Every purchase you make is a vote toward the life you want to live

The days of shopping out of pure desire are over. While some may have used retail therapy as a means of enjoyment in the past, the tariff war that US President, Donald Trump has waged on various countries is rapidly changing the landscape of American consumerism. Not only are these tariffs creating uncertainty in the financial markets that have resulted in some of the most significant declines in years, but business are already reacting, overreacting and being forced to re-strategize in ways that are undoubtedly going to impact the consumer in the end.

In the same ways that Mr. Trump has essentially weaponized tariffs against other countries, the American consumer needs to equally weaponize their dollar in their own self-interest. This concept goes beyond just the immediate need for goods and services, but to the very heart of whose pocket their dollars are going into, and whether or not that is serving them in the long run.

For instance, according to a study conducted by United for Respect, analyzing Walmart and its leadership’s political spending for the 2024 election cycle, “Overall political spending favors Republicans over Democrats by more than five-to-one.” That’s a simpler figure to digest, but more over if you’re a woman that thinks she should make her own decisions about her body, the study further states, “Walmart and the Walton family have donated over $800,000 this election cycle to current and former Republican governors responsible for enacting draconian anti-abortion laws.”

Walmart sits in the #1 seat atop the Fortune Global 500 rankings for the 11th consecutive year, with Amazon positioned at #2. Walmart, whether it aligns with your personal views or not, is only this powerful because the consumer invested their money and essentially their vote into empowering them. It’s really that simple. Sure, banks, investors and financial instruments play a role in empowering these companies as well, but ultimately money goes into things that someone feels will prosper. By using these companies, you’re essentially enforcing their success.

Some of you might read this and feel proud of where your money’s going and perfectly content with the causes they support. For those that don’t, now more than ever, your dollar is your weapon. Consider the alternative, instead of a company so big and inaccessible that when you try to make a return you’re speaking to someone in another country to do it, you instead put your dollar into your neighbor, your community, a nice couple down the street that own a deli or grocery, where if you had an issue you could walk right up to the owner and deal with it right then. Each and every one of us have the power to create the kind of markets we want, the kind of shopping we want, simply by shifting our money into things that align with the world we want.

All too many people say things like, “Well, this is the only place to get everything I need,” or “Well, this is the place that has the cheapest groceries.” You, your community and the world at large are the reason this remains to be true, if it is indeed the case. It will be up to you, and your community to change that. You do not have to live in a world without choice where saying things like “This is the only place,” is a reality. It starts with your dollar and your choices. Women in particular, if you want control over your own body, start understanding if your dollar is empowering other people to override that.