You Can Change the World When You Change Your Spending

As we head into a new year, there are a few big ways you can change the world.

Exercising your right to vote in an election is a big one. Making a decision to raise, adopt, teach, or positively influence a child is a way to touch a generation or more.

And every day, when you click or swipe, you get to vote with your dollars.

Those daily votes with your dollars are profound, and impactful, and shape the world around us in significant ways.

The clothing you’re wearing, the building you’re in, the nature of your town or city are all outcomes of the ways people have voted with their dollars.

When I buy outdoor clothing, I often prefer Patagonia.

They’ve made a significant investment in working with their designers, factories, and mills to sustainably source materials, promote fair labor practices, and design products that last. Really last.

I have 15-year-old beloved items from Patagonia that are still going strong. Few brands in my closet last that long.

I care about the environment. I love the outdoors. Patagonia shares my values and helps minimize the apparel industry’s negative impact. I gladly vote for them with my dollars.

Closer to home, we live in a small town.

There are many products I can purchase from shops within walking distance, or I can click and buy online.

We love that our main street has a bookstore and sports shop, and I gladly bought gifts there recently that I could have purchased online for a bit less. I know our local shopkeepers by name, I value their expertise when I’m looking for advice, and I’m glad to vote with my dollars to support them and a future that includes a vibrant downtown for our small town.

These are my choices and my values.

With your dollars, you get to express your values.

What are the services, products, and businesses that reflect the future you want to see? Vote for them! They thrive with votes, they perish without them. Be part of the future you want to see and exercise your votes wisely.

This idea of spending according to our values is a core part of our work here at Tiller.

We believe that by giving people the tools to understand their spending, we’re helping everyone to shape the future according to their own values.

Our values don’t need to match, either. We’re convinced that more intentional spending can only lead to better communities and a better world.

Where are you going to vote today?