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This is blog is for you if you are serving families, mother, father, children in Leicestershire to - To take care of what we have in common: The planet - To encourage them to be open and inclusive of others - To support them in sharing their gifts for the local economy to be more resilient. If you tick more than one of this boxes, i am inviting you - To Get inspired by the stories of people who are in Leicestershire trying to enact change and empowered people to direct their lives - To share those stories to people around you so they can get inspired - To submit your story. Why? Because the power of stories can change the world as long as they are shared widely. So get sharing! About me My name is Marie. I live in Leicestershire since 2012. In my first year of arrival, i engaged with Transition Leicester, Positive Money and Footpaths Leicester. I ran the positive money leicester group.  I organised events, a discussion group and the Money workshop to help people reflect ...

One of the best ways to stop worrying about money is first understanding exactly what it is and for this, I would advise anyone to actually watch Positive Money videos on Youtube on how money is created and what it actually is. To learn even more about it you can read their book : Modernising Money: Why Our Monetary System is Broken and How it Can be Fixed From there, the question you have to ask yourself is what are the strategies I can possibly implement to ensure that money issues do not impact on mental health. If you feel that you are struggling financially and that the issue of money is taking a toll on you, please refer to a GP or a counsellor to help you, talk to your friend and family, keep a diary. Ultimately, you have to find a way to make the issue of money not causing further issues in your being. I wish you good luck with this. It is only the beginning of the journey to realise that you and everything around you have intrinsic value and it is down to you to recogni...

I have been involved with Positive Money since my master thesis where my focus was at the time on ''What are the Design skills for the transition towards the Circular Economy?''. Whilst interviewing the various stakeholders during the thesis, one was particularly keen on discussing economics, how money works,  how people are blinded by its meaning? How did I come from discussing design to having a long discussion about money? Well, it appears that the creation of money and the way it is applied to motivate people to stay on the treadmill seems to be like water nourishing poor design and systemic issues at its roots. It cannot be ignored. After the master thesis, I studied money, how is created and how it impacts people wellbeing. I ran a number of workshops in Leicester to raise awareness. The Leicester Positive Money Group emerged and as of today still, exists. Yet, we have an idea. Let's start again to share the word. My friend, Danielle Teixei...

Once in while Positive Money Leicester meet up. It was long time. It finally happened. --- A year ago, we had our first Positive Money Leicester event -  People & Money  -with a panel of individuals sharing with us the impact of money creation on society, the impact of policy making on the livelihood of individuals, the impact of corruption and tax havens , the law and meaning of money. Six month ago, we had a  workshop on the Ethics of Money  exploring the relationship with money and a lot of tips on how to live with less of it and enjoying life more. A month earlier,  Money Creation and its impact on society was debated in the House of Commons . Conservative, Labour, Greens, UKIP etc. question the impact of money creation by private entities on society. It was like Christmas in the middle of November for me. all at the results of the immense efforts of social activators throughout the UK interested in Money issues. Two weeks ago, I hav...

More than a year ago, the Spreadsheet Geek ( here ) had asked to analyse finances and sort them out. Between income statement, cashflows and budgetting, numbers were flowing in every directions. The task was over and I felt rich, content and free. Since then, states of affair are reviewed from time to time and outgoings controlled. None is spend on futility. Time at hand seem infinite. Debts are disappearing More is spend to create and contemplate how beautiful the now is. Next steps, shift to cash payments only and no more temptation to dip in the digital money. What about you? Have you thought about looking more in details at your finances? What stop you to open the pandora box of your bank statements? What is your vision of the future in relation to your finances? What are your next steps? I am curious to hear more, do not hesitate to comment this post.

My dear colleague, 60, is retiring this Christmas. In his own words 'It is the end of my working life and I shall now spend more time with friends and family. This couple retired at the age of 30 after investing a considerable amount of money in private pension, giving them sufficient return to sustain themselves for next x years. They can now focus on the projects they want to work on rather than working for any corporation as an employee. He is 75 and would not stop creating and innovating. Retiring is out of the question. It keeps him young at heart and sharp in his thoughts. 'Should you retire early or not?'is not the right question to ask The question should be 'Why retiring?' Retiring is not dissimilar to quitting when it is chosen or getting fired when it is imposed. Better quitting early to follow dreams of a lifetime... better not retiring when you are already living the dream...

