Spend It Like You Mean It

I've given up toothpaste! I promise my teeth aren't falling out. In this episode: Bite Toothpaste Bits, where I've been this spring, and why I think the world is becoming a better place! Show notes with links on spenditmeanit.com Music credit: BehrMusic on Fiverr   Useful Links and Resources Include: About Bite Toothpaste Bits https://bitetoothpastebits.com/pages/about-us   Bite Sustainability https://bitetoothpastebits.com/pages/sustainability   Bite Blog: a wine-drinker's guide to whiter teeth https://bitetoothpastebits.com/blogs/blog/a-wine-drinkers-guide-to-whiter-teeth   Brushing Off Wasteful Packaging http://blog.stpub.com/bid/204975/Brushing-Off-Wasteful-Packaging   Lush Toothpaste Tabs https://www.lush.ca/en/face/teeth/   Health.gov Review of Fluoride, Benefits and Risks https://health.gov/environment/Reviewoffluoride/MAJfind.htm#asserisk  

If you feel like there are too many issues to worry about to make a difference, and every choice you make for good comes with a negative counter-effect, this episode is for you. Overwhelm was the theme of February, and before going any further into this podcast, you will learn in this episode how to counter that sensation that it's all too much and press on with your powerful self.

In this, the first interview of this podcast, I interview my boss! I do have a day job and am lucky to work for a company I believe in and would endorse in my free time on my own personal platform. Because of that, I decided to make Jon English, one of the two founders of Commercial Industrial Construction, my first interview, so he could talk about how he takes care of people and yet still makes a profit. We aren't a major corporation with a national reputation and a need to spin tales. Instead, here is one story of a small business in America doing the right things by choice.

It's a new year: maybe you are embracing a new you and getting some self-help books to lead the way. Maybe you are embracing this month's trend of "tidying up" and getting rid of some books. Either way, this product episode gives you a way to do both and support an ethical company in the process: Better World Books. Music credit: BehrMusic on Fiverr   Useful Links and Resources Include: Better World Books Home betterworldbooks.com   BWB Impact Score https://bcorporation.net/directory/better-world-books   About B Corps https://bcorporation.net/about-b-corps   Leave Marie Kondo the F*ck Alone https://medium.com/@JonathanGreene/leave-marie-kondo-the-f-ck-alone-abf35cb1bc90   Comparably: Better World Books https://www.comparably.com/companies/better-world-books/reviews   PayScale.com Review of BWB https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=Better_World_Books/Reviews   Alibris Jumps in Bed with BWB... https://blog.seattlepi.com/bookpatrol/2009/08/19/alibris-jumps-in-bed-with-better-world-books-and-takes-their-booksellers-with-them/   The Alibris Story https://www.alibris.com/about/story   Better World Books: What other dealers can learn from the new model https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/1011?page=4=id=1011=id=1011=id=1011   6 Ways To Recycle Your Used Books, Because You Know You Have Too Many https://www.bustle.com/p/6-ways-to-recycle-your-used-books-because-you-know-you-have-too-many-15570252   Little Free Library https://littlefreelibrary.org   LGBT Books for Prisoners https://lgbtbookstoprisoners.org   Books for Africa https://www.booksforafrica.org   Get Your Used Books While Everyone's Kondo-ing Their Homes https://lifehacker.com/get-your-used-books-while-everyones-kondo-ing-their-hom-1831838036   Parnassus Books Nashville https://www.parnassusbooks.net/about-us   IndieBound Independent Bookstore Finder https://www.indiebound.org/indie-bookstore-finder   Spend It Like You Mean It Web Site https://www.spenditmeanit.com

Your time is the most valuable thing you have to save and spend. Rather than discussing spending your time like you mean it, let's consider how you can spend money in ways that support your values and also save you time. (You may even want to play this episode at 1-1/2x speed to get through it quicker!) Some suggestions may be more than you can spend now, but as usual, we round out the episode with a nod to those for whom having any extra cash is a luxury, because everyone deserves a little extra time.  Music credit: BehrMusic on Fiverr   Useful links and resources used include: TSA PreCheck https://www.tsa.gov/precheck   Avoiding the 12 Black Swans https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/23/premature-death-prevention.aspx   Clean and Green Nashville http://www.cleanandgreennashville.com/#about   The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/The-4-Hour-Workweek--Escape-9-5--Live-Anywhere--and-Join-the-New-Rich-9780307465351   Bulletproof Radio Episode 477 https://blog.bulletproof.com/naomi-whittel/

Not sure where to begin and what products to choose if you want to buy according to your values? In the first company profile of this podcast, we explore Thrive Market, on online grocery store whose mission is to make healthy lifestyles affordable for everyone. From the 70 values they support in their product offerings to the company's own values, this may be the perfect place to begin your impactful spending journey. Music credit: BehrMusic on Fiverr   Useful links and resources used include:   Thrive Market Home https://thrivemarket.com/   Thrive Market: Follow a Delivery https://thrivemarket.com/blog/follow-a-thrive-market-delivery-from-the-warehouse-to-your-door-plus-our-2016-annual-report   Thrive Gives https://thrivemarket.com/giving   Environmental Analysis of US Online Shopping https://ctl.mit.edu/sites/ctl.mit.edu/files/library/public/Dimitri-Weideli-Environmental-Analysis-of-US-Online-Shopping_0.pdf   Comparably Review of Thrive Market https://www.comparably.com/companies/thrive-market

