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21. Save Money, Live Better: Buy Local
10 Plays5 days ago
Have you ever found yourself stuck, knowing you need to stop giving money to the companies that you know act against the interests of the people - and yet it feels impossible to figure out how to disentangle yourself from the web of convenience? We certainly have, and we’re talking today about starting the messy process of removing ourselves from the customer base of those kinds of big name businesses. From gaining a clearer knowledge of who gives to which political parties, to deciding who we can trust with our banking needs, Molly & Christina are deep diving into the logistics of how to decentralize big businesses in the hopes that more people can start to feel like it’s possible to take this plunge too.
“Authoritarian expert on powerful ways to confront Trump now”: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KLhJgOeR9N0
We're grateful you're here! If you like what you’re hearing, you can follow us on Instagram: @soulpodthepodcast. You can also email us directly at [email protected].
Molly does tarot readings online and locally in Massachusetts: https://www.thehighpriestesscoaching.com/
Christina sells delicious microgreens in the greater Detroit area: https://www.christinasgreens.com/
Hosts: Christina Bell & Molly Wilde
Music: The Confrontation, by Jonathan Boyle, licensed from Premium Beats by Shutterstock
Editing: Molly Wilde
Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment and enjoyment. We are not professionals in any regard. We do not have professional knowledge, training, or education in physical health, mental health, or spiritual matters. Any suggestions or recommendations made during our episodes should be independently researched by the listener before considering implementation, or better yet, listeners should ignore everything we say. We cannot be held responsible or liable for anything we say, or any actions taken by any persons as a result of listening to our podcast episodes. Stay safe, stay informed, stay smart.
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Transcript
Mercury Retrograde and Antique Shop Visit
00:00:23
Speaker
Well, we had the day offs. I had the day off. You remember what I did. Why is my, why is my mouse? Sorry, that was weird. My mouse suddenly got a little like spinny wheel right next to it. Uh-huh. That I've never seen it do. Okay. Before. Or at least not without having touched or clicked on something. Okay. And so I was like, what are you doing? I was like, Mercury, don't you dare.
00:00:49
Speaker
um I think retrograde has us just jumpy as fuck. I'm like paranoid as shit dude now. Like oh my god. And like every little weird thing that happens we're just like uh uh. So yeah it's all retrograde shite. Shite.
00:01:10
Speaker
yeah Anyway, all that to say that I know that I ah sent to you a video of the result of what I did today. Oh, you did? Wait. And that was ah that I had a little ah jaunt through the antique shop.
00:01:25
Speaker
Oh, that's right. I was like, where's the video? I don't see it. Oh, no, it's on Marco. That's why. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's actually, honestly, it's a perfect segue and into our topic. Yeah. Oh my gosh. We're not talking about antique
Supporting Small Businesses for Sustainability
00:01:43
Speaker
stores, by the way. As much as that would be really fun.
00:01:46
Speaker
um We're talking about sustainability in the context of moving away from giving money to big name corporations. Yeah. I don't want to keep contributing to the rich getting richer. Yep. Fuck them. Yeah, but also like on the flip side slash in the same vein, I want to give my money to the small businesses and the local businesses and my friends' businesses and things like that. And also, if I can buy something secondhand, all the better. Even if it's like maybe the same price as I would have gotten it for on the Amazon. Right. Yeah.
00:02:30
Speaker
Like if I can buy stuff secondhand, even if it's for marginally at the same price as I would have gotten it on Amazon, I would prefer to do that still. In particular, and I know that like all antique stores are different or secondhand stores, thrift stores, et cetera, et cetera. Like I know they are are all pretty different, ah but like the ones near where I live are A, enormous,
00:02:56
Speaker
be just chock full of all sorts of hidden treasures and especially simple basic household items. Yeah. Things that like in the past and you know even still very recently I've been ordering on Amazon because it's cheap and convenient but Yeah, the whole point though is that like, I just, I mean like this is definitely just an opinion and not any sort of declaration about anything, about anybody, but I don't like how comfortable we've all gotten with how, but like with all the convenience. Right. Like as a society, as like a collective.
00:03:41
Speaker
Um, and I, you know, especially direct that at myself because it's just like, I'm just coming to a place finally of realizing how much it's not worth it.
Corporate Political Donations Awareness
00:03:50
Speaker
Right. For all the harm that those companies do. Yeah. And then they use this term, it's called voting with your dollars. And, uh, literally corporations donate to political campaigns and we need to be aware of who's donating to who and why.
00:04:11
Speaker
and that there's this cool app called Goods Unite Us. And you can type in any business name in the search bar and it'll tell you who they've been donating to. It's amazing. And I been night ah started using it. Was that talked about in the Financial Feminist? Oh, no. I don't know about that.
00:04:33
Speaker
No, it was um it was a friend of ours about it ah friend of ours in Marco. That's right. And she's yeah she's a brilliant, amazing woman. And like I adore this woman. And when she first talked about it, I made note in my head, but then I forgot what it was called. So then check this out. About a week ago, I was a listening to some YouTube videos.
