CHALLENGE UPDATE #2

OK How have you done on the All American Shopping Challenge?

I have done fair, not as good as I wanted to.  I did take a short trip in June and ended up spending about $20 on non-American items. IKEA just does not have very many American made items. But they do have a few, just none that I wanted or needed.

I needed a diamond dust cutting wheel for my new  yard sale purchased wet saw. None were made in the USA. So I had no choice but to purchase Made in China.

All of my food purchase with the exception of about $10 has been American. Chocolate from Sweden (IKEA)and one can of mandarin oranges. None of the mandarin oranges were produced in the USA.

My daughter and I have a disagreement over thrift store purchases. She argues that there are many things there that were manufactured overseas and they should not count. I disagree. Sure they were manufactured overseas and the original purchaser bought them and the money paid for the overseas purchase. When I purchase from the TS my money stays in the USA, most of the time in the county where the purchase was made. Plus many TS jobs are created with the money I spend.Unless the employee sends the money somewhere it is spent locally.

I didn't keep track of my total purchases for the month, just the foreign ones. I would guess that my foreign purchases added up to 1% or less of my total spending.

On a recent trip to the $store I saw lots of things I could have purchased, but I used self control and saved my money. I may purchase some of the items in the future, but I will still try to find American alternatives.

We were talking at lunch today about the possibility of an All American Dollar Store. I would love to know if it could be done and still be profitable. I'm thinking that there would be a very limited variety of items in the store. I think I need to do a little research and see what is out there.

How did you do on the challenge?


Want to join the next challenge of no plastic bags for a whole month? The winner will receive a handmade (by me) market bag. Just keep track of the number of plastic bags you received  and the number of reusable bags you used while shopping for the month of July, starting today. You can keep a personal total or a family total. I'll check back on August 1st for a tally. Good Luck

READY FOR A CHALLENGE?

We all constantly hear in the news about the economy. It's up....it's down...gas is up...gas is down...groceries are up...groceries are up....

What can we do to help?

Now I have enough sense to realize that what few things  I might do will have a minute effect on the economy, but if we all join together maybe we can create a ripple in the economic pond.

I was thinking (I know, it's dangerous)about all the things we buy from other countries. I have been taking a personal poll of all the foreign things I buy in one month. Believe me, its a lot. I'm not talking about all of the stuff at the $store. We all know that the majority of that stuff is from China and lots of other places overseas. I'm talking about groceries, clothes and many of the things we consume. Check out the food you buy sometimes and it will surprise you where it is from. I not talking about the fresh, out of season veggies, I'm talking about canned and prepackaged items. North Carolina was once a major textile producing area. Now I am seeing many foreign made textiles in a wide range of consumer items.

I know we can't go for a month without purchasing a single thing foreign. We all have to have gas to get to work and school and the grocery store. Can we really take a good look at what we are purchasing and do without it for just a month? I am willing to try.

Will you join me and try buying American for just one month?

Start by looking at what you are purchasing and deciding if you can do without it or find an alternative that is made in America. Better yet, find something that is made locally. It may take some looking and thinking, but I think we can do it.

I can't guarantee that we will win any prizes or awards. I know that personally I will feel better if I know I at least tried to do something.

Let me know what you have found that you were purchasing foreign and what you were able to substitute  American made and I will post an updated list. I'll try to post an updated list every Monday from now until July Fourth.

Who is up for a challenge? Double Dog Dare Ya!!