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The Rockefeller Foundation

If you invest $30,000 in three specific stocks, you could triple your money in 10 years.

At least that’s what acclaimed financial analyst Malcolm Berko wrote in his advice column last year.

The stocks you’d have to invest in, he said, are Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin — three defense companies. In other words, what he’s saying is: You could triple your money in 10 years, but you’d be capitalizing on the U.S. revving up its defense spending.


But here’s the thing: Some investors, especially millennials, aren’t concerned with only the returns.

Image via iStock.

As a generation, millennials want to put their money into stocks that are good for the world.

They’ve seen firsthand how much can change in 25 years. They’ve seen technology move at warp speed, lived through major policy shifts, and watched the world’s population grow. They know they can effect change in the next 25 years — and they know we need change.

Millennials are also more apt to distrust financial institutions. As a generation, they had to enter the workforce amid record high unemployment rates, stagnant wages, and larger student debt bills than any previous generation. That’s why many millennials want to take financial matters into their own hands.

In the next several decades, an estimated $30 trillion will be passed down from baby boomers to younger generations. That means $30 trillion of the world’s assets could be reallocated into humanitarian endeavors.

In addition, by 2020, millennials will comprise 46% of the workforce, and as they become the primary earners, they will have an even greater effect on investing in this country.  

Image via iStock.

In fact, they may well be the first generation that considers making the world a better place along with investment returns.

And it makes sense if you think about it: This is the generation that was promised a return on investment on their college tuition and instead got stuck with a massive bill and waning job prospects. The world they grew up in taught them to put less stock into promised returns and care more about tangible value.

But there is a smart way for millennials to invest in making the world a better place. It’s called impact investing.

Impact investing essentially means putting money into causes that effect social change, explains Adam Connaker, an associate at The Rockefeller Foundation, a foundation that is working to solve the world’s biggest and most entrenched challenges through innovative finance mechanisms.

“You have a right as an investor, no matter your size, to ask what impact your investments are having in the world,” says Connaker.

If the projects do well, the investors see good returns on their investments. It proves altruism and making money on your investments are not mutually exclusive.

Eric Letsinger, founder and CEO of Quantified Ventures, says we are witnessing the largest transfer of wealth in our country’s history, while simultaneously seeing government funding for health, social, and environmental programs dry up. As a result, impact investing will likely get a huge boost from millennial investors thanks to inherited and newly accumulated wealth.

Many of these impact investing projects allow members of a community to invest in public works that will improve their own neighborhoods. For example, Jason Anderson, president and CEO of Neighborly Securities, worked on a deal in Burlington, Vermont, that encouraged residents to invest in public projects like building sidewalks, rehabilitating bike paths, and improving waterfront access to Lake Champlain.

Photo via Garrett Brinker/Neighborly.

“We've talked to resident investors up in Burlington who told us that the main reason they invested in the issuance was because they commute to and from work on that bike path every day,” says Anderson. “Because of their investment in the city, they can have a direct impact on that rehabilitation project.”

Putting money into city-centric or environmental initiatives allows investors to directly affect the future of our communities.

Image via iStock.

Letsinger says that in 2016, they worked on an environmental impact bond with DC Water. The project financed green infrastructure as an alternative to building large concrete tunnels for Washington, D.C.’s water utility.

“If the project succeeds, it presents a win-win to both the investors and DC Water: The investors earn a higher return than they would have on a standard municipal bond from DC Water, and DC Water has then proven that green infrastructure is highly cost-effective,” explains Letsinger.

In addition to the high returns for investors, the DC Water investment helped create green jobs and improve neighborhoods, and the success of this project will have future implications when it comes to making cities more environmentally friendly.

Because many millennials are a generation that would rather see green infrastructure go up in their neighborhood than watch their bank balance go up on a computer screen, they’re the first generation that could make impact investing the norm.

If the millennial generation commits to investing in causes, it could change how we see money.

Image via iStock.