00:05:03
Speaker
and the politics girl who has her
MLK's Lessons on Boycotts
00:05:06
Speaker
own YouTube channel and she posts her stuff on Facebook and stuff. That's where I first saw her, I think. um She interviewed a woman who is from Ukraine and she's, gosh, I don't remember exactly what they called her. Give me a minute because I'm going to look this up so I don't screw it up. No worries. I'm literally downloading Good to unite us right now. Oh, good. I'm glad. I'm glad. Okay, so you see the thing that's a score. It's a number. The campaign finance reform number? Yeah. Okay, I'm looking at the question mark.
00:05:42
Speaker
Yeah, read each company's campaign finance for reform score is calculated on a scale of negative 100 to plus 100. The higher the score, the more likely that purchases from the company or brand will lead to a meaningful campaign finance reform. A negative score indicates that purchasing from the company or brand will help keep corporate money in politics. Okay, so yeah, so look for the positive number. It's like a 200 point scale.
00:06:09
Speaker
her and anything in the positive direction is going in the positive direction. Anyway, let us continue. Alan Jackson, what the fuck? He's a Democrat? Amazing. Alan Jackson, my guy. i I feel like every time I come across a country artist that's a Democrat, it feels like a unicorn. I know, right? But I guess as time goes on, they're leaning more and more that direction.
00:06:40
Speaker
Oh, okay, it says celebrities are brands too. We only include celebrities that are well known and have contributed more than a thousand dollars to politicians and PACs. We aggregate all contributions over the last three election cycles. I like how much explanation there is in here. All right, this is gonna, I'm gonna be too distracted if I keep doing this, but I am so glad that I downloaded this. Anyway, goods unite us.
00:07:06
Speaker
Yeah. Cause, okay. But like not detracting from the importance of what a valuable resource that app is. Like, yeah, absolutely. If it's something that matters to you and you're listening to this and you don't already own that app, go get that app. You don't have to create an account or anything.
00:07:24
Speaker
You just look at it. It's great. I love it. Okay. Now. Yes. It wasn't on the Politics Girl YouTube channel. It's on, okay. Like all of the liberal YouTubers, like political YouTubers are kind of banding together, joining together and creating a network called Midas Touch.
00:07:49
Speaker
And the Politics Girl podcast that I watched, it was on the Midas Touch channel, not her channel. So got you she interviewed this woman and what the title of the video is, it says authoritarianism expert on powerful ways to confront Trump now.
00:08:10
Speaker
And this woman, her family is from Ukraine. I think she spent the majority of her life here in the US, but she has like lots of stories in the history of her family and the struggles that they've been through because of Ukraine, you know?
00:08:26
Speaker
But she said something that really impacted me. First of all, she also repeated about that app, GoodsUnitus. She brought it up there and that that's when I got triggered to remember that somebody else in our group had said something about an app and I was like, is it the same one? I don't remember. um So then I reached out to our friend and I found out and it was definitely the same one.
00:08:55
Speaker
yeah Um, this, this lady that was being interviewed. So have to forgive me because I don't think the name of the woman being interviewed was like listed in the description of that video. So I can't say what her name was, but she recommends that every everybody go out and get this book by Martin Luther King Jr. Called Stride Toward Freedom.
00:09:20
Speaker
And it is the story, the description of this book in Kindle, it says, MLK's classic account of the first success, successful, large scale act of nonviolent resistance in America. The Montgomery bus boycott. A young Dr. King wrote Stride Toward Freedom just two years after the successful completion of the boycott.
00:09:43
Speaker
In his memoir about the event, he tells the stories that informed his radical political thinking before, during, and after the boycott. From first witnessing economic injustice as a teenager and watching his parents experience discrimination, to his decision to begin working with the NAACP. Throughout, he demonstrates how activism and leadership can come from any experience at any age.
00:10:10
Speaker
comprehensive and intimate stride toward freedom emphasizes the collective nature of the movement and includes King's experiences learning from other activists working on the boycott including Miss Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin. It traces the phenomenal journey of a community and shows how the 28-year-old Dr. King with his conviction for equality and non-violence helped transform the nation and the world. So It is highly recommended that people read the story and learn how effective boycotts really are. And if we want to control any bit of our future here over the next few years, we need to start putting our oh dollars, voting with our dollars. We need to start putting our money where our mouth is, if you will.
00:10:59
Speaker
yeah and and not keep giving our money to these giant corporations who are putting small businesses out of business and who are donating money to the
Alternatives to Amazon: Libraries and Thrift Books
00:11:10
Speaker
wrong side. And, uh, yeah, use that app, figure out who's giving their money to who and don't give your money to the bad ones. Yeah. And all of that is bringing to mind a parallel discussion or a parallel like thought process that I've been having as a result of the book club in the Marco.
00:11:30
Speaker
talking about like ways in which we can acquire and consume books without using Kindle or you know Amazon or whatever.
00:11:42
Speaker
and you know All of those discussions, all of that going on has sparked me to finally go check out my local library. I i mean, I did so like two months ago, but like, you know, that was when the these discussions were initially happening. And fortunately, the library card that I already owned like works at the same, at this library that I now live near. Awesome.
