Vote With Your Money

I read an article about unsubscribing from streaming services as a way to have power in our current political environment. The main message was that we can regain a sense of our power by voting with our money. Yes! I fully agreed and wanted to make changes – in hopes that my small action would be a part of making a change in the world.

Over the last month I have been attempting to cut out businesses and products that don’t align with my values. I experimented with only shopping on craigslist, canceling streaming services and trying free library streaming services, researching businesses and avoiding some. All of this became very time consuming and also offered insight into the ways that I spend my time and money.

During the process I wavered in and out of enthusiasm for this endeavor. I noticed my hope and self-judgment teeter tottering back and forth – can my one action really make a difference, why can’t I fully commit to boycotting certain businesses, etc. With compassion and distancing tools I can see that it’s challenging to know for sure which business to support and that there are many competing values within myself that contribute to the choice of where I shop and what I buy.

I haven’t made all of the changes that I initially set out to make, however I have settled on a few guidelines for myself:
Spend money at businesses where the employees/owners are kind and happy.
Only buy/borrow what I plan to use and love in the immediate future. I have needed to learn to pause before a new purchase – such as when I hear of a new fantastic book I put it on a reading list instead of instantly ordering it from the library or bookseller.
Continue to notice how I use my money and time. And notice how I feel after I make a purchase. Use this information to make slow and purposeful adjustments to what I buy and where I buy it.
Do the best I can and be compassionate with myself if I don’t meet all of my own guidelines, because the process of change is hard and the ability to have all of the information is difficult.
Hold on to the hope that what I do matters, even if I’m the only one who notices right now.