In fact, Letsinger says that most of the impact investors his company works with are millennials. Working with clients who are motivated not just by making money but by improving the world for future generations allows impact investing firms to target niche causes in various communities around the world.

He also says 2017 was a particularly good year for impact investing, which bodes well at such an early stage. He means that the returns on investment were good — but also that they saw more interest among people looking to make a difference.

With impact investing, “values and returns can coexist, allowing investors to fight climate change, produce more affordable housing, and develop clean energy,” says Anderson.

If this trend continues, 20 years from now, financial advisers might be primarily offering environmental causes to invest in, rather than defense stocks.

Putting some savings into investments is something most people either already do or are going to do in the coming years. That doesn’t need to change — what can change is where we put that money.

We can no longer rely on our government to fund the social and environmental efforts needed to improve our society and planet as a whole. This financial shift to impact investing will allow us to pool our money with other people who also want to create positive change. As a result, it can happen on a larger scale than we ever thought possible. Plus, as an added bonus, you’ll likely find you can do well for yourself while simultaneously doing good in the world.

For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot — or will not.

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Time waits for no one. How can you plan for the life you want to live?

5 small steps to help you plan for life's surprises.

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TD Ameritrade

Here's the thing about time: We perceive it relative to our age.

The Washington Post dives into a theory originally put forth by Paul Janet in 1897: We perceive the first years of our lives to be much longer than the years that come later because our point of reference for time is smaller when we're younger.

When you've only lived four years, one year is a big chunk of time — it's 1/4 of your life!


But when you're 70, a year passes in the blink of an eye. So even though we all get the same 24 hours in every day, it goes by faster and faster as we get older.

That begs the question: What are we doing right now to set ourselves up for a life lived to its fullest as it increasingly seems filled up?

What do you want to look back on when you're 75? What decisions will make you proud? What's the life you want to have lived?

We can do our best to "plan" our lives, but often, even the best laid plans fall apart or evolve into something you couldn't even have imagined.

Still, there are basics we know we can't escape: Food, water, and shelter are things that we all have to plan and prepare for, regardless of where life's road takes us.

So, what can you do today to prepare for a life that you can only loosely predict? Here are five ways to think about it.

1. Money? Travel? Family? Figure out what success means to you.

What do you consider to be successful? It may be one thing or it may be a combination of things. Either way, defining what success means to you can help you identify what you'll need to achieve in order to believe you lived a "good" life.

2. Beyond "success," have a vision.

Once you know what makes you happy, build on that. Formulate an idea of where you'd like to be in 30 years so that you have a direction to start moving in. Money blogger, Finance Girl, puts it this way:

"Your vision should embody your values and your view of the future without being too generic. Your vision can also change over time. The point is to have one so you know why you're doing what you do, and you're happier doing it."

Having a vision doesn't mean things will work out exactly as you'd planned, but it empowers you to act with intention. To move forward each day, working toward this larger ideal.

3. Take responsibility for your choices. All of them.

Sure, there are a million factors beyond your control that affect your life every single day, but remember that you do play a part in what happens. Ayse Birsel, author of "Design the Life you Love: A Step-by-Step guide to Building a Meaningful Future," says "your choices will determine the kind of life you are designing." As such, they should map back to your vision. You have to own them.

4. Remain flexible. We can only control so much.

As you work toward your goal, be open to change. Don't hold onto things too tightly or life's turbulence will rock you.

Paul B. Brown, co-author of "Just Start: Take Action; Embrace Uncertainty and Create the Future" reminds us to learn each step of the way. He says, "Determine your desire. Take a small step toward it. Learn from taking that step. Take another step. Learn from that one."

Image by SEO/Flickr.

Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep moving forward.

5. Unfortunately, the world does revolve around money. Be prepared.

Think about the things you can control, the factors you'll need to prepare for regardless of your life's ever-shifting trajectory. Money is one of them.

You can put the wheels in motion now so that you're not worrying about your finances at 75. You'll want to have everything as buttoned up as possible long before you're asking yourself where did the time go?