00:12:11
Speaker
But like I don't know how it how it does. like I think it's like a district system or a region system or something like that. But it is within walking distance of my house. I can't guarantee I'm always going to walk there because low energy levels, because chronic illness. woo ah But it is quite close. And it's small, but it's cute as fuck.
00:12:36
Speaker
And as well, through the book club, I'd never heard of half price books, the website. but like it makes sense. It's like, you know, I've heard of thrift books. That's the one that I've heard of. Yeah. um But I've never I'd never heard of half price books. And so I learned about that. And it's like, wow, because, okay, again, because we've been having these discussions and having these thought processes recently, the both of us kind of separately, but also like orbiting each other about it. Because of our involvement in these groups and having it like, all come up in discussion all the time.
00:13:13
Speaker
like it's basically we've both come to the understanding of like particularly we need to step away from amazon like i've known that i needed to for a long long time but never really felt like i could figure out a way to extract myself because it is so deeply embedded in like everything Yeah. But as I've been thinking about it recently, I was thinking about like, okay, what are the logistics? Like, what is it that I actually get from Amazon?
00:13:46
Speaker
And where else can I get those things? And I don't know how intrinsically intertwined Kindle is with Amazon. um I just know that like I can get Kindle books from Amazon, and that's what I have done. um Because i I've never owned a Kindle tablet, but I have only ever used the Kindle app. But I'd need to look into that further. But I do believe Audacity is.
00:14:11
Speaker
Are you talking about Audible? ah know Yeah, sorry, Audible, Jesus. Okay. Yeah, Audible is Amazon. I'm pretty sure Kindle is as well. But it didn't originally, it didn't start out being owned by Amazon, but it must have been acquired.
00:14:26
Speaker
ah Target if you wanted to replace where you're shopping at with noble. That's what I was gonna talk about. Yeah target and auto of targets much better but But that's the thing is I wasn't I have not been thinking that I should go to Target to replace Okay, what I buy on Amazon. That's what I'm saying. Okay um Because it comes back around to what I did today. Oh, yeah, which was that I went to the antique store and And I bought things that I probably otherwise would have purchased from Amazon. yeah I bought yep ah vintage glass measuring cups. I love it. And not vintage like trendy and like cute. It's like they are scratched up. Like the, you know, paint of the labels or the measurements are like scratched as fuck. They're old. They've been well used. The glass though. And they're
00:15:22
Speaker
big and beautiful. I got a four cup one and a two cup one. I love it. I'm so excited. yeah Vintage Tupperware, but like the old like 90s, 80s and 90s vintage Tupperware yeah is what i what I got, which I'm so excited. Several beautiful little ball glass jars, like the crystal quilted crystal is I think the kind. Like the small mason jars, basically. Yes, but they're rather than mason, they're the quilted crystal.
00:15:51
Speaker
They're like, it's like a different brand. Yeah, it's all under ball, but like it's mason jars are like the bigger, more rounded. okay in these you saw the pictures and yeah or the videos so um it's literally called quilted crystal okay i didn't know they had names yeah yeah it well the you know the how i got the like the sticker labels it has all this information on the back like the kinds of jars like what they're okay to do like if they're good to put in the freezer if they're okay to be boiled like blah blah blah like all this stuff oh wow um
00:16:24
Speaker
and as well as canning instructions. Ooh. Yeah. I was just like, I'm ready for the apocalypse. ah Dude, did I tell you I just bought a canning set?
00:16:36
Speaker
I mean, from Amazon, but i was going to I did just buy a canning set, like, yeah because I want to learn how to can. Yeah. Because especially if I grow some veggies this summer, like tomatoes and peppers and stuff, I want to can that shit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say, like, I'm probably going to use these jars for the tinctures that our groups have also been talking about making, oh yeah as well as spellwork.
00:17:05
Speaker
but point being they're multi-use and they're beautiful also there's a lot of sentimental value with those quilted crystal in particular that pattern like my grandmother used to can raspberry jam strawberry jam and raspberry jam and she used that exact style of jars nice every time I wonder if they're still available to purchase an now or were they just like, ah just a time I don't know if they should have been discontinued if they ever were. I don't know, I'd have to look it up. But
00:17:37
Speaker
i like In addition to not wanting to to buy or spend money with big corporations, I also would prefer as much as possible, and this is kind of separate but also related, it's I would prefer to buy things secondhand as much as possible
Sustainable Shopping: Secondhand Over New
00:17:54
Speaker
for sustainability. and like that That's kind of why like when I first introduced the topic, like yeah I wanted to have it there be a focus on sustainability as well.
00:18:06
Speaker
um Because yes, I have totally gone and purchased like a whole container of like brand new mason jars Like a whole like box that's like shrink-wrapped, you know. Yeah, I have the same from Meyer. Yeah, but ah you know, I've gotten jars from Michaels and you know other stores too, which like now I'm going to be feverishly going through this list of ah of all these brands and corporations to see what's safe to purchase from if I have to purchase something that's not secondhand. um Yeah, I think I looked up Michaels and they're... I think Michael and Joanne are both good. They're they're a Democratic couple? I believe. Oh yeah, Joanne. Michael and Joanne. I'm pretty sure.
