Handle With Care - Part II

As I mentioned in Part I, I enjoy the ambiguity of the word "care". We use it in some cases to imply caution and in some cases to imply emotional attachment. Relationships were my obvious first example of how both senses of that word apply. But my next favorite application is finances.

Now, I should be very clear about one thing: I'm not a financial adviser. There are folks that LOVE talking about that stuff and are quite good at it. Depending on personal style and situation, you can get books by anyone from Dave Ramsey to Suze Orman to Guy Kiwasaki. Although they each have unique approaches, perspectives, and advice, they all come from a very similar foundation. It goes something like this: Don't let your carelessness with money run your life. Or, be smarter with your money. Or, change your thinking and figure out how to deal with your money triggers. Oh, and by the way, since you've put yourself in a bad position by your previous carelessness, here are some things you can do to fix that now.

Being cautious with money is being talked about and blogged about and published about everywhere. In these trying times, it is something on an "it" thing - but I'm well past the point of discussing it here. If you want my perspective, you'd have to go back to my "Lighten Up" posts on money - which are over a year old now!

The care that I would like to talk about here is the kind that comes from concern for others - from the heart. HTH always likes to say that he votes with his money. If an establishment provides better service or a better product or he just plain likes the guys better, they get his money. As a small business owner, that just makes good sense. But we all have the ability to provide some positive reinforcement along those lines.

As the chief household provisioner, I've translated that to our everyday shopping as well. I go the the local farmer's markets because I like the fact that people around here grow food. I also have a long standing preference for the strains of produce that have actual flavor - and those strains are notoriously difficult to ship. So I get what I like for less money than the grocery store AND I support local farms in the process. That is what we call, in this house, a hat trick.

The principle works in other ways, too. I buy everything that I can from my locally owned "health" store. There are a few things that I pay incrementally more for there, but they also have things there that I would only be able to get online otherwise. I like them. I want them to stay in business. I vote with my money.

I buy more from the natural chain store as well. Depending on where you are, that may be a Spouts or Sunflower or Whole Foods or some crazy East Coast store that we don't have out here. I like their selection. I like that they make an effort. They get my money.

I don't even know that I could give you a list of businesses that we've chosen this way, but, just off the top of my head: The shop that works on our cars, the printer that does our invoices, the coffee places that I frequent, Bookman's (oh, the delirious joy of that place!), our local Chinese restaurant, Harper's Nursery ....

The point is this: the people the run these places are folks that I rely on, so I'm more than happy to support them. And in times like these, my money can actually make a difference. So while I am still cautious with my money, I mean so much more than that when I say that, around here, we think its important to handle our finances with care.