How to Make a Difference When Times are Tough

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If you want to do something impactful with your money but you don’t have a lot, don’t let all the choices paralyze you into not doing anything. Today I’m talking about how to make a difference when times are tough, practice conscious consumerism, and why it’s so important to vote with your dollar.

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You know the phrase, “the rich get richer,” The rich only get richer and more powerful because we’re giving them the money to do so. I feel this whenever I pass a Wells Fargo and know over half of my mortgage payment is paying for that high-rise. 

But you can have more control over the agendas that are pushed if you’re intentional with where and how you spend your money.

How to Vote With Your Dollar

And I’m not saying you can buy your way to change. Your purchase can only reduce the negative impacts of consumerism so it’s still really important to vote, especially in local elections because typically, candidates only get to big elections by way of local elections. But your purchases and donations further agendas and they can either be those you support or those you don’t

And you’re never going to be perfect. Sometimes the places you spend your money are going to have an executive or founder you don’t agree with. 

And even if you’re struggling financially right now there are still things you can do to vote with your dollar to one day see the change you’re fighting for.

1. Put giving in your budget

Generosity is a muscle. You don’t walk into the gym for the first time and back squat 300 lbs. You have to work up to it and it’s the same with giving.

I don’t care how small your paycheck or what financial goal you are trying to reach right now, what you do with little is proportional to what you will do with much so you cannot put off generosity. 

You have to put it into your budget every month. Start as small as you need to, maybe $10, but give consistently. The work isn’t done when the media starts reporting on something else. It’s up to us to keep funding the causes we’re passionate about. 

2. Find one organization to donate to

There are dozens, nay hundreds, of organizations doing amazing work but how do you tell them apart from the ones that are absorbing 80% of donations for operating costs? And once you do, you’re not a millionaire so how do you pick how much to give all the awesome organizations doing awesome things? 

You gotta pick one. As a donor with limited resources, you can make a greater change by going deeper rather than wider. Choose one that you align with, set up your recurring donation, and don’t let guilt that you’re not doing enough consume you. You are doing more than those paralyzed by fear and while not creating an expense that’s unsustainable for you. 

A quick Google search will show you the organizations supporting your cause of choice and If you are a research nerd like me, sites like Charity Navigator and Guidestar are great resources to investigate the programs, transparency, and overhead costs of thousands of nonprofits.

3. Give to people

If you pause for a minute while you’re walking around or scrolling Instagram or Facebook it actually isn’t that hard to find people in need. So in addition to giving to an organization, save some of the money you’ve budgeted for giving to give to people.

But jen, how do I know if the person I give this money to is most deserving of it? Full transparency, that’s not what this is about. I guarantee you, giving directly to people will benefit you more than it benefits anyone you give to. 

Whether that’s a $20 to the mom in the grocery store or prepaid on the pump at the gas station. Don’t rely on organizations and automatic transfer to do all your giving. Generosity will fill up your soul. And to cultivate a habit of generosity you have to be giving manually.

4. Know who you’re buying from

Change takes work. So if you want to make a bigger impact but you’re not yet at the place where you can hire someone to manage your the trust that handles your hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable giving, you’re gonna have to do some work yourself.

Shop local, like not just from trendy hipster pop-ups. I’m talking hole in the wall local. 

If you can’t buy it locally you can choose certified B corporations. These are companies that once certified are legally required to make business decisions based on their impact on workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment, not just the bottom line. And there are also Climate Neutral, Fair Trade, and Cruelty-Free certifications you can look for.

5. View the extra expense as an investment

Here’s the thing, buying local, buying sustainable, shopping small business, it’s more expensive. It doesn’t seem like the frugal move right off the bat but you have to shift your mindset from “Spending less means I can afford more” to “my purchases are investments and my dollars are my votes.” 

And hopefully, this mindset shift will prevent you from making certain purchases from certain retailers and that’ll free up some money to spend more in the places that matter. It will balance out but our “gotta get the lowest price” mindset is a barrier we have to overcome. 

Frugality is not about getting a deal on everything it’s about being a good steward of your resources and knowing how to make a difference when times are tough.