00:19:01
Speaker
Michael's stores. Yeah, dude. Yeah, Michael's. Look at this. Whoo. Yes. Nice. Good show. They're the good guys. And I think Joanne's is as well, but obviously we know Hobby Lobby is not. Oh yeah, no.
00:19:17
Speaker
and don't go to Chick-fil-A bitches. Well, we knew that already. Fuck that company, right? We already knew that. I'm just informing the people. Oh, no. I'm informing the people. I'm sure the people already know, too. It's such old news. Dude, it's nope. There's people who do not pay attention to politics or anything like that. I'm telling you- I don't think those people are listening to our podcasts. We don't know, though.
00:19:42
Speaker
If you're listening to our podcast and you don't know that Chick-fil-A is a horrible, horrible transphobic anti-LGBTQ rights company, welcome. How did you find us? How did you find us? What circles are you in? And please explain. yeah yeah You know, i and I'll be honest, dude, like I was amongst co-workers and they were talking about Chick-fil-A and they're like,
00:20:16
Speaker
oh those libs can't stand them because they're christian and i'm sitting there listening to this and i just want to shake my head like you fucking idiots like i mean i loved like the guy who said it granted is a very nice man and i love him but it's sad because it's like they really just think that we're just anti-christian yeah it has nothing to do with their freaking religious beliefs it has to do with what they are standing for society is not good. Right. But here's the thing, Christina. It's gotten to the point where their bigotry is fully, fully interlaced into their belief system. and Absolutely. It is absolutely intrinsically locked in with their understanding of what Christianity is. Right. That is why he says what he says. And he doesn't even know that. Right. He doesn't even fucking know that.
00:21:13
Speaker
oh my god yep yep oh hey we hate the Christians oh my god we hate the Christians okay I was just gonna say I think it's kind of funny that we have decided to talk about this without even realizing the hilarity of the timing with it being fucking consumerist holiday season Maximus right Yeah, it is good timing. Merry Christmas. Don't buy from Amazon. Merry Christmas. Buy from eBay because, uh, yeah, like, I mean, Merry Christmas. Buy from your ah local thrift shop.
00:21:53
Speaker
Yeah. I'm just saying, if you need it delivered, if it's something that's hard to find, eBay is a good resource. I've never had a problem with them. I've bought a lot of things from eBay. yeah and like Or just like any ay website that you can order online from, like or any like company that has an option for ordering online, lay do it anyway.
00:22:14
Speaker
because like Fuck two-day shipping. Fuck same-day shipping. Fuck that shit. Why are we used to that? Literally just abusing their workers. Oh, God, it's awful. And like we shouldn't we should not be used to that. It's like the TikTok that I told you about that also has contributed to this thread of thinking.
00:22:38
Speaker
talked about how the point is that you should be uncomfortable with the changes that you have to make to move away from using huge corporations like this. It's not supposed to be comfortable. Right. So like, if it if the thought of it makes you uncomfortable, like her saying that is what got me to start actually thinking logistically about like, what is it that I purchased from me Amazon? And where else can I get it? Yeah.
00:23:05
Speaker
because I'm like, okay, all right, if it's supposed to be uncomfortable, I can take that fact and internalize it and proceed. yeah And not like waver on the edge of like, I know that I don't want to use this company anymore, but I don't know how to stop. you know like yeah yeah yeah like That's exactly what happened. It's like a permission sleep yes a permission slip. like It's supposed to be uncomfortable. if you're If it's uncomfortable, you're doing something right.
00:23:32
Speaker
yeah So like the day that I had seen the the whole politics girl thing where she'd said buy that book from Martin Luther King Jr. yeah I went to Barnes and Noble that day instead of going on Amazon. yeah I went to Barnes and Noble. I looked for the book. They did not have the book. So they have to order the book and they have it in their warehouse, which is cool. So that means it won't be too long before they get it in their store. yeah And she's like, how many would you like to order?
00:24:03
Speaker
And I honest to God, and I was not even kidding, like I'm not even kidding when I say this. If they had copies of that book in that store that day, I was going to buy every one of them. And I was going to hand them out to people in our group who might want that.
00:24:19
Speaker
I was not even kidding. what I was going to do it, but they didn't have any in the store. So she ordered them and I was like, I felt weird. I'm like, well, if I say I want to buy 10, does that mean I had to buy? Like if I say order 10, does that mean I'm obligated to buy all this? You know, whatever. oh Anyhow, so what I just said to her was like, okay, order two and I may buy both, but if not, there's at least one going to be left in the store for somebody else that wants it.
00:24:48
Speaker
so Cool. I buy one, one's on the shelf. Somebody else can buy it, right? ah But that was my train of thought that day. I was like, I will buy every fucking copy. And I'm thinking they might have three. You know, who knows? Yeah, and I'm actually just, again, trains trains of thought happening here. Yeah. um I've seen it pointed out before in multiple places. So I don't have a particular source for this. But like, I've seen it pointed out that like, a lot of the time, if there's like,
00:25:19
Speaker
you know, unique stuff that you're buying off Amazon. that's not like the like Key Smash brands that I joke about. um It's just like a bunch of me like English letters. Yeah, yeah. All strung together and they don't make sense. They don't make sense. They're not a word. They're not a name. But they're like, this is a brand. I don't know if I've ever heard do you use that term though. Oh, I've used it so many times. Oh my God. It's literally it's literally what I call them just Key Smash because that's what that is when you like
00:25:51
Speaker
and see what happens hello my god but literally like you know you see like multiple of them and all the products look the same but they all have these different weird names but like if it's not one of those if it's like an actual like small business trying to sell their product and using Amazon as one of the places to sell it yeah like they for sure have their own websites and you can find their websites. They're probably linked on that like seller's profile on the amazon page on their Amazon page. like Go to their websites and order directly. yeah Yeah, because it's for sure available that way too.
