Black Friday Holiday Shopping Retro Roadmap Style

Retro Roadmappers – Mod Betty wishes you the best at the beginning of this holiday season, and would love to share with you this thought I’m reminding myself of this shopping season, from my New Year’s Resolution:

“Spend your money where your heart is,
and you’ll be investing in the kind of world you want to live in”

I often think of what shops will make me sad  when they close, and what can I do to make sure they stick around, even just a litte longer? I can shop there, instead of the chains, or Amazon.

In this chaotic season of “stuff” – buying, getting, wanting,  I think about where I get my stuff, and what that means to the bigger picture.

• Do I buy my stuff locally at an independent shop (and help keep them open)?
• Do I drive a bit and buy my stuff from a vintage mom and pop shop, enjoy the trip (and help keep them open)?
• If what I want is not available locally…
• Do I buy it online directly from an independent business, artist, author or person (and help keep them in business)?
• OR do I go to chains just b/c it’s a habit or “convenient” or “cheaper”?
• Does the little bit that I save by going to the chains (or Amazon-!!) really make a difference to my life…?
• 

Or could my entire purchase happen in a (cool vintage, independent, mom & pop) place that I would be sad about if it closed?

If a business I said I liked closed, could I honestly reflect and say I did my part to help keep them open, or did I just say I liked it, but never made an effort to visit and shop there?

At the end of the day, am I the change I want to see in the world, am I doing MY part – no matter how small that may seem?

No matter how much money any of us has, we’ve all got power in our pocketbooks, so it’s good to think about where we can wield our power to help the world we want to live in.

Every little bit helps, and that help expands exponentially with every person who decides to make a difference in small simple ways.

So be a good Retro Roadmapper and remember – where you got whatever you buy, and the story behind it, can be more important than what you buy!