech is actually pretty good and I love my credit cause guess what?

I live right across the street too.

Marie Thomasson: [00:09:03] Yeah. That's where that's where it doesn't get better than that. I mean, I think that everybody's got an ATM card and credit cards, and so, , we're not in like 1995, you know, taking a trip to, I don't know, New York and,  we don't know where to get money.

Right.

Naseema McElroy: [00:09:20] Right. The thing is, is that too, like a lot of PR a lot of pushback from credit unions was like ATM access because they're not national. Right. But actually credit unions have a bigger,  network of ATM's because, yeah, I can go to Costco and use the ATM. I can go to Walgreens or CVS and use their ATM's and I can also go to Seven- 11s now, you know, like there's one of those on every corner.

So, you know, so

Marie Thomasson: [00:09:45] sadly, yes.

you know, so it's like the unsung hero. It, it, it really is. And, you know, I, I think as long as you can open up an account online, chances are they're going to have the services you need. Right.

Naseema McElroy: [00:10:05] Yeah. And, the thing is, is that, another thing about credit news is people think that you might have to be like, like typically they're established because of some kind of affiliation, like there's Navy, federal credit union, or there's like these different kinds of credit unions.

And it used to be that their regulations were just like, yeah, you have to be in this affiliated group. But I think like, Even that those things have loosened up. So pretty much, if you have money to deposit, you can become a member at any credit union.  but it does align with align with certain values.

So, you know,

Marie Thomasson: [00:10:43] Yeah, it does. So sometimes there's, a lot of them are kind of like on good faith,  did you work here? Did you go to school here?  are you part of this community? or, , church,  whatever the case is, but there's also a lot of, community credit unions are like, are you a member of this community?

And so, , I think unless you live in a really, really small, small town where you're going to get poor service,  that's when it maybe makes more sense to find an online alternative. but otherwise, if you live in any major metropolitan area, like you can spend so much time going down the rabbit hole of trying to.

Look at these credit unions and which ones are good and bad. but if you look at reviews, all the banks have bad reviews. So, , I, I would say like, don't overthink it too much because it's going to be insured. it's has a different type of insurance than, than banking insurance. there's a specific insurance for credit unions, but, You know, I've, I've never heard horror stories about credit unions, setting you up with accounts, or overcharging you or pushing products on you for that matter that you don't need.

Like, you know, for whatever hassle , you have to, you know, hoop, you have to jump through to set up the account. Like on the flip side, you're also not badgered.

Naseema McElroy: [00:12:07] Right. And I think like a lot of people, just like any other bank, a lot of people will say like, I either use credit unions or don't use credit unions.

And the thing is,  just like all the other banks, there are so many different types of credit unions. They all have different technology. They all have different access. And so you can like, If you don't find a credit union that suits your needs, try another one because they all have different features.

And so don't be anti credit union just for the simple fact that you went to one and they were handwriting out receipts. Okay. That's pretty unique. Try another one because there's probably one that's going to meet your needs. And I love the community focus. I've been a part of some really, Awesome credit unions.

And we've talked about people's credit unions, you know, how they give back to the community and the communities that I specifically was born and raised in. And so that was really important to me to become a member of that bank, even though they didn't have all the bells and whistles like they were doing,  you pay the cost a little bit to, have your money, go to places that matter to you, you know?

Marie Thomasson: [00:13:16] Exactly. I, the way I like to describe it, this is you're a citizen before a consumer. Like you're a citizen consumer, , not just a consumer. And so this is a way , of doing that. Like, you know, just like voting, hopefully, which everyone is doing right now. it's, you know, that's a way to, to fulfill that citizen obligation, to, And an amazing country that we're part of and making it better is to really make it better in the communities that we live in.

And that's one way to do it. Cause you're definitely going to do that by utilizing, one of the big things. Yes.

Naseema McElroy: [00:13:55] Yes. Yes. So if you want to make an impact, especially locally in your community, credit unions are kind of a fill. So they'll say employed to do that. but also there's a lot of different credit unions and they all have.

And support different causes and they all have in support, different community needs. And so make sure you reference that against what you really want. and,  I'm like I'm a credit union advocates, so I might be a little biased, but I'm just like, yes, credit unions all the way.  I don't, and haven't had a, an account with a major bank and I mean, but outside of credit cards, Years and years and years, because I just I've, I've had really bad experiences and I've had such positive uplifting experiences with credit union.

So I am a credit union fan girl.

Marie Thomasson: [00:14:48] Good. Well, I can't wait for next week to talk about,  like the ultimate way. , to save your money in like the most impactful way, because , it's basically just a subset of credit unions. so you're going to love this and, and hopefully everybody listening well, too. So

Naseema McElroy: [00:15:08] I'm super excited and I can't wait for you guys to join us next week to talk about that.

Hey there I’m Naseema

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