00:26:32
Speaker
so yeah
00:26:36
Speaker
But yeah, like, or just like spend time and this can be, I could find this, I, okay. I can understand that people might not find this as much fun as I would and will, but like, I think it would be kind of enjoyable to like explore the internet and see what companies are out there selling various things that I would have normally ordered from Amazon. Yeah. Just be like, where are you?
00:27:06
Speaker
And then like, you know, make notes, go back to them when you actually need to buy the thing. Yeah. It's not an automatic system. It's not a convenient system, but also fuck being so addicted to convenience. You know? Yeah.
00:27:25
Speaker
I am impassioned. but We have to get uncomfortable if we want to make the right changes. in our society. so yeah Yeah. And like similarly, and this is going to be not as intensive or extensive as ah of a discussion, but like moving away from using big banks and credit
Financial Independence from Big Banks
00:27:50
Speaker
cards. And credit cards, yeah yeah. As hard as it is to do that, but like my entire intention, once I get my credit card debt paid off, is to just stop.
00:28:00
Speaker
to stop with the credit cards. it's just like it's It's something I know that I am not really capable of managing in a way that I feel comfortable trusting myself, at least not right now. But also, fuck those companies. They don't need my money. Exactly. They don't need my money. yeah Yep, yep, yep. Banks in particular, like I have felt this like on on a smaller scale, but it's been growing and growing.
00:28:30
Speaker
Bank of America we we know is fucking evil. Yeah. I have known for a long, long time, like I think it was 2017 or 2018 when I realized they were charging me a $5 fee for having a balance of less than $300 in my savings account. Yeah, gross, gross, gross. Fucking disgusting. And then I recently discovered my checking account was charging me a $12 fee for maintenance every month. For the same bank?
00:29:00
Speaker
Yeah, Bank of America. Oh my God. dude And I have already been trying to stop, like to get away from using them. I had, like my biggest problem credit card was with Bank of America. That fortunately has been closed. So like, I'm not worried about that anymore. And I'm actually very, very close to draining out the last of my checking account. I've just been very slowly spending unfortunately on Starbucks because that's another company I got to move away from.
00:29:30
Speaker
Well, you know, but Starbucks is liens green, or liens, I'm sorry, Starbucks liens blue. But they're union busters. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Every I used to work for Starbucks, I love Starbucks. ah Every time that I have seen a news article talking about a new store unionizing,
00:29:51
Speaker
especially here in Massachusetts, has been really, really inspiring to watch. I just, my heart grows a little less icy. Like like other star Starbucks locations? Well, or my store my store never got to unionize, or at least not since I have, so not while I was working there. That wasn't even a thing that was happening while I was working at Starbucks. It was in like 2021 that I was seeing a lot of Starbucks unionizing.
00:30:21
Speaker
um yeah but starbucks corporate absolute union busters yeah and absolutely fuck that shit but point being like again these are things that i've known i've known for a long time how much of a problem starbucks is and you know it's it's again convenience
00:30:42
Speaker
It's convenience, and that's what
Supporting Local Over Chains for Financial Services
00:30:44
Speaker
I'm moving away from. I've even stopped, I've stopped, and you probably would have noticed this, although I don't know if you would have known that it was a difference, a air a deviance from what I used to do, but I've stopped using, uh, buying Starbucks ground coffee to make my cold brew. Oh, I don't think I noticed that at all. Well, while you were here, you would have seen that I had a giant red Folgers oh yeah i just didn't notice i don't need to look into folders again this is going to be insane i'm going to be looking up so many different words over the next several weeks but like point being like i used to get like big bags of starbucks ground coffee from the grocery store to make michole brew and oh my god
00:31:29
Speaker
no are you kidding no i'm not fucking kidding okay christina just show it like just put the her phone screen up I can see it. I can see it. Folger's is super Republican. So guess I'm looking for another brand. um That's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. There's no ethical consumption under capitalism.
00:31:53
Speaker
It's fine. We're all making mistakes. Maxwell House. This feels like a minefield. Oh, you know what's really funny? Folger's canister is red. Well, that that type of coffee is, yes.
00:32:06
Speaker
Okay. They have like a bunch of different, it depends on the blend. Okay. Like there's a green one, there's a blue one, but yeah. What? Maxwell House isn't all that much better. God damn it. All right. So look for local. Oh, God, there's like a Detroit coffee company. I'm gonna have to go to the grocery store, see what's there. Yeah. And look them up.
