I’m taking the “where does your money go” challenge today and tracking where my dollars are going: the countries, the corporations, and the people. Of course, it’s not an exact science nor is it meant to be. Some stuff will fall through the cracks: my oatmeal was purchased at Bean & Bean, so I’ll give points to the good old U S of A; the bananas, strawberries and blueberries might not be from here but I’m not getting into that level of detail. I may, however, now thinking about it, be inspired to call B&B to confirm origin of the oats and trail of the fruit. But I’m not gonna go crazy over it.
QUESTION: will you take this challenge with me and post your results? It doesn’t have to be today. It can be any day. Think of it as a Christmas gift to all your countrymen and women whose job you may help save by getting us all to be a little conscientious about where our money goes. Where does your money go? Go ahead … gimme the dirt!
revelgardener 
Revel, my dear,
Please make it easier to do this by posting a link for any old Luddites like me. If there is some sort of form to make it easier, that would be a plus! I’ll even pass it on to my 40 most intimate friends if it’s easy to do. . .
Happy Holidays, revelers!
Hmmm…I’m going to have to pay more attention to this. Today I bought sweet almond oil and few essential oils at Balance Life in South Park Slope – NOW FOODS is based here in the US, but even looking at their website I can’t tell where the oils are from!
Recently I’ve been going to quite a few websites with items for sale. One site actually had a note “Made in China” right at the top of the item’s description. True, they do sell foreign made goods, but they let you know that and thus give you the option to be selective. Check out:
http://www.wisementrading.com/index.htm
They have a variety of items that may be of interest. They do sell items made in other countries, but aside from China they don’t seem to list them as they do China. I actually did pass on buying a battery charger they had that was made in China, but what I did buy was made in Sweden. I bought it fully knowing it wasn’t made in the USA.
I know, bad me- but I had a valid reason, at least I believe so. The item was a small axe I wanted to replace a damaged one. Nothing made in the US came close to the Swedish one. I watched videos, read blogs, went to company websites- did lots of research. The 2 highest rated axes both were handmade in Sweden. My lengthy explanation is to make the point that at least some manufacturing in the US is sub standard, and while I would like to have bought American it did not make sense in this case. Suffice it to say that was one case where the reduced chance of a nasty injury outweighed country of origin.
On the other hand, every new car I ever bought was American. I know there are a lot of really good Japanese cars out there, from other countries as well. I bought GM, and my last couple Jeeps are made by Chrysler. In all likelihood my next new car will be another Jeep. Sometimes NOT buying an American item can send a signal to manufacturers that they need to change their ways if they want to stay in business. It can also make someone realize that maybe there is a new product they can start making. I’ve run across a couple small companies that simply took already existing items, improved them, and were able to sell their new items for more money than the originals. They take pride their items are made here in the US, employing Americans. Manufacturing can return to the US, we just have to give companies the incentive.
By coincidence, my just eaten fortune cookie (made in US) had a piece of wisdom to companies thinking of starting up in, or returning to the US. It says:
“Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?”
It isn’t always so easy to determine if something was made in China. Recently I was looking at something online for sale by a US company. Researching for more information on it I discovered it was manufactured in China. I guess it’s easy to keep blaming China for things since it seems almost everything you pick up in a store is made there, but other countries have a piece of our market too, just much smaller.
Back on topic, why not introduce someone, especially children, to coin collecting. It can be as simple as saving various years of change from your pocket to make a set. Collecting pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters from every year is not expensive and it has the side benefit of teaching someone to save. The coins are made in the US, and they are money so they have value. For an older person who is more likely not to loose things, a silver coin can be a gift that’s different. If thinking of giving or buying precious metals for yourself do some research first. A great website to check and see what’s available is:
http://www.APMEX.com
Their prices are quite reasonable varying from less than $20 up into the tens of thousands. They carry coins made of silver, gold, platinum, and palladium. For even less expensive items, like medallions made from copper check out:
http://www.AOCSmint.com
There are other sites selling the same or similar items. Do some research since the prices of precious metals can vary quite a bit in a fairly short amount of time. If anyone is interested, post your questions and I’ll see if I can answer them, or point you to an answer.
Oooh, I love this challenge! Today I bought an organic coffee, chai tea, and a bagel from Book Cafe here in SI. I have no idea where the coffee is from or the tea. But I know it was a fair trade coffee.