The latest Permaculture session I had was 'Money Futures'. We discussed the reasons why we need Money, the impact of money on the global and living world. Questions were asked about the other alternatives of money and whether we could do without it. It became clear that the discussion was a difficult one to have as we recognise our needs to belong. We recognise our needs to improve our surroundings. We recognise how much unskilled and clueless we were. We recognise the power of money in making our wishes reality by filling the gap of our own inabilities. Human relationship is probably the most expensive commodity. It forces some to enter the rat-race for happiness and belonging. It is an unfortunate conclusion. Luckily enough, it is not the end of the story. There are many alternatives to money and the gift economy is actually in scale a lot more prominent that people might think. It is not promoted on television but for sure it exists. Join a voluntary group, knock...

I am truly a beginner in economics. By reading Positive Money book 'Modernising Money' by Ben Dyson and Andrew Jackson, my eyes and brain are getting wide open to new possibilities. My interest grew in the work of Minsky and encouraged me to read more about Keynes. Keynes economics promote the view that in the long run economics system converge into an equilibrium with the support of the government. Nevertheless you cannot help the role of banks in the system and wonder after reading the following quote: “But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.”   (Keynes, 1923) This implied that economists did not comprehend why we had a financial crisis and collapse.  Minsky with  his model 'Financial Instability Hypothesis' strive to answer this question.  T...

With the housing bubble tamed down by the bank of England, the latest bulletin confirming that the bank are creating money out of thin air and the psychological effect debt has on reducing feelings of empathy amongst human kinds, here are a number of resources if you want to learn more about the money system: Videos The Positive Money Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/PositiveMoneyUK A Crash Course : http://www.peakprosperity.com/ crashcourse With the part more concerned with money starting here:  http://www.peakprosperity.com/ crashcourse/chapter-6-what- money Money as Debt :  http://www.rinf.tv/video/money-debt A Century of Challenges  : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJKZT5TNjYw  Sacred Economics : https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=EEZkQv25uEs Keiser report with David Graeber : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T17h6tNzoM Books: Modernising Money - Andrew Jackson and Ben Dyson 5000 years of debt - David Graeber We...

I love working on projects. I love working with others. When I started to be a volunteer coordinator for Positive Money in Leicester, I wanted to find a partner to create some events on the theme of money. This person had to be reliable, trustworthy and hard working.  I did not find the person through the various meetings and events which I organised or participated in. The individuals I have met were not there to collaborate in the way I wanted. They were looking to gain other social benefits. Eventually, one person revealed herself to be the right partner whilst I was volunteering to support her own scheme: Footpaths, a carbon footprint reduction community-based programme . I run some sessions with her as a co-facilitator. Through our preparation meetings, I shared my vision for Positive Money in Leicester and our two worlds merged. Since then, we are partners. Others got inspired and joined us to develop a taster and full day workshop on Money. After the taster...

Debates tend to bring together expert researchers and politicians arguing on the steps forward for the future of humanity. Experts have always good arguments and counter-attack to keep the discussion going and confuse us in the midst of details and jargon. But us, lambda individuals, what can we possibly do? Learn and share Ian Tennant from Positive Money Uk explained today at the Leicester secular society how money is created by commercial banks and the consequences this have on the rest of the economy and our state of democracy. Did you know that 3% of the money available is cash (coins and notes) and 97% is money created by commercial banks? Did you know that between 1970 and 2012 the money supply increased from £25 billion to £2050 billion? What shocked me was the idea that a non elected body (commercial banks 80 board members) decide how the 2.9 trillion created by them will be spent. The government has 650 parliamentaries and 2.1 trillions to allocate. Isn't there a more...

If you are looking for some alternative events to join, this is what is happening in Leicester Footpaths : Green Open Homes and Living on the 14th and 15th of June. 9 houses in Leicester are opening their homes for visit. For  those interested in learning more about energy efficient measures, renewables and more, give it a go. Click on the link above to find out more LessBig - Building an Earth Oven at Saffron acres  on Saturday 14th from 10.30am to 5pm - Click on the link for more information Positive Money - Ian Tennant talks about how to stop banks are ruining the show  at Leicester secular society on Sunday 15th at 6.30 start. For more info on the event > click here Et Voila

It was rightly so the highlight of my day. 9:16 - I opened my guardian app on my way to work. Scroll down to get to the comments section and here it is:   'The French are right: tear up public debt - most of it is illegitimate anyway '  by  Razmig Keucheyan . I am rightly french and highly involved with Positive Money . We have a group in Leicester that you are welcome to join if you are interested send us an email by clicking here Thinking that 60% of public debt is most likely to be illegitimate and it is not even possible to name the debt holders makes me wonder why we are in such a state of austerity. Is it only there to favour our social elites? I am voting for a debt jubilee, right there! Let's hope we can follow the steps suggested in the article: 1) Debt audits in all countries 2) The disclosure of the identity of debt holders 3) The socialisation of the banking system  To understand those various steps and get more info on the research, che...