00:32:32
Speaker
yeah so yeah yeah anyway yeah so it's like i think this is a point this is a good example we're learning yeah we're learning learn with us yep it's time to wake up and open our eyes to the things join us on this journey um but it's like it's so important and it's so i know that like in the grand scheme my purchasing habits alone are not the thing that's going to make the difference. But the more of us that work to shift away from dumping money into the pockets of greedy, disgusting CEOs, billionaires, investors, shareholders, like the more of us that are doing that, the bigger of an impact there will be. That's the whole reason why
00:33:29
Speaker
boycotts work. So let's read that book. Do you mind refreshing our memory on the the title of the book? Okay, it is Martin Luther King Jr. and the book is called Stride Toward Freedom. And it has, I mean, I guess probably various different editions will have different covers, but the one that I'm looking at has a bus on it. So it's read with a yellow bus. Is it that he authored it? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, he wrote it.
00:33:58
Speaker
And I guess there's a co-author potentially. Yeah, there's a co-author with him, c Clayborne Carson, and he wrote the introduction. That's it. But yeah, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this book because I think he's the one who started the movement of the boycott. Like he was heavily involved in it if he didn't start the whole thing himself. Yeah. But there's also a whole series.
00:34:28
Speaker
which I'm very interested in. Strive Toward Freedom, I think, was the first book of the series. And then book number two is Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community? Book three is The Trumpet of Conscience. Book four is Why We Can't Wait. This is all by Martin Luther King. Yeah, he's written a lot. Book five is All Labor Has Dignity.
00:34:57
Speaker
Book six, Thou, dear God, prayers that open hearts and spirits. Seven is a gift of love, sermons from strength to love and other preachings. All right, it's getting about getting into a religious direction that I don't particularly care about. Right, right, right, right. But yeah, no, like, point being, at least go read that first book. Yes, and I i think I heard that at least the second book is also ah super good because it's like it follows it's a follow up. Got you. you know To that story. And purchase it from thrift books or half price books or get it from your local library or i eBay or any other secondhand shops, local that you've got.
00:35:50
Speaker
no If you're in the Detroit area, we we all know about John King Books, which the original one is like, I don't know, four or five story, old building. It's loaded with old books. It's crazy. Nice. Or yeah, just go to your straight up, even if it's a like you're getting a new copy, like go to your local bookstore. Yeah, Barnes and Noble. Barnes and Noble is fine, but like go to your local, not big name bookstore. Right, right, right. You know, like your little, you know,
00:36:20
Speaker
But I'm saying at least one of the noble, at least one of the noble leans the right direction. Sure. Yeah. The correct direction. Yeah. But like, I don't
Choosing Independent Bookstores Over Chains
00:36:31
Speaker
know. I feel pretty passionately about like still like supporting local businesses that are like mom and pop shops. Absolutely.
00:36:42
Speaker
If they don't have it on the shelf, ask if they can order it. yeah Because maybe they will be like, oh, I didn't even know about this. We should order a few copies and then they'll have it and more people can buy it. yeah you know like this is They should have it front and center center up on the counter like in front of the register. Buy this book.
00:37:01
Speaker
Yeah. Our democracy depends on it. But like also any book that piques your interest, go to these sources over Kindle, Amazon, Audible, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But like, you know, there's just a, it's obviously a much broader discussion too about like supporting your local businesses in terms of restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, drug stores, even.
00:37:27
Speaker
like I would rather go to a mom-and-pop shop drugstore than a CVS or a Walgreens, again with the convenience. It's like, sure, there's the convenience of Walgreens and CVS. I know what's going to be there. I know what they have. Their prices might be a little less expensive than a mom-and-pop shop. But also, think about where that a slightly higher price, what you're paying, is going. It's going into the mom-and-pop's pockets.
00:37:52
Speaker
and Yeah. I mean, we want to support, um, small businesses, which means a little bit of extra money goes to, uh, the people who are owning those businesses and they enrich our communities. Yeah. And in the, in the vein of banks, like fucking support your local credit union. Y'all. That is my intention for sure. Like, I mean, it's already done really. I mean, like I, I still need to close and like leave behind my bank of America checking account.
00:38:24
Speaker
But I already have a savings account opened with my local, well, one of the like regional ah credit unions for Massachusetts. And I'm stoked about it. And even like the main like the non-credit union bank that I bank with now is like a Massachusetts local or like a regional New England banking company, you know?
00:38:48
Speaker
Yeah. So it feels better. Yep. And I know that's very nondescript, but when you know, you know, or if you know, you know. Right. Yeah.
00:39:00
Speaker
And you know, and and also, this is a lot of different changes, and it probably sounds or feels very overwhelming to think about. its I know for sure it has been for me because it's taken me a long, long time to get to a point of actually like wanting to take steps to actually stop. But like understand that like even like changing one thing, deciding, oh, like I know that I can get these couple things from like the local thrift store rather than Amazon.
00:39:29
Speaker
even if you don't, you know, cancel your Amazon subscription right then and there, like, just making the choice to purchase elsewhere is, you know, it it makes a difference. Yep. Damn. I and don't know if you know this, but I have been banking at um my local credit union since like the late 90s.
