We need your help.
We need things to shift.
We need to shift things.
Quickly.
This month we are asking you to consider the value of everything you buy instead of just the price.
“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” ~ Warren Buffett
A few things to consider …
+ The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically.
+ We have a food system that is more about manufactured product than about real food.
+ Our organic farmers and food makers pay extra for certifications to show they are providing us with organic, regenerative, kind food, while the conventional farmers are poisoning our shared soil, air, and water and have no environmental taxes AND they can receive subsidies from government.
+ What we term “convenience” these days is just the opposite … use a plastic fork for takeout or individual laundry tabs, for example.
WE ARE HEADED IN A DIRECTION THAT ISN’T SERVING ANY OF US.
BUT, WE HAVE THE POWER TO TURN EVERYTHING AROUND … TOGETHER.
Asking yourself our Empathy Economics questions will reveal the untold stories about what we are buying and will have us consider who really pays the price for our clothing, food, personal care or anything we purchase. We have to stop claiming things are expensive without understanding the true cost!
The good news … we can shift our financial planning from a focus on cost to a focus on true cost … or value.
Think about this … if there were no price tags at the supermarket, do you think you could guess the actual value of a bag of potatoes or a chocolate bar?
We’re valuing our food less, and that’s one reason there’s such a problem with our food system and waste. If an apple has a bruise on it, it’s not convenient for us to cut out a little bit before we eat it, so we go for the perfect apple and those other apples get wasted … devalued! Imagine throwing away beautiful organic apples because it’s not “easy” … because as consumers, we search for shiny and perfect, neglecting the true cost … and what really matters!
A more important distinction between price and value is that price is arbitrary and value is fundamental. For example, consider a fair–trade, organic chocolate bar selling for ten dollars … it’s an arbitrary price chosen by the maker and/or retailer for reasons known to them based on a number of factors, and most often, what the market can handle. Yet, their value is so much more. Not all chocolate bars are created equal.
It’s time to start giving our money to things that are changing people’s lives for the better. Let’s create an economy based on empathy and kindness … think of what the opposite is! We all get to decide if we want to be part of the problem or part of the solution … it’s only about asking questions! Let’s do this! And we are here to help!
