Our Money, Our World

Ladies, how are we going to spend our money today?

At least, the $2.7 billion we’re going to earn.

You. Me. Your friends. My two sisters. The woman next door. The cashier at the 7-11. The CEO speeding by on her way to work at a company downtown. The school nurse. Your kid’s teacher.

$2.7 billion a day. $1 trillion a year. Collectively, that’s what we’ll earn and that’s what we have the potential to spend. That’s in addition to the billions we influence if we’re managing budgets at home, at work, or for organizations we volunteer for.

So: back to my question.

How are we going to spend our money today?

The reason I ask is because…it matters, especially when it comes to protecting our environment. Here’s how.

You’ve all heard the old saying, “Money talks.”

I look at it a little differently.

I believe money makes things move. It’s like the way flowing water can dislodge a tiny pebble, but eventually thrust even big boulders downstream. The way we spend money moves politicians to vote, governments to act, other people to care.

Our spending habits also influence the kind of products companies manufacture, and how. Because manufacturing burns so much energy and uses so many resources, a company’s decisions affect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the places we go to relax and connect to our spiritual selves. Global warming? Yup, that, too.

The more we opt for products that benefit the environment, the more we move companies to be more environmentally responsible, and the better off we all are.

It’s that simple.

We women spend 85 cents of every dollar that’s spent in the marketplace today. We’re not just buying diapers and cheese doodles, either. We’re major purchasers of cars, electronics, tools, clothing, sporting equipment, and more. We have as much potential to move manufacturers to be “green” as there are products on the shelves of our local grocery store, Home Depot, Best Buy or Sports Authority.

You know that other old saying, the one about the future being “in our hands”?

Well, it’s not.

Ladies, our future is in our purses.

We can spend our money dislodging a few pebbles here and there.

Or we can spend it moving big boulders downstream

It’s our money. Our world.

I say we move boulders.