00:39:54
Speaker
at least 97 maybe it is because it was like connected to your employer right yeah they you know yeah relatively so they've been expanding which is good it means they're doing good you know fuck yeah but like my mortgages through them and anyhow so yeah onward so any last thoughts i think i'm all thinked out i
00:40:25
Speaker
I mean, I have, i I feel like I have been very impassioned in talking about this. Yeah, dude. But like, no, I just need a nap. I know. No, it's okay. I just like, my brain is just like,
00:40:43
Speaker
what what what is what are you talking about um i'm good though yeah no like i'm glad that we decided to talk about this yes me too it actually is timely i mean yeah if we could get this out on monday it's that's the plan yeah yeah so it'll you know let the last minute shoppers that might be listening to us can be slightly more informed yeah but also don't feel any guilt if you ended up already making purchases from Amazon and Walmart and Target. For sure not, no. The whole point of this. For the Christmas season, but also in general, there's no... It is completely counterintuitive to decide that this is a thing you need to just beat yourself up about. Yeah. You gotta understand that...
00:41:40
Speaker
i'm sure you hear it everywhere and i'm gonna just repeat it again there is no ethical consumption under capitalism true we can't operate perfectly like we're not in a system and in a society that makes that a possibility right like especially an affordable possibility like i know for a fact that like my spending is going to increase in terms of cost of items simply because i am not purchasing them from the cheap you know cheaply made cheaply bulk purchased by walmart amazon target etc like that's the reason that they get to keep their costs so low is because they get to get to buy products in massive bulk in ways that like mom and pop shops can't do
00:42:33
Speaker
That's why you end up having to spend more if you want to purchase from a Mom and Pop shop, but it's more worthwhile for the fact of who you're giving your money to. For sure. But here's, here's a thought. If we're not like impulse shopping on Amazon, like, Oh, there's this thing i I think I might like to have and let me go look and see if they have it. And then you buy it. It's like, you know what? Maybe we're going to make more conscientious purchases where we're not buying as much crap that we don't need because it's less convenient and
00:43:10
Speaker
Therefore, we're less likely to just go blow some money on Amazon. like Yeah. Because we saw a little pop-up ad that's like, oh, that thing looks cool. Yeah. You know? and I mean, admittedly, I have been moving away from trying to make those impulse purchases. Yeah. For the last couple of years, at least. So, like, I seriously believe that we may just save money because we're buying less crap. Yeah. Although, I... When we're being more conscious of what we're buying.
00:43:39
Speaker
not gonna lie, I really have I'm weak willed when I walk into an antique store. Okay, I will find I will find bullshit. That is yeah i have to say that that kind of goes without saying because they have so many different weird you know, and like but that's the thing though, is again, where is your money going to on this impulse purchase? Yeah, and like, you're getting it secondhand. Yeah.
00:44:07
Speaker
sustainable yeah so it's like you didn't have to nobody got exploited in the process of purchasing exactly your random knick-knack from the antique store of That is, you know, it's it's maybe it'll just be that the cost overall evens out. But I just know that I am going to feel so much better. And um' it's like it goes, it ties really nicely into the feeling that I've had ever since the election of like, we have a purpose here. Yep. And
00:44:41
Speaker
in moving forward in life with a purpose, having particular choices that you make and mindful practices and routines and habits that mean something to you, where now it's no longer just, Oh, I'm just going to go get on Amazon and order that, you know, four cup measuring cup that I've been wanting. It's like, this is a mindful thing for me now. It's like I had it in my head. I wanted one.
00:45:10
Speaker
I could have made the decision to go on Amazon and get one and have it delivered to my door on at 4 a.m. tomorrow morning. Or I would drive 10 minutes down the road to the antique shop, peruse, see what I could find. There it is. huh There it is and it's cheaper.
00:45:29
Speaker
Honestly, a glass four cup measuring cup, $12 on Amazon or at Walmart. That shit would be fucking $35, $40 for sure. It's huge. It's heavy. It's big. It's who it's great. I love it that's it. No, they would, especially with all the inflation lately, homie. You know what? We will be spending less because of inflation, motherfucker. Yeah.
00:45:59
Speaker
God damn it. yeah Thrift stores don't and um don't fuck with inflation. They're just like, it doesn't use. At least we don't think they do. Well, maybe some do. The stores that i but I go to, they certainly don't.
00:46:14
Speaker
Listen, I was seeing price tags on some Pyrexware that were like old fated tags, old, old fated tags. Like original? and No, no, no, like handwritten. Like they were brought to the store two decades ago and they're just old fated tags. And it's like, that's the price that was set two decades ago. That's the price they're going to honor today. Oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I mean.
00:46:40
Speaker
it's like they're not going around whiting out the old prices and increasing them every year wow no fucking inflation dude how did we get this far without talking about inflation i don't know oh my god good point yeah twelve dollars for four cup measuring cup glass measuring cup oven safe i'm pretty sure not like i would ever go bake something in an oven in a glass measuring cup, but it's often safe, I guess. No, but like, but your point is, is perfect though. Cause they can buy the shit in bulk, you know? Yeah. But the vintage, also the vintage stuff, the old stuff is better quality. Even if it's probably better quality, even if like the new stuff is saying it's tempered glass, like yeah it's still not as good quality. And like we said, sustainability.
