Here, in the middle of the year, many of us are reviewing our family budget to make sure we’re okay until January. This is a good time to take a close look, to see if our spending habits reflect what we say we believe. For example, I believe in human dignity, so shouldn’t I stop buying at that huge discount chain that has been in the news often for mistreating and intimidating their non-documented immigrant employees? I respect how hard local farmers work, so why not buy at farmers’ markets and through co-ops? I may have to pay a little more. But I can save money (and the environment) by walking or car-pooling sometimes. Or by exchanging one night out a month for a family-centered game-night in. I need to make my priorities clear to myself and to the stores and corporations I buy from. They notice how we spend our money. That makes our family budget a potential weapon of mass instruction!
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