When a client asks “why should I care about personal finance when the world is coming to an end?” I pause and let the question sit between us. I pause to honor the fear and sadness in that question.
I’ve heard versions of this question before, and am hearing it again now from friends & clients, following the invasion of the Ukraine and the ongoing violence. My first suggestion to everyone who asks me this, is to pause, slow down, feel the fear and sadness, the grief for all those who are being hurt. If you feel moved, support organizations that you see do good work such as the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, Voices of Children, and independent journalism. Plus, make sure to take care of yourself and your loved ones, whatever that looks like for you.
When I get questions like this, underneath it, I hear hopelessness: how can I plan for the future when the world is so chaotic and violent? My wish for you and my clients is to recognize that in every moment you have agency. Yes, the world is chaotic and violent, yet we have a choice in how we move forward.
As I’ve written before, personal finance is a social justice issue and money can be a powerful force for good – think of the way the world is responding to Russia’s violence with economic sanctions. Remember that apartheid in South Africa ended because of financial reasons. Your choices matter. Our choices matter.
When you are called to work on your relationship with money, I encourage you to follow that curiosity. We all have a right to economic dignity, to feeling good about our money now, and the confidence that we can care for ourselves and our loved ones. When we are confident with our money, we can make individual choices that feel right in the context of chaos, and donate or contribute when we feel called.
My Quaker pacifist heart and prayers go out to everyone experiencing violence and everyone feeling the weight of the chaos and uncertainty right now. I will do everything I can to create a more just, healthy, and safe world. As one of my mentors George Kinder says, “I cannot do everything, but what I can do, I must do.”