I am a beginner in economics but reading Positive Money book 'Modernising Money' by Ben Dyson and Andrew Jackson. My interest grew in the work of Minsky and encouraged me to read more about Keynes. Keynes economics promote the view that in the long run economics system converge into an equilibrium with the support of the government. Nevertheless you cannot help the role of banks in the system and wonder after reading the following quote: “But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.”   (Keynes, 1923) This imply that economists did not comprehend why we had a financial crisis and collapse.  Minsky with  his model 'Financial Instability Hypothesis' strive to answer this question.  The idea in Minsky's work in a 'simplistic summary is that in very...

I have recently read, Mark Boyle's Moneyless Manifesto. It resonated with me in many ways. He highlights the extent to which we are disconnected from the system which support out lives as we strive through and around the lenses of money. During my master thesis with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation at Cranfield University, those who I interviewed highlighted this issue as the main challenge to achieve a truly sustainable system. Individuals, businesses, politicians and educators are all slow down in their innovation pathways by the money paragdim. But the question remain can we really live without Money? Mark Boyle did it over three years. Throughout the book, he offers advices and personal experiences to support the idea that it is possible to do without. Other authors, researchers, practitioners in their own field offer guidance on how to implement some solutions for a moneyless living. Sometimes, his own experience such as successful healing from an infection using p...

In the Moneyless Manifesto by  Mark Boyle , I stumbled across ‘gift circles’ and we are going to give it a go at Riverside Festival on the 7th June 2014 at 3pm on the Bede Island by the Transition Leicester Marquee Gift circles are an organisational format to facilitate gift giving and promote community. For more info on its structure have a look here >  http://wiki.gifteconomy.org/Gift_Circle We need people who are happy to share contact details with one another. We are happy generally speaking for those who do not want to participate to the circle to listen and watch! Come directly on the Bede Island at the Transition Leicester and Green Light Marquee at 14:50 For more information, contact me directly on moneyleicester@gmail.com

The Leicester's Positive Money group is starting a reading group. Our first session will be the 6th of June 2014 at the Green Oasis from 6pm. We will start with reading the first 100 pages of ' Modernising Money ' by Andrew Jackson & Ben Dyson. We are at the moment seven individuals eager to understand better economics and to discuss some of the arguments introduced in the book. If you are interested in joining the reading group, email me directly on moneyleicester@gmail.com . If you don't have a book, I have 3 books left for sale sent by Positive Money to support the Leicester group (£10). Don't hesitate!

On Sunday 11th May, it was for us the moment of truth. We were running our money workshop which we have been working on in the past four months. We arrived in the room provided by the church, after few adjustments, hoovering and decorating with beautiful fabrics made by our dear Zina. We were ready. People one by one are arrived with food to share, smiling at the prospect of this day. We are in total 13 and ready to kick start. It is 11 am. The energy in the room is highly positive. We can feel it all around us. As we go through the exercise, we can sense some emotions. A plethora of possibilities to change our relationships with money, make our investments more ethical, achieve a more balanced life with less money or working fewer hours are explored. We are then confronted to our 'barriers to change', the 'should's' that we've learnt when we were younger to earn more money, to never get into debts, to take responsibilities for our choice and n...

The Greenlight Festival on the 22nd of April in Leicester took place in De Montfort University. It is organised by a team of passionate volunteers and showcased the best of all things green in Leicester... through talks, workshops, performance, kids'activities and a whole lot more.  Positive Money, Footpaths and Transition Leicester were present. We've run a taster workshop on Money. It was an opportunity for people to get a taste of our One Day workshop to be run on Sunday 11th May in Leicester but mainly to kickstart the discussion about our relationship with financial issues.  We had in total 19 people participating to the workshop.  Money is definitely a topic worth talking about particularly in our time of austerity and environmental degradation. We were really pleased to welcome so many people all together. The value in exploring the question on the impacts money has on the world and our own personal development is high. Ultimately, money manageme...

Enjoying a magnificent journey with Footpaths, Positive Money and Transition Leicester, relationships are flourishing and inspired we are to help others to explore their relationship with Money and the rest of the world. It has been a fabolous experience to design the workshop. it is now time to share it with the world. Hope you will come numerous. Money:  Impacts, Perceptions & Actions A one hour taster session & one day workshop run by Footpaths and Positive Money Leicester One hour taster session: Greenlight Festival 22 nd March, 2-3pm, Queens building, De Montfort University. This is free. Advanced booking is recommended but not essential. One day workshop : Sunday 11 th May, 11am-4pm, Bishop Street, Leicester Please book early for this as places are limited. Suggested donation: £5 (low income) £10 (comfortable income) £15 if you feel like it. To book or for more information, contact Footpaths ...