I'm pleased to be sharing this post with you today from my friend and co-worker, Kelly Orehovec. Kelly has her own blog, I am what I eat, where she writes about her thoughts and wishes on food. Welcome, Kelly - thanks for sharing your thoughts with us here too!
In 2010, I want to vote with my dollars. Reluctant to spend money on wants, (as opposed to needs), voting with my dollars is a change for me. Organic and local food? Want, not a need. Dry Cleaning? Want, not a need. Delivery services? Want, not a need right now.
In 2010, I will continue to explore ways to vote with my dollars; it will be a balancing act and I am up for the tightrope walk! Here are some ways that I will vote with my dollars this month:- The Oregon Unemployment rate was 11% in November 2009 and that number seems to be holding steady. I lost my job in March 2009 and one of the biggest challenges I faced was finding the appropriate (clean) interviewing clothes. I have one suit and my one income family did not pay for dry cleaning. I wish that I would have known about Plaza Cleaners. The idea to dry clean interviewing clothes for free started in New York City and so far, Plaza Cleaners is the only Portland, Oregon drycleaners that offers this service. I thankfully have a fabulous job now and when I have clothes to dry clean, I take my clothes to them because of their generosity and green practices—they use GreenEarth, a cleaning solution that is odorless, environmentally friendly and gentle.
- Mu husband and I are experimenting with the 100 mile diet (every other week). One of the most asked questions we get is, “Isn’t it expensive?”. I don’t think that it has to be if you are willing to dig a little bit for local food information, barter with friends and take swift advantage of deals. Groupon is new on my radar and recently, I bought $50 worth of Spud! groceries for $25! Spud is especially appealing to me because they are the only grocery retailer in North America that publishes the distance that each of their products travels from where it is grown or made to get to me. Information that is unbelievably hard to come by these days!
- Speaking of spuds, we have been eating low cost potato “seconds” from my friend at Gathering Together Farm. The potatoes taste delicious; they are not pretty. Building relationships with people to barter, trade and work with to keep costs down lets me save money so I can vote with my dollars at other places at different times of the year. For example, because of our “seconds” eating, Gathering Together Farm is our first stop at the Portland Farmers Market.
I want to learn from you. What are some ways that you vote with your dollars and save money at the same time?
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