Financial and Lifestyle Resources for Vermont

In a variety of ways, large and small, co-ops of all kinds work hard every day, around the world, making the lives of their members a little easier and more sustainable. With October being National Co-op Month, it’s a great time to recognize and celebrate all the ways in which co-ops are cooperating here in Vermont!

Individual stocks or equities are an advanced way to build wealth. Most investors begin with a mutual fund in a retirement plan at work, or by contributing to an individual retirement account (IRA). Mutual funds are generally made up of individual holdings in stocks and/or bonds. These funds are usually managed by professional money managers who select how much of a stock or bond the investor should hold in the fund. These options are often a solid basis for beginners and less experienced investors as they take the guesswork out of investing.

Have a question about composting? You’re not the only one. Following my recent blog about Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law, I received an influx of comments requesting clarification about how to compost and deal with food scraps that can’t be composted. Here’s a list of answers to the most frequently asked questions I’ve received.

This is not intended to be investment advice and is the personal opinion and experience of the author. WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY? Cryptocurrency, or crypto, is a digital asset first created in 2009 that, unlike the U.S. dollar, doesn’t have a physical form. Bitcoin, which you may have heard of, was the first of this new kind of currency, but there have been many others created since, and seemingly more every day.

What do you think of when you think of “the economy?” We hear that word all the time—on the news, on the lips of politicians and policy makers, and in casual conversations, too. But what is it, exactly? Do you feel like it’s something you have a meaningful role in? Or do you feel like changes in the economy are made out there, outside of your control, by other people like stock traders, senators working on trade deals, the Treasury Secretary, and places like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund? Well, we’re going to break it down a bit and focus on a powerful distinction within the economy—the difference between the financial economy and the real economy.

Getting a new job is exciting. Finding a new job? Not so much. If you’ve experienced anything like my six-month job search in Vermont, the process can get stressful, tedious, and exhausting. But there are ways to make it easier. Now that pandemic restrictions have eased, Vermont’s job market is finally opening up and employers are actually struggling to find workers. From firsthand experience, here are some of my personal tips for finding a job.

At what point do you decide that the life skills you’ve been taught simply are not enough? At what point is “doing what mom and dad are doing” not enough? Many have been blessed with guidance and amazing lessons from their parents, which they hope to pass down to their own children someday, but can those lessons be deemed harmful?

When we were younger, many of us were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Well-intentioned adults may have been excited to get a sneak peek into our little minds and identify what we were passionate about. If you had asked me, I would have said a naturalist (think Steve Irwin); if you asked my brother, he would have said a dragonfly. What makes this innocent question quite layered, actually? Following our passion implies that we have a clear calling that will not only make us happy but will also be lucrative.