retail – Journey Home

When we live in rural Iowa, mail order remains important to our way of life. Shopping by mail has changed since I was a child. In addition to the United State Postal Service, there are Amazon, FedEx, UPS and other company trucks delivering in the neighborhood almost daily. The fact is, much of what I need to operate our household is not available in the city of 3,000 souls near our residence. Mail order is the most efficient way to find what I need, compare price, and receive goods in a timely manner.

Amazon is rightly the whipping post for all that is bad about modern mail order. The company is very large, and has a monopoly on what they do. They are hard on workers. The online retailer has made its owner one of the wealthiest men on the planet, and the upward flow of weallth to already rich people is an essential problem for society. After a family conversation I decided to do something about Amazon in my life.

I looked at my Amazon purchases because I agree, at least in part, about their labor abuses. The book I just read, Nomadland, described the lifestyle of people who travel the country in mobile living vehicles and do temp work, including at Amazon warehouses during the push right before Christmas. The author does not paint a positive picture of working conditions, even if many people rely on that temp work to live. Amazon warehouses are already staffed with robots for certain tasks and the expectation is more humans will be replaced in the near future. For now, the temp jobs fill an economic need for these nomadic workers.

I spent $1,309.27 at Amazon this year, in 43 orders, or $194 per month. Here’s what I’m willing to do: a. cut back on the number of orders to no more than two per month (down from 6.4 per month). b. I plan to cut my overall spending in half.

While some purchases are unavoidable because the item (like the corded electric lawn mower) are simply not available here, I can reduce the amount of foodstuffs I get at Amazon and buy locally when I’m already at the market. Likewise, I have less need to own books. In writing my second book, there are plenty of research materials in our home library and we have a good public library for non-writing related reading.

So that’s the plan. Not too fancy, yet with specific goals. Hoping this will cut back on Amazon enough to improve my life. Mail orders will continue, yet hopefully better managed. Fingers crossed!

Pastries from The Eat Shop, a small, locally owned business. A Small Business Saturday purchase to support them.

Shopping small local businesses is challenging. Before dawn I went to town and got cash at a locally owned ATM, bought gasoline after my trip to Des Moines at a local franchise of the Iowa Casey’s convenience store company (definitely not a small business), and then splurged for a box of four pastries at the locally owned The Eat Shop in Solon. No one local is getting rich from my purchases, but that’s not the point of Small Business Saturday.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday began in 2010, promoted by the American Express Company. The following year the U.S. Congress passed a resolution recognizing the day. It adds to the post-holiday shopping trend retailers hope to generate. Black Friday needs no explanation, and I just explained today. Next is National Secondhand Sunday, then Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. Weeping Wednesday is supposed to be the day you receive the bill for all the shopping. In the days of online banking, we can tally the expense before then and regulate how much we spend.

The ATM I used is locally owned yet my money is kept at a bank in Texas. I have been a member of an automobile insurance company since 1976 and in the 1990s they started a bank. I joined and have been with them ever since. By having everything immediately available online once the internet came along, I have been able to stop bank fraud by crooks before it happens. I met and like both the local banker and his father. In a small city one gets to know all the bankers. I’m glad my bank contracted with the one they did.

Don’t get me started about the gasoline I bought to refill the tank after the Thanksgiving trip to Des Moines. Who really knows who makes money and how much on that commodity. The major oil companies have the system rigged so they make money every step of the way from pumping it out of the ground overseas, to managing the ocean vessels carrying it to the U.S., to refining, and pipelines, and truck transport, to the local station. Each step in the journey of a barrel of crude oil is a pricing point for the oil company. The locals work on a tight margin and make their money by selling convenience items, gas station pizza and sandwiches, and drinks.

At least there is hope for the bakery, which is owned by a woman with six or so area locations. The goods are all made from scratch and a bit pricey for everyday eating. They call themselves a boutique bakery, which means fancy stuff intended for purposes other than nourishment. Their philosophy, according the their website, is

In today’s world, people are increasingly health-conscious. It seems nearly everyone diets or allows themselves to have that coveted “cheat day.”

So, when you do indulge, it better be worth it. Worth the calories. Worth the sugar. Worth the carbs.

I do buy things from them a couple times a year, so why not on Small Business Saturday? Cheat day or no.

Couple of bits for the ATM transaction, buck or so margin on the gasoline sale, and $18.70 for the pastries is about it for my Small Business Saturday. At least I feel like I did something.