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I thought it could be fun to crowd source this thought experiment. A few years ago I took the time to try applying all 12 of Holmgren's permaculture principles to personal finance. I'm sharing them here and would love to get your reactions, suggestions for improvement, or additional ideas.
1) Design from patterns to details – start by figuring out your short and long-term life and financial goals
2) Observe and interact – track your spending to gauge how well your spending supports your goals and permaculture values
3) Obtain a yield – earn more than you spend by increasing your earnings and/or reducing your spending
4) Apply self-regulation and accept feedback – create and stick to a budget (or anti-budget) that supports those life goals, especially when it comes to paying down debt
5) Catch and store energy – build up some savings (at least in an emergency fund)
6) Integrate rather than segregate– incorporate your permaculture ethos into the ways you make and steward money
7) Use and value renewable resources and services - prioritize productive and (re)generative assets such as solar panels, residual income from a song or book, tools you use to do paid work, or fruit and nut trees
Produce no waste – certainly waste not, want not; but also tap all the wealth in the waste stream to save and earn money
9) Use small and slow solutions – approach personal finance with a long-term perspective
10) Use and value diversity – diversify your assets and investments
11) Use edges and value the marginal – recognize the non-monetary wealth that surrounds you and think about how you can responsibly tap it to reduce your consumption and save money
12) Creatively use and respond to change – re-evaluate your life goals and finances from time to time and recalibrate accordingly
1) Design from patterns to details – start by figuring out your short and long-term life and financial goals
2) Observe and interact – track your spending to gauge how well your spending supports your goals and permaculture values
3) Obtain a yield – earn more than you spend by increasing your earnings and/or reducing your spending
4) Apply self-regulation and accept feedback – create and stick to a budget (or anti-budget) that supports those life goals, especially when it comes to paying down debt
5) Catch and store energy – build up some savings (at least in an emergency fund)
6) Integrate rather than segregate– incorporate your permaculture ethos into the ways you make and steward money
7) Use and value renewable resources and services - prioritize productive and (re)generative assets such as solar panels, residual income from a song or book, tools you use to do paid work, or fruit and nut trees
Produce no waste – certainly waste not, want not; but also tap all the wealth in the waste stream to save and earn money
9) Use small and slow solutions – approach personal finance with a long-term perspective
10) Use and value diversity – diversify your assets and investments
11) Use edges and value the marginal – recognize the non-monetary wealth that surrounds you and think about how you can responsibly tap it to reduce your consumption and save money
12) Creatively use and respond to change – re-evaluate your life goals and finances from time to time and recalibrate accordingly
