The last time I wrote about voting with your dollars was for the economic blackout on February 28, which was not meant to have an economic impact but more meant to prime the general public for additional economic actions like the current Amazon blackout happening until tomorrow, with more to follow, and the ongoing Target boycott that's been happening since they rolled back that pesky DEI. A lot of you did the 2/28 blackout and were interested in moving away from Target and Amazon but were unsure/overwhelmed by how to do so, and I said I'd do a post on what I'm doing in case that helps. And here we are. Wall of text coming at you.
People are complaining that it's hard to keep track of these rolling blackouts and I agree. My move at this time is putting as little money in the hands of large corporations as possible, which makes it easier to blanket respond economically to the current administration and those corps propping it up or complying with it.
I've focused more on spending with intention instead of on auto-pilot. I'm reaching back to my childhood, sto things I learned from Mom-Mom who lived through the Depression and carried most of those behaviors and responses through her life; and my Grandmom, who didn't believe in buying just to buy. I lost those lessons along the way somewhere, allowing myself to be lured into a more consumption based life that blurred the lines between actual need and want, and became too reliant on convenience. I can't change my past behavior or choices, but I can try to redirect moving forward.
I spent a lot of time in the early winter examining myself and my habits, and knew I needed to make a change for a lot of reasons, chief among them that the way I was consuming and purchasing did not align with what my values actually are. A close second is seeing what thoughtless consumption has done to us as a society and a country.
The role large corporations play in shaping our government's policies has never been more apparent than it is right now, how they pad the pockets of elected officials to hold sway and don't pay enough in taxes while the middle class gets taxed out of existence. Large corporations have driven up prices of goods, underpaid workers, created planned obsolecence of products so they fail much quicker than they used to, taken a massive shit on the environment, and been recipients of corporate welfare from the U.S. government all while raking in RECORD profits, paying their C-suite employees absolutely insane compensation packages, and convincing the average person that we need new new and more things every.single.day. And convincing the average person that corporate welfare and handouts/subsidies for the businesses owned by billionaires are necessary for a functioning economy and country while your poor neighbors getting any form of welfare is a goddamn scourge on society. They've literally duped people into thinking the opposite of what is true, and we are at a reckoning point with that as we speak.
In capitalism, it's not always easy to find alternatives to ways of purchasing or goods that you purchase that align fully with your values. A lot of people use GoodsUniteUs, which I don't love. I prefer OpenSecrets. Something you should understand about leadership of companies/rich people is that they will sometimes donate to both parties/candidates as a basic lobbying/CYA/hedging their bets system. It's fucked, but so is our entire campaign finance system thanks to Citizens United and no caps on campaign spending. That is not something for this post, but it is important to recognize that sometimes you're choosing the better of two options, neither of which feel overall great to you.
Sorry for the long intro but I always like you to know where I'm coming from in case that helps you think about where you're coming from.
Things I used to do that I'm not doing anymore
Before I start, it is not possible for all people to do all things - many people who live in rural areas or with a disability are reliant on services/delivery/companies like some of the ones I'm cutting out. Some people are already at the very outer limits of what they can afford, and these behemoth corporations offer the best prices. Maybe you can't do all the things you want to do to divest from this system, but if you can do one small thing, try that. If you can adjust for more in the future, great. Those of us that want to be about this life and can sacrifice convenience - we got you. My main overall goal is to change not only my shopping and spending habits, but my MINDSET as a consumer. Am I going to get it right every time? No. Will I buy some things I need quickly without thinking about it? I'm sure. Am I trying not to? Yes. I'm looking to do better, not be a model for non-consumption or entirely ethical consumption. There are many other people aside from me to look to for that. I will not let perfection be the enemy of good/better, and neither should you. I feel like people kill momentum all the time by doing that. Let's not.
1. Amazon. I saw Jeff Bezos up there on the dais on Inauguration Day, and that was it. I cancelled my prime membership - it is due to renew in July - and have not ordered a thing from there since mid-January maybe? I received items from Amazon at least once a week, and had many things we use consistently on auto ship. Since going cold turkey, I realized literally all of the things I bought through Amazon that were not grocery/household were not necessities in any way and are all available elsewhere. Close to 40% of our monthly household budget was spent here. Many of us remember life before "Where did you get it?" "Amazon" was a thing and it's not been difficult to go back there.
2. Target. I stopped when they rolled back DEI, cancelled my Circle account and card, and have not bought anything online or in person since. I was a once a week Target drive up shopper for the bulk of my pantry groceries and a lot of Good & Gather branded stuff, especially my beloved frozen mango. I also regularly did household items with the incentives for $ off. Close to 40% of our monthly household budget was spent here.
3. Sam's. I was never a Walmart lady, but Sam's is owned by the same company so in that way I was. This was me excusing my objections to their operations for my own convenience due to my three minute proximity to Sam's and its cheap gas. I cancelled my membership. I was a once every few months bulk shopper but used the gas station more regularly.
