In our concern with "the big picture" we might not notice something quite obvious–and disturbing. While we depend on nature for our survival, the natural world IN OUR REAL EXPERIENCE takes the back seat to the human-created world. We swim daily in the waters of money and stuff, not in lakes and streams. Given that, we need, alongside environmental education, a good basic financial education.

Money spent = resources consumed. Money saved = resources preserved. Yet in our casino era where vast sums are being made and lost and made again and where investing is the latest computer game, the idea of saving money is, well, quaint.

Your house isn't "savings." Your portfolio isn't "savings." Why? Because they can lose their value. An economic downturn or a major local employer moving off shore can quickly lower the selling price of such assets. Savings are resources set aside with the maximum security possible. Money in FDIC insured accounts and AA or better rated bonds would qualify as savings.

1. At the most practical level, you save for financial security. How much money do you need to be secure? One way to answer that would be to follow the 9-step program in the book YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE and discover what is enough for you. Another would be to read practical financial books or see a fee-only financial planner.

2. You save naturally when you live within your means. Through financial awareness and intelligence, you buy what you truly want and need and leave the rest, you keep serviceable items serving you for a long time, you share, you barter, you use creativity and relationship instead of money to fill your needs. As a by-product, your bank accounts fill.

3. You save up for future purchases. This lessens impulse buying. It allows you to pay cash and "save" finance charges that can double or triple the cost of an item.

Frugality - wise resource management - results in leaving a rich legacy of resources for future generations. Since every time we spend money we move resources around (and often into a less usable state), attending to personal finances might be one of the most important environmental acts we ever do.

Every dollar in an American's paycheck can go one of three places: paying off previous consumption (debt), paying for current consumption, or saving for the future. Basic financial competencies are essential if American citizens are to create sustainable lifestyles in urban, job-based environments. Do you know how to balance a checkbook (and do it), keep important records, do your own taxes, understand compound interest and how to use it instead of being used by it, comparison shop, and, of course, intelligently save money? Do your kids? Do you include your concerns for the Earth in your deliberations in the mall?

We can't ask our corporations and public institutions to change if we aren't willing examine and adjust our own spending habits. We will win–we'll be more secure, be able to pay cash, feel wonderfully clean and clear in our dealings with money. And the Earth will win, as we align the flow of stuff through our lives with the core requirements for natural systems to survive.