Last week ,when I talked about my gift shopping for my daughters, my discussion was about trying to find products that were made by my own personal standards. To be specific, not wanting to buy from countries whose government treats some of its people reprehensibly or from companies who support causes that are in opposition to my own beliefs, as well as wanting to buy from American small businesses whenever possible to keep money in fellow American's pockets. It was mentioned in the comments that I was fortunate to be able to shop by my principles.
I am fortunate. But I'm not spending more money than previously on categories like gifts, clothing, and household needs while I practice principled buying.
So with that in mind, I wanted to share how we afford to shop by our principles and deal with the often higher cost of products that are American-made, small business-made, or imported from countries that provide a fair wage to their workers. If my budgets for gifts, clothing, and household items have not risen, and I'm avoiding buying the super cheap stuff that comes from some countries, something has to be different with my shopping, right?
Here's how we're doing it. We're using those tried and true frugal methods to save on some items, so that we can afford to buy those more expensive other items from companies and countries that are on my personal "approved" list.
- I am repairing, refurbishing, and repurposing as much of our clothing and household items as I can, so that I postpone replacing items further into the future. I've currently got 1 pair of mittens, a sock, a pair of blue jeans, and a bath rug in the mend pile. If I were to buy all of those items new, I'd spend well over $100. That same $100 will pay for replacing a piece of clothing or a household item that is past repair and bought according to my principles.
- I have been asking for basic clothing items and necessities as my gifts for Christmases and birthdays. Last year for my birthday, I received a pair of basic leggings and a sweatshirt. For Christmas, I received a requested headband and hair conditioner. I used a gift card from my birthday 2019 to buy new underwear. And I used another gift card from Mother's Day 2018 to buy my everyday shoes. Money I didn't take out of our budget is money that can go toward principled buying.
- We're also turning to thrift stores for many items. Thrifts stores do more than just prevent stuff from ending up in landfills or provide merchandise super affordably. Thrift shops often have a charitable cause or benefit a needy group. Thrift shops provide job training for folks that have had a hard time breaking into the job market, fund homeless shelters, fund non-profit rehab centers, sponsor soup kitchens, and subsidize childcare centers for lower income families. Thrift stores don't operate to pad wallets of stockholders or CEOs. Their prices would be much higher if that were the case. Instead, their focus is on helping people. Shopping thrift stores saves me money and makes me feel good about my choices. And the money I save by buying a needed thrifted top or saucepan compared to buying new is money that I can put towards those more expensive principled purchases.
- I'm also shopping online marketplaces for gently-used or new-condition items. Online marketplaces are like garage sale Saturday every day, but with a phenomenally large selection. I like that by buying an item from an individual seller, I put more money into that person's pocket and less into a large corporation's. And I save some money in the bargain.
- We are still shopping at Dollar Tree for some items. Dollar Tree has a surprising amount of Made in USA items. I just check labels on everything. I needed a new box of envelopes. Same brand, but one set of envelopes were security envelopes and the other set were plain envelopes. The plain envelopes were made in the USA and the others were imports. I bought the plain ones.
- When it comes to giving gifts to others, I am reducing the number of gifts, overall, and prioritizing the items most wanted so that I can shop by my principles. The bonus -- buying and giving less means that fewer items might wind up on a closet shelf or in another giveaway box. When I first set out to shop for some small gifts for my daughters I was thinking spa items. I had thought about some bath soaks, bath bombs, maybe some bath oil or shower gel, a loofah, a bath brush, a shower cap, and some chocolates. As it turns out, by buying only American-made, small business, or marketplace items, I was able to buy 1 bath bomb, 1 packet of bath soak, 1 bottle of shower gel, 1 chocolate bar, and 1 shower cap (small business-made) for each daughter. I spent the same amount of money that I would have spent on a larger selection of cheap imported items, but I think I did more good with my money. Will my daughters mind that I didn't get everything on my list? Not at all. Here's another one -- I needed a $15 to $20 gift for someone recently. I chose to buy coffee beans from a company that donates a share of its proceeds to a cause that is close to my heart. The recipients of my coffee bean gift were delighted to receive the coffee and happy to hear about the cause the purchase benefitted. (This is a cause that they also support.) I am taking the same amount of money that I would have spent, but directing it toward companies, organizations, or people of my choosing.