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Money management: We’re all dealing with it, and we’re all a little confused.

Money management doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are three quick ways to turn your finances around.

Work isn’t just a part of our lives, it’s one of the biggest parts.

Some people may only be obligated from 9 to 5, but with smartphones and evolving work cultures, we’re connected 24/7. A lot of us are logging over 70 hours each workweek because our phones enable us to take our work with us.

Jennifer J. Deal, Ph.D., author of "Always On, Never Done?" reports that remaining connected to work for so many hours each week leaves employees "only about 3 hours on workdays for 'discretionary' activities such as being with their family, exercising, showering, and all of those chores at home that someone has to do."


Only three hours per workday. We’re essentially never "off."

Despite working nearly nonstop, when payday rolls around, a lot of us can be left feeling like we'll never make enough.

GIF from "Finding Nemo."

Rent and mortgages, car payments, groceries, gas, nights out, pet emergencies, extracurriculars for the kids, family obligations — all of this takes a toll on our bank accounts.

It can feel like money is flying out of our accounts faster than it’s coming in. We’re working all the time but feeling like we’re just making it. We know we need to get a grip on our finances but have no idea where to start.

Here are three simple steps toward total financial domination.

1. Saving should be a part of the plan.

We hear it all the time: Save, save, save. Save for retirement. Save for emergencies. Save for travel. Figuring out how to save seems like it’s the holy grail, but how do we make that happen — especially if we feel like our money is already stretched too thin? The easiest first step is to, well, start with baby steps. Drink coffee at work or home instead of from a coffee shop, carry snacks and a reusable water bottle with you rather than buying them, come up with a quirky and fun challenge like saving all the $5 bills you accumulate, start a piggy bank — whatever is fun and doable for you.

2. Then, it all comes down to planning.

Don’t be afraid to budget. Yes, budget. It’s not a dirty word; it’s the way to freedom! Or at the very least the way to some financial flexibility. Take a look at how you’re spending money and figure out which items are needs versus wants.

Pro tip: Laura Shin, a Forbes personal finance writer, suggests keeping necessary expenses to less than 50% of your take-home pay.

Image view Tax Credits/Flickr.

Now, this isn’t always possible. Necessities are what they are, and for some of us, no amount of finagling can get them to that ideal amount.

Alan Dunn, founder of HowtoSaveMoney.com points out that, for some, "the sheer cost of survival may be very close to their total incomes." Still, it’s a pretty good benchmark to aim for, and having insight into your finances is step one on the road to financial security.

Now that you’ve begun to sort out the things you can’t live without, what about the things you want?

3. Give yourself an allowance! No, really.

Once you’ve broken down your finances into needs versus wants, build an allowance into your budget. Doing that gives you clear parameters — how much you can spend in a given pay period on things that aren’t necessities — and makes it easier to stay on track without feeling like you’re never able to treat yourself.

Make it easy for yourself to stay "on track." Image via Ben Sutherland/Flickr.

It's as simple as setting aside a fixed portion of what remains in your account after bills are taken care of. You may not be able to get everything you want at once — sometimes it’ll take a few months to put aside enough for a big purchase — but with planning, you can indulge a little.

Let's say, after all of your bills and savings are taken into account, you're able to spend $100 per month on anything your heart desires. You're dying to go to a music festival, but the tickets cost $175. It's not the end of the world! You don't have to forgo the festival, and you don't have to break your budget for the month — that would be a slippery slope. Put the $100 aside and wait until the following month when you'll have $200 at your disposal to get the tickets you want, guilt-free.

Payday might still suck…

Money will still leave your bank account at an astonishing rate that makes you believe Hogwarts is real, but you’ll feel more in control once you know where that money’s going and how to make it work for you.

Don’t feel guilty if you hit a few bumps in the road! We’re all navigating these murky money-management waters together.

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There’s something each of us can do to reduce gun violence: check our retirement funds.

16 years ago, the U.S. government came to a deal with Smith & Wesson. It's up to us to make that happen again.