00:47:35
Speaker
is is huge. We don't need new things all the time. right right No, the whole point is like sustainability, honestly, who and and supporting local businesses.
Sustainability and Fair Treatment of Workers
00:47:49
Speaker
yeah That's what it's about. yeah know and like like In my heart, I have just been so anti-consumerist for so long, yeah and I'm finally bringing my like lifestyle and needs and like my habits in meeting those needs into alignment with that anti-consumerist soul deep within me. Yeah. And like let's not forget, even if you could find this shit cheaper on Amazon.
00:48:18
Speaker
Like the way they are treating their workers isn't worth saving a couple bucks. It's like a different brand, or not a brand, it's like a different flavor, but it's also sustainability in that arena too. Not just sourcing and and production and everything, but the way that they treat their employees. ye It's unsustainable. And also Amazon's also a union buster.
00:48:44
Speaker
Yeah. So fuck them. That's true. But yeah, support unions, support companies that allow their employees to unionize. Yay. Fuck capitalist America.
00:49:01
Speaker
oh Yeah, this isn't bullshit. I know we'll be talking about it more, but like, I'm glad we did a deep dive here. And yeah, I am going to look for that book. I'm gonna read it. Maybe after that point, I'll want to come back and talk more about it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for joining us.
00:49:24
Speaker
On this journey here, ah we hope that anything that we said was beneficial or useful or ah informational. I myself, I was commenting to Christina. I myself find that I have an easier time figuring out how to handle these kinds of major transitions. If I like hear people talking about the logistics of actually making those changes, which is why I wanted to talk about it the way that we did. um And so I hope that that was helpful for people.
00:49:54
Speaker
But also, like did we miss anything? Let me know. Send us an email. If we if we missed some crazy glaring thing that we should have remembered to bring up, make sure to let us know. Because we'll for sure talk about this again at some point, especially if we hear from people that we miss something big. Or or if you just you know have some interesting information you feel like is relevant and you want to share with us,
00:50:23
Speaker
Absolutely. We love new information. It's great. Yeah. I mean, the more you know, as they say, the more you know. All information is worth having. um Absolutely.
00:50:38
Speaker
more knowledge more power amen is that a thing or did i just make that up well knowledge is power which is kind of the same thing that' more hard like mo money mo problems mo men mo problems
00:50:56
Speaker
Oh goodness. oh yeah So I just sent you the link to that YouTube video in case you wanted to watch that. Couldn't listen to that lady. Yeah. And you know what, since you have sent it to me, I might just go ahead and put that link in the description of this episode. okay So y'all, this is me holding myself to it. I'm going to put that link in the description of the episode so you can listen, you know, watch or listen or whatever it is that you need to do. But like, yeah.
00:51:25
Speaker
um it seems like really really good uh interview to to listen to new into yes yes it's like literally how to fight back against what may be happening to us for the next four years and it's like this stuff is tried and true you know it's like surefire way to fuck things up we love and make it make things better for us yeah Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, this has been really fun. It's like, it's an intense subject, but it's a fun one. And I'm glad that we did this. And and we're glad that you're here. We're grateful for you. Thank you for joining us, man. Yeah. yeah people We hope that ah what we have had to say or any resources that we have shared here is going to make it easier for you to figure out the ways in which you can
00:52:22
Speaker
make more sustainable choices, if that is something that matters to you, which we hope it is. And if it isn't, we invite you to consider why. And we invite you to consider the benefits that would be had from um embracing sustainability. Yep. Yeah. With no judgment. We welcome you and we do not judge because literally I've been buying Starbucks.
00:52:50
Speaker
Yeah. No, like, look, look. We were brought up in this age of capitalism. capitalism and And we've known no different. Yeah, we've known no different. And hipsters like to hipster and show off name brands of shit. And it's like, when you know better, you do better. yeah And thats that's all we're trying to do now. That's it. Yeah.
00:53:16
Speaker
and it's you know it We have already stated, like, you can only do what you can do, and if you have to make just baby steps, there's still steps.
00:53:30
Speaker
Any step is a good, any step in the right direction. There is so much value in making those baby steps. So please don't feel discouraged because you can't make bigger changes faster. And here's the thing. It isn't about the speed at which you can change what you're doing, but share this information with people. Share it. Like educate your friends and your family.
00:54:00
Speaker
Yeah. And even if you don't want to get it political because it's too uncomfortable to have that kind of conversation, just talk about sustainability. Just talk about consumerism is bad for the planet. I mean, that doesn't have to be political, although like yeah certain politicians will like say it's political when it really isn't, but you know what I'm saying. Make it about about the bigger picture. Yeah. and Make it about the the exploitation of workers.
00:54:30
Speaker
yes yeah like that is something that any side of any political aisle should agree on yeah um like or any you know family that's divided by politics should agree on yo workers need to be better treated so yeah and and if they don't and it is suffering maybe maybe that family member fucking sucks yeah Maybe we should boycott that family member. Shadow Ban.
00:55:05
Speaker
who Wow. And on that note, let's go to sleep. Night, night bitches. I'm so tired. Lock your back door.
00:55:18
Speaker
you I might be fart propelled into the back of your house.