4. Replacing something we've run out of without thought. I think about whether we need it at all, or if we can use something else in the pantry/household good closet first before replacing. Like we've run out of our preferred crackers, and I'd typically replace immediately, but instead will use the remaining crackers in the house before replacing, and going forward I'm only buying the preferred. We have too many choices here and it leads to waste.
5. Prioritizing convenience over ethics. Period.
6. Following with blinders on. I like some content creators but I am not well seeing people shilling Amazon shit daily. I know people make money like this, but I don't want to see it anymore. How many fast fashion items are people burning through? The rate at which we buy new new clothes is fucking crazy. I love a lot of book accounts for content but links to Amazon books is not for me, and it never has been, I just disregarded it. No more. Emails too - I no longer just delete, I unsubscribe.
7. Spending for the sake of spending. More stuff does not equal more happiness, status, or security.
Things I'm doing instead
I'm aiming for small shifts in mindset and behavior that will build on each other over time and disengage me from the consumerism that capitalism drives us to.
1. Small grocers. I'm lucky to have relatively easy access to very small grocery places that are serving hispanic, african, indian, and asian populations in my community. Something I love to do in other countries is go to the grocery store. Something I love about grocery stores in many other countries is that they don't have a million fucking options on the shelves, and that is true of these places. They are also not overdone with marketing and feel a little more chaotic, which is not what American consumers are used to but I personally love it. I buy less at these places, typically stick to what I went in to get, and shop small.
2. Local hardware stores. Some of them around me are conservative, but to me spending my money in my local economy at a small business for something that is a need feels more in line than buying it at a large corporate chain like Target or Walmart or through Amazon, none of which align with my values either and all of which rely on tax breaks and/or corporate welfare via the government that they should not be getting.
3. Making better choices where I can. To expand on what I mentioned in #2, if none of the options around me to secure a good or service are a perfect fit and it's something I actually need, I choose the lesser of two evils while considering a way to not have that item be a need anymore period.
4. For items I bought at Amazon or Target and do not want to source other brands for, buying direct. I've done that more in bulk than one offs, which works for me and my budget.
5. Look for items second-hand or that I can borrow first. At thrift stores and through buy nothing groups online. Buy nothing/Freecycle is my absolute favorite way to get or give items. For our trip to Paris, I was without a small size carry on. I'd typically buy one, and did that without thinking. Then I was like what am I doing, returned those, and borrowed one from my sister-in-law. Borrowing and lending items with family and friends was something that was always done, then people started being pressured to have their own of something for a once a year need and I'm trying to get back to the borrowing and lending mindset. Second-hand and borrowing/lending are infinitely better for the environment as well.
6. Asking myself before buying so I am more intentional with spending. Do I actually need this? Who benefits from this purchase? Does this align with my values?
7. Not a no spend, but a low spend; less wants. I've not gone cold turkey on buying wants, but they have been reduced by over 80% since the end of 2024, and to my surprise instead of feeling like something is missing, I'm left with a feeling of great relief. For so long in this world, shopping was about necessity. Somewhere along the way, definitely sped up by online commerce, it's now marketed as a hobby or entertainment or something that will fill whatever void is inside you. Fifty years ago we were not buying the sackloads of shit on a whim we're buying now, overwhelming ourselves with shit we don't need, wasting time looking at every blessed choice out there, spending money we don't need to spend, and normalizing overconsumption and the feeling that we never have enough. Most of us have more than enough.
8. Entering into divorce proceedings with the running lists in my head. This is the hardest of all for me as the main purchaser of household goods, and I'm sure most women can relate. The running list always in your head of what you're out of, what you're about to be out of, what to look for sales on, etc. It's exhausting. Like always chasing something. Endlessly. Never being done making a list. And is running out of something the end of the world? For most of us, on most items, the answer is a resounding no. It's still hard to break this pattern of thinking but I'm doing what I can to free my mind from this cycle.
9. StoryGraph over Goodreads. Goodreads is part of the Bezos empire, and I still use for reference and will post some reviews for books I get on Netgalley on there, but don't track reading there anymore. I was a daily user of GoodReads who had tried StoryGraph in the past and didn't love everything about it so never invested in it. I'm in now. I have a Kindle Paperwhite and will keep it until it dies because I don't believe in getting rid of shit like that before it's used up, but as stated above am not a book buyer from Amazon unless it is literally available NOWHERE else. Amazon kills bookstores and and I'm not sure why readers who I know have the funds and ability to buy books elsewhere are choosing Amazon as their place to source books if said books are available elsewhere.
10. Overall: small. Local. In choosing restaurants, businesses, etc. I've always leaned more toward shop small for wants person, but left the small businesses hanging for a lot of my regular needs purchases.
11. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. Testing out this mantra more and more.
I haven't joined Costco yet, but that's my plan the next time I have the need for a bulk shop. It's nowhere near as convenient or close as Sam's, but is a far better match for us values-wise.
If you're trying to make your way in the same direction as I am, and still wondering where/how to source some things, let me know! If I have a source or have seen someone else share an idea or method, I'll let you know. Likewise, if you are doing something I'm not and it's been revolutionary for you, please share.
Fuck fascism and oligarchy and have a good Thursday
SMD