Once upon a time, a major gun manufacturer stood on the side of gun control.

In March 2000, the Clinton White House announced a historic agreement with manufacturer Smith & Wesson. The agreement hinged on some safety improvements — namely, that new guns would be required to include a locked safety, that a portion of revenue would go toward researching new safety technology, and an agreement that new guns would not be able to accept high-capacity magazines. It was a huge deal, coming less than a year after the Columbine massacre.


President Bill Clinton announces a landmark gun safety agreement with Smith & Wesson, March 17, 2000. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

But it didn't last long. To the surprise of Smith & Wesson, the company became an industry pariah, facing a National Rifle Association boycott. Within months, the company pulled out of its agreement with the government and its CEO was forced to resign.

In the years since, the relationship between manufacturers and the government has been rocky, at best. Fearing another NRA-led boycott, manufacturers have kept their distance.

Maybe we, regular people, hold the key to stopping gun violence — not the government.

Of course it would be great if the federal government did something about gun violence — but Congress won't take any meaningful action, and President Obama can only do so much through executive action. It's hard not to feel hopeless, and with every new mass shooting, we ask ourselves whether this will be the one to spark action — knowing deep down that it won't.

There's one bit of leverage we may have: our retirement funds.

President Obama with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Jan. 7, 2015, discussing his most recent executive actions to try to curb gun violence. Photo by Aude Guerrucci-Pool/Getty Images.

Many people don't realize that they likely invest in gun companies through their retirement funds.

Since the Sandy Hook shooting in December 2012, while the Dow Jones has risen by roughly 30% — which is pretty impressive in itself —gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson has seen its stock reach a near unbelievable boost of around 160%. Every time there's a widely-publicized mass shooting, we hear the same thing in the aftermath: gun sales skyrocket. Which makes gun stocks a pretty solid investment.

It makes sense that retirement funds would put their money into these companies, and they do — nearly $2 billion in three of the leading gun companies alone.

Dr. Sheldon Teperman, trauma surgeon. GIF from Unload Your 401(k)/YouTube.

Anti-gun violence advocates are asking people to "Unload" gun stocks from their 401(k)s.

Groups such as States United to Prevent Gun Violence (SUPGV), a coalition of 27 state organizations committed to gun violence prevention, were instrumental in kicking off the Unload Your 401(k) campaign, which they see as a form of direct action.

"It’s a concrete step you can take to make sure you’re not supporting Smith & Wesson and all the assault rifles they’re manufacturing these days," SUPGV communications director Cathie Whittenburg told Upworthy.

"The goal at the manufacturing level is not necessarily to hurt them, but to get them to change their policies." — Cathie Whittenburg

The Unload Your 401(k) campaign was put together back in 2014, and it was meant to put the power in the hands of individuals who wanted to take immediate and direct action to stop funding gun companies. On their website, you can type in the name of the retirement funds you invest in (Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.), and it will let you know whether or not it's likely that fund invests in gun stocks — in which case, you can either try to lobby your employer to choose a new mutual fund or pull out of any employer-set 401(k) and take your investing private.

Eric Milgram, father of two Sandy Hook survivors. GIF from Unload Your 401(k)/YouTube.

Is the Unload Your 401(k) campaign working? That all depends on how you measure success.

“Our biggest success so far has been getting the University of California system to fully divest all funds from gun companies," New Yorkers Against Violence Executive Director Leah Gunn Barrett told Upworthy.

She added that other universities and cities are considering similar action, pointing to the 1980s anti-apartheid movement (in which students pressured their universities to divest stocks from companies doing business in South Africa) as proof that divestment can be an effective strategy.

Guns found at the site of the San Bernardino shooting. Photo by San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department via Getty Images.

It's less about damaging these companies so much as trying to compel them to do the right thing.

"The goal at the manufacturing level is not necessarily to hurt them, but to get them to change their policies," Whittenburg says, referencing Smith & Wesson's agreement with the Clinton administration. "They did it once. They can do it again if they want to."