May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. May is National Bike Month. That is a great excuse to do something for ourselves that could be a game changer for us personally. Bikes are great ways to get around that promote physical health, clean air and can save a great deal of money in the budget. Below are some important reasons to ride a bike this month, as well as some possible solutions for safety concerns. Transportation is the #1 CO2 polluter in the U.S. (Australia & Canada, too). Car culture is the reason that most Americans, Australians, Canadians and people in the Middle East have a CO2 footprint that is 3X or more that of many Europeans. Here’s a chart of CO2 per capita of some major countries. Paris is the Star The most recent example of a city shifting away from cars is Paris. Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo won her election on a green platform, promising to make Paris bike-friendly and to eliminate plastic. According to her bio, Hidalgo has created over 400 kilometers of bicycle lanes. She is using a model championed by Leon Krier when he designed Poundbury (Dorset, England) in the 1970s – of creating neighborhood hubs with grocery stores, schools, parks, health centers, etc., that denizens can visit with a 15-minute walk. (Learn more about Poundbury by clicking on the blue-highlighted word.) Amsterdam Became a Biking City in the 1970s In the early 1970s, Amsterdam was a city fighting air pollution, vehicular deaths and gridlock. Here’s a link to a 1972 documentary, where kids were writing essays about wanting everyone to switch from driving cars to riding bikes to get rid of pollution and to stop the casualties (watch 1:75 – 2:05). In 1971 alone, it was reported that 3,000 people were killed by cars in Amsterdam, 450 being children. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were almost 41,000 motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2023. Stop de Kindermoord or “stop the child murder,” led by former Dutch MP Maartjie van Putten, led bicycle protests to the home of the Prime Minister. While it didn’t happen overnight, Amsterdam is now one of the best examples of municipal bike infrastructure. Are You Driving Less? The average person spends over $8,000/year on their personal vehicle, when you factor in the car payment, insurance, gasoline, parking and maintenance. How much time do you spend every week (or day) driving? Could your time and money be better invested elsewhere? When I spoke to Ted Winterer, the former mayor of Santa Monica, California, back in 2019, he revealed that in a family with four adults, they had one car and five bikes. The savings, even considering the taxis they took on occasion, was half of what they were spending on transportation before they made the switch. What About Safety? A lot of people are concerned about safety when they shift to a bike commute. When Jo Esbensen made riding a bike cool back in Venice, California, in the early 2000s, there weren’t very many bike lanes. When Maartjie van Putten lobbied to create safe streets for kids in Amsterdam, gridlock and pollution choked the streets. Citizen Jane Jacobs fought hard to keep the West Village of Manhattan a walking neighborhood. Jonathan and Li Watkins take country roads for their bike commute. (You can see a picture of them at the top of this blog.) Change happens with us, on the ground. I personally walk for almost all of my errands, with my backpack in tow. There are so many examples of ordinary people being the change that our planet needs to heal. When our city, state and national representatives are hounded enough, they find ways to fund the changes that our community needs to move forward. Should you work from home a few days a week to reduce CO2, keep more of your money and invest time in family and friends that you would have wasted commuting? Are you aware that the average American drives about 13,500 miles per year, emitting 8,473 metric tons of CO2 (based on 23 mpg). Are you above or below that average? Can you reduce your CO2 footprint by 20% or more this year? How will you achieve that? I sold my car a few years ago, and reduced my personal transportation CO2 by more than 2/3rds. I enjoy greater health as a result of walking and riding a bike so much more, and I’m saving a ton of money – even given that I sometimes rent a car or take ride-share. I’ve also reduced my business transportation CO2 by 90% by putting most of our retreats, master classes, meetings and training online – something I’ll discuss in greater detail in another blog this month and in a videoconference on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 4 pm PT. Email [email protected] with VIDEOCON in the subject line, if you’d like to join me live. Riding a bike takes more planning than hopping in a single-occupancy vehicle. However, when we place the planet on the top of our to-do list and get creative, the checks and balances of determining if the travel has a higher purpose, and if there is a creative way to do the same thing without as much CO2 (such as hosting meetings online) help each one of us to be a part of the solution. Wisdom is also key, so that we're not smug in our lifestyle, with blindspots, such us a daily commute, that we might get creative about ameliorating. Also, there is a great deal of greenwashing and misinformation that keeps us customers of gas stations, gas guzzlers, polluting industries, such as plastic and polyester – oil products, and "green" cruises, which are some of the worst polluters in transportation. The Earth Gratitude Project Features Sustainability Projects from Around the World The Earth Gratitude project has a docuseries with five episodes on Food and Health, Kids, Animals and Conservation, Everyday Sustainability Tips and the Power of Gratitude featuring some of the most impactful and exciting projects from around the world. There are so many ways, including walking and biking more, that we can improve our own lives and our community. I encourage you to watch the episode that appeals to you most (and then the others). You will be inspired and educated by all of the great work going on. We would like our next episodes to feature Paris and Amsterdam's transition to clean transportation and plastic reduction. We’re looking for partners to help us produce and distribute the next episodes. (We’ve got an excellent team to write, film and score them.) If you know someone who might be interested, please reach out to discuss this with me personally at [email protected]. Put Earth Gratitude docuseries in the subject line. If you'd like to contribute to this project, email [email protected] for Venmo information. We welcome all contributions, large or small. Bottom Line Biking is great for physical, fiscal and ecological health. Try walking or biking for local errands, at minimum. Can you go a full day, or a full weekend, without driving? Be sure to mark September 22, 2024 on your calendar for the Worldwide Car-Free Day. I want to hear what you’re doing differently this month. Please tag me on Instagram and use #EarthGratitude. https://www.instagram.com/nataliewynnepace/ https://www.instagram.com/earth_gratitude/ Join us at our online June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Learn how to protect your wealth, hedge against a weaker dollar, invest and compound your gains, green your retirement plan, easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, how to get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), how to evaluate IPOs and other stocks, and what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] to register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.)
![]() Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 5th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test. Answers to the Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Comments are closed.
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AuthorNatalie Pace is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project and the author of The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, The ABCs of Money, The ABCs of Money for College, The Gratitude Game and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is. She is a repeat guest & speaker on national news shows and stages. She has been ranked the No. 1 stock picker, above over 830 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency, and has been saving homes and nest eggs since 1999. Archives
January 2025
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