AUTHOR FINDS GREEN LIVING WISDOM IN AMISH PRINCIPLES Offers Money Saving Tips with Positive Environmental Impact
Author, journalist Lorilee Craker, felt the pinch from the financial fallout of 2008 like many others. As a freelance writer, her income was going the way of the dodo—family dollars seemed like an extinct myth, the bank account some archeological evidence of past prosperity.
After interviewing Bill O’Brien, the Lancaster County banker, she realized it was time to learn more about the Amish’s time-tested approach to personal finances. In 2008, when venerable banks were failing, Bill’s HomeTowne Heritage Bank—whose client base is 95% Amish—had its best year ever. She discovered that the Amish emerged from the economic crisis unscathed, when Wall Street crashed. While the middle-class was wringing its hands over the family budget and the wealthy were weeping over their slashed portfolios, the Amish were content as always, spared from the cares of the world and worldliness. They not only had financial health to support their lives, they exuded a wholeness that eludes so many when the financial bottom drops out. That’s where the idea behind her new book Money Secrets of the Amish was birthed.
