Putting real numbers on something is a first step to truly understanding it.

Does the way you spend your money reflect your values? Most people would say yes, but most people would also say they are good listeners and excellent drivers, lol. The truth is, you don’t necessarily know whether your spending reflects your values unless you make a deliberate effort to quantify it. You don’t have to keep a budget or tediously track all of your spending, but a once-a-year spot-check⏤a core sample, so to speak⏤will help you gauge whether your money is working in alignment with your belief system. Considering the power money has in every aspect of life, it’s truly countercultural to choose to deploy this power in conscious and deliberate ways. Everyone wants your money. The question is, do they deserve it? 

You wouldn’t donate to a cause or organization you were opposed to. You wouldn’t contribute to a political candidate who insulted your belief system. You wouldn’t even buy a single shirt that didn’t reflect your personal sense of style, yet you likely purchased something within the last 24 hours that doesn’t fully align with your core beliefs. Funny how that works. So much spending is done subconsciously, on auto-pilot, and with the push of a button. It’s easy to not even think about the power of money, but if it wasn’t powerful, everyone wouldn’t be trying so hard to get it! Who are you empowering⏤and enriching⏤by the things that you buy and the money that you spend? If that person or company had a table at your local farmer’s market, and you could meet them face to face, would you still buy their goods? If you could visit their workplace or manufacturing facility, if you could speak with their employees and their neighbors, would you still buy from them?

The question is a simple one: Does the way you spend your money reflect your values? A good way to answer this question is to do a quick, personal audit of where your money goes. What stores do you shop at, and how much of your money do you spend at each? Where are the things you buy made, and how much of your money goes to each country of origin? What are the things you buy made of, and how much of your money goes to each material? How long will the things you buy last, and how much of your money goes to something that will be in the garbage in a year?

There are so many good causes that it can feel overwhelming, and the problems of the world are so numerous it can feel as if you can’t have an impact of any significance, but that is not true. Every dollar you spend is an opportunity to make an impact. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, a free market system will shift to serve consumers what they want. If you stop participating in the throw-away value system of today’s consumer culture, the market will most certainly respond.

Copyright 2023 Kesel Wilson (entirely, 100% human-created)

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