Spending Thoughtfully in 2014

When I'm in a rush at work, and on a deadline, I sometimes forget to eat lunch. If you're hungry and stressed, it's difficult to make good decisions about what you'd like to eat... hell, if you give me long enough, a donut and chocolate milk can seem like a well-balanced meal. Science backs up this claim, as researchers have found that hungry shoppers buy food with a higher caloric content than those who haven't fasted. So last Tuesday, after forgetting (yet again) to pack my lunch, and then heading down to 30th Street Station to grab something to eat quickly, I ended up eating a bagel from Dunkin Donuts instead of something that was more balanced.

It wasn't the worst nutritional decision that I've ever made, so I wasn't feeling terrible about it until I recalled a line from an article I had read earlier in the week. It was a great quote by Anna Lappe: "Every time you spend money you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want." I started thinking about the purchases I had made recently; gifts for the holidays, groceries, household items, and realized that a lot of the votes I was casting weren't making the world a better place. In fact, they were supporting some practices with which  I vehemently disagree. The bagel that I was eating was boosting sales for a corporation that still chooses to use polystyrene cups, has no visible recycling program and actively markets "K cups" which generate literally tons of additional waste each year. It was just a hunch, but I figured that I also probably wouldn't have agreed with the farming techniques used for the flour, the other ingredients used, and other destructive practices caused by massive franchising.

I'm not expecting that I'll be able to completely overhaul my life overnight and pack a very thoughtfully chosen local lunch every day of the week, but at the very least, I can choose to spend my money in a more conscious manner. By supporting locally-owned businesses, I'm ensuring that my money is in the hands of businesses that are trying to make life better for their consumers AND the community. Great examples in the Philadelphia area include Metropolitan Bakery, Barbuzzo, the vendors at Reading Terminal Market, and even some of the area food trucks (my personal favorites being Lucky Old Souls and Schmear It). The point is, that even if you're not the biggest spender, you can have a considerable impact by choosing the type of businesses that you support. Even though I only focused on food in this post, there are countless ways for you to "cast a vote" for the kind of world you want to live in, from the organization that you work for to the clothing that you purchase to the vehicles that you drive. So I urge you to ask yourself...  how can I spend more thoughtfully in 2014?