What do buying a good suit and homesteading have in common? As we wade a little deeper into what it means to spend according to our values, we discuss some strategies--from basic to completely life-altering--that make an impact but stretch your dollar further. Music credit: BehrMusic on Fiverr ************************************* Useful links and resources used include:   Consumer Spending Trends and Current Statistics https://www.thebalance.com/consumer-spending-trends-and-current-statistics-3305916   Monthly retail sales of clothing stores... https://www.statista.com/statistics/804968/us-retail-apparel-store-sales-on-a-monthly-basis/   Phonetics for pronouncing Christian Louboutin https://howdoyousaythatword.com/word/christian-louboutin/   Patagonias Repair & Care Guides https://www.patagonia.com/worn-wear-repairs/   thredUP https://www.thredup.com   Burberry burned $36.5M worth of unsold clothes last year. https://nypost.com/2018/07/19/burberry-burned-36-5m-of-unsold-clothes-last-year/   The Minimalists https://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism/   Done Good App https://donegood.co   Good On You App https://goodonyou.eco   The Tiny Life https://thetinylife.com/what-is-the-tiny-house-movement/   Edible Landscaping books by Rosalind https://www.betterworldbooks.com/search/results?q=rosalind%20creasy   Homesteady https://www.thisishomesteady.com

The U.S. produces about 75 billion eggs per year. Do we really know what all those labels mean? Let's do a deep dive and see if I can convince you that there really is something special about those specially-labeled eggs. Music credit: BehrMusic on Fiverr   Useful links and resources used include:   History of Egg Production https://www.aeb.org/farmers-and-marketers/history-of-egg-production   About the US Egg Industry https://www.aeb.org/farmers-and-marketers/industry-overview   Egg Labels defined https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a48023/egg-nutrition/   Are cage-free eggs more nutritious? https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/nutrition/are-cage-free-eggs-more-nutritious/   Are home-raised chickens' eggs really healthier? https://www.health.com/nutrition/farm-fresh-eggs-healthy   Housing vs Feed Intake, a study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4990894/   What the rise of cage-free eggs means for chickens https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/06/27/195639341/what-the-rise-of-cage-free-eggs-means-for-chickens   Pete and Gerrys Organic Eggs https://www.peteandgerrys.com   Happy Egg Co https://happyegg.co   Industrial vs Family Farms Comparison http://www.beyondfactoryfarming.org/get-informed/industrial-vs-family-farms-comparison   Fact-Check: Corporate vs. Family Farms https://www.farmpolicyfacts.org/2016/12/fact-check-corporate-farms-vs-family-farms/   Backyard Chickens: Expanding our Understanding of Harm https://freefromharm.org/farm-animal-welfare/backyard-chickens-expanding-understanding-harm/   Horrific Conditions of Hens... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chickens-eggs-footage-noble-foods-big-fresh-walston-poultry-farm-a8262296.html   Egg-sessive? Large eggs... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1161370/Egg-cessive-Large-eggs-painful-hens-lay-claim-experts-Whats-theyre-tasty-So-stop-shelling-them.html   How Egg Farms will stop killing millions of male chicks https://www.wired.com/2016/06/egg-farms-will-stop-killing-millions-male-chicks/

In 2015, Kraft Foods changed the recipe to its Mac & Cheese: did you notice? It's one example of how several forces play into changing a company's practices for the better. We'll learn how it happened, and we'll also talk about some basic questions: When we buy products solely based on price, what is the true cost? What are our personal values, and how do we prioritize those values from day to day? Music credit: BehrMusic on Fiverr   Useful links and references include:   Economics Basics: Supply & Demand https://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp   Kraft removing artificial dyes... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kraft-removing-artificial-dyes-preservatives-from-mac-cheese/   Original Kraft petition https://www.change.org/p/kraft-stop-using-dangerous-food-dyes-in-our-mac-cheese   Kraft Press Release http://newscenter.kraftfoodsgroup.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=253200&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2037718   The Kraft-Heinz merger http://news.kraftheinzcompany.com/press-release/finance/kraft-heinz-company-announces-successful-completion-merger-between-kraft-foods

In this first episode, learn about how you can make an impact with your spending, or spend your money like you mean it. We'll review some of the challenges, introduce ideas that will be discussed in future episodes, and present some guidelines for evaluating companies and products. You'll learn how I got started paying attention to the companies I support, and how I make decisions when there are several competing forces at play. Useful links and references include: Kleenex-Greenpeace update https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/08/greenpeace-kimberly-clark-kleenex-tissue-paper-canada-forests-ngo-corporate-collaboration US: Child Workers in Danger on Tobacco Farms https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/14/us-child-workers-danger-tobacco-farms Exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/youthlabor/exemptionsflsa Patagonia Corporate Social Responsibility https://www.patagonia.com/corporate-responsibility.html EPA Superfund National Priorities List https://www.epa.gov/superfund/national-priorities-list-npl-sites-state#GA