Money Values

I’ve been thinking a lot about values over the past few weeks. I think it is because the current political climate has been getting under my skin. It feels simultaneously so important and completely unimportant. And, to top it off, I don’t feel particularly inclined to get more involved than I already am (note: I always vote, even in tiny local elections, I often give to campaigns that I feel strongly about, and I regularly call my representatives to give my input on upcoming votes). 

I’m sure I could make a difference in the current political climate if I chose to put more of my energy and money in that sphere, but I don’t feel called to go there. And, if I’m honest, it looks so messy and exhausting that I really would need to feel called in order to get myself involved. 

Instead, I feel like I can make a difference on the same issues I’d focus on in politics outside of that arena. I talk all the time about voting with your wallet as a way to support the organizations and movements you believe in, but I think I need to expand my definition in order to feel like I’m giving my values the focus they deserve.

So, what am I doing? 

First off, the values I am focusing on are: 

1) Environmental sustainability

2) Gender equality

3) Supporting small businesses 

I’m tackling each one a little differently and, for now, starting relatively small so I don’t set myself up for failure. I’ve broken them down below:

• Environmental sustainability

  • I’m reducing my reliance on online shopping and therefore reducing the waste that comes into my house. This means shopping local whenever I can. 

  • I’m working towards reducing waste in my household products. That means that as cleaning products run out I am finding alternative replacements that are better for the environment (Dropps laundry pods, DIY toilet bowl cleaner and replacing a swiffer with a mop).

• Gender equality

  • This is basically the reason I started Verdi! I’m encouraging my clients to focus more on long-term money habits that will improve their own financial standing. I believe that working with more and more people means that eventually these individual improvements will help society as a whole. 

• Supporting local businesses

  • I gave up Amazon Prime a few months ago, which is great for stopping random purchases and for pushing me to shop at smaller companies (and ones with better worker’s rights track records)

  • I accept that I sometimes need to shop online, but I try my hardest to shop local whenever I can. Sometimes that means getting a gift from a local boutique and shipping it myself. That often means that gifts don’t make it quite on time, since for the life of me I cannot make it to UPS with any regularity, but I’ve decided I’m okay with that trade off.

I’d love to hear your voting with your wallet plans! What are you focusing on? What questions do you have?

XOXO