All posts tagged: money meet meaning

How Much Should We Give?

How Much Should We Give?

Published by Sam Flores

After their conversation with philanthropists Kim Duchossois and Jessica Swoyer Green, Amber and Tom return to explore one of the thorniest questions in generosity: If you have more, should you give more? What unfolds is a candid, thoughtful look at the tension between purpose and self-preservation — between the call to give and the instinct to save. Drawing on wisdom from Jewish teaching, Christian Scripture and behavioral science, Amber and Tom dig into why giving is hard to do — yet why it feels so good — and how to know how much giving is “enough.” They wrestle with questions about timing, limits, legacy and control: Is it better to give now or later? How much should we direct our gifts? And what do we owe our children — security or the opportunity to struggle and grow? It’s a warm and honest conversation about generosity, trust and the values that guide us when the stakes are high. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Source link

Ethical Spending Without Losing Your Mind

Ethical Spending Without Losing Your Mind

Published by Sam Flores

After talking with Harvard Business School’s Nien-Hê Hsieh about moral gray zones in leadership, Tom and Amber zoom in on the everyday gray zones most of us face: What do you do when ethical clothing costs twice as much? Should you switch banks if yours funds fossil fuels? How much label-scanning is too much? From private school garage sales as a surprisingly ethical hack to choosing a local community bank over a national giant, they explore creative “third ways” that move beyond cynicism or naïveté. Tom introduces the idea of a spending “shot clock” – a time limit to keep values-driven decisions from turning into analysis paralysis. Grounded in listener questions and ancient wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita, this episode offers practical guidance for the conscious consumer – and helps us let go of the illusion that any purchase can ever be perfect. Source link

Trust the Flow: Money, Fear and the Practice of Generosity

Trust the Flow: Money, Fear and the Practice of Generosity

Published by Sam Flores

What if your money habits say more about your heart than your bank account?  In this episode, Tom Levinson and Amber Hacker talk with Cara Lai, a Buddhist mindfulness teacher, about the spiritual side of money. Cara shares why she hates her retirement account, and how she’s learning to move from fear-based saving toward generosity and trust — including through a pay-what-you-choose model for her teachings. Together, they explore what it means to balance the practicality of providing for a family with faith in the flow of life — and how generosity can be both a spiritual practice and a source of real-world abundance.  About Cara: Cara Lai is a Buddhist teacher, artist and writer known for her humor, honesty and ability to make ancient wisdom feel accessible in modern life. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Source link

Mission, Money, and Machine

Mission, Money, and Machine

Published by Sam Flores

After talking with AI investor Colin Evans, Amber and Tom return to the mic to wrestle with the thorny questions Colin’s episode raised. Can purpose win out over profit — or does money have the final say? If AI frees us from toil, is that liberation — or the loss of something essential? And what values should guide the people building our machines — should there be a “Hippocratic Oath” for AI programmers? Through wit, warmth and a few well-timed tangents, Amber and Tom explore how spiritual traditions might help us navigate this new frontier — where work, wisdom and technology meet. It’s a conversation for anyone wondering how to stay human in an age of machines and algorithms and whether we can build with both head and heart. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Source link

Money Conversations with Kids

Money Conversations with Kids

Published by Sam Flores

After their conversation with financial expert Bobbi Rebell, Tom and Amber return to a surprisingly thorny question: How much should we tell our kids about our money? From sharing your income to explaining a budget cut, they explore the delicate balance of authenticity, care and preparing kids for the real world of money. Drawing on listener stories, family dynamics and wisdom from spiritual traditions, Tom and Amber unpack how age, maturity, personality and values shape these decisions. They wrestle with what transparency looks like in practice — and when discretion might be the more loving choice. Along the way, they dive into real-life dilemmas: correcting a kid’s misconception about your wealth, responding to bragging, making generosity visible and deciding what your kids need to know about inheritances. It’s a thoughtful, practical guide to the conversations that shape how kids understand money — and themselves. For more episodes and info, visit Money, Meet Meaning. Source link

Relief or Reform? When Generosity Meets Systemic Change.

Relief or Reform? When Generosity Meets Systemic Change.

Published by Sam Flores

  (RNS) — There’s a tension at the heart of faithful living: Do you use your resources to relieve suffering right now, or do you focus on fixing the system that’s causing the suffering in the first place? In this thorny episode of “Money, Meet Meaning,” hosts Amber Hacker and Thomas Levinson wrestle with what Tom’s calling “the whole quahog”—that inescapable pull between immediate mercy and structural justice, between local need and global impact, between the person in front of you and the hundreds you’ll never meet. They explore real dilemmas: Should your congregation wipe out medical debt for strangers or fund programs your own members need? Is anonymous giving holier or does it weaken community accountability? When do you prioritize the poor of your own city versus the magnitude of distant suffering? The conversation moves from ancient wisdom — Maimonides’ ladder of charitable giving, Talmudic teaching on concentric circles of responsibility, Jesus on giving without trumpets — to the story of Kansas City’s “Secret Santa,” whose decades of anonymous generosity began with one diner …