Appropriately Angry April

We are getting mad, but in a classy yet sassy way.

April is here, and with that the official beginning of the Kellogg’s Boycott!

Nothing like boycotting overpriced poison during Financial Literacy month :)

If you need a refresher, the official site is linked above. But the main thing to know is that for the next 90 days we are not buying any Kellogg’s products (to the best of our ability).

Lot’s of brands fall under Kellogg’s unfortunately :/

I was surprised to find that channeling my anger into this boycott (and others) has made my impulse spending much easier to control.

Baking helps too! Jackson’s third birthday cake, made by yours truly, sans Kellogg’s products.

My anger from grief needed some redirection, and it just so happened that the world is going to hell and a hand basket.

Let’s recap some things to be angry about: **feel free to just Google any of the following to find out more.

Genocide in Gaza
Our elected officials FUNDING genocide
Attempts to take away fundamental rights
Attempts to take away free speech/ways to organize
Food prices
Housing prices
Cost of living in general
Homelessness - and trying to make it ILLEGAL
Sexual assault and cover ups
Climate change, natural disasters
College/Employment (student loans, costs of education, lack of ADEQUATE PAY AND BENEFIT jobs)
Gun violence
Trafficking
Prison labor, prison pipeline and see MAKING HOMELESSNESS ILLEGAL

Anger across the world:

PALESTINE
Congo
Sudan
Yemen
Ukraine
Haiti
Russia
France (farmers)
North Korea (4B)

Every single day I feel like I wake up to a new thing to be angry about. It makes me sad to see so much suffering and so little being done about it in the name of profit.

However, I also realized something as I sat and raged, they want us to GET ANGRY and riot. They want us to be mad so they have a reason to retaliate. If we give them a reason to, they will retaliate, and take more away.

So we are going to fight back in a different way. We are going to BE ANGRY. We are going to STAY MAD. But we are not going to give them what they want. We will fight in the following ways, and I stated them last month:

With our money
With our time

Ways to fight back with money:

Donate (food)
Donate (general)
Donate (money)
Boycott organizations that are helping fund the genocide (giving money to Israel)
- Boycott app I use
- Disoccupied.com
- Buycott- is another app for similar uses

Ways to fight back with time:

Call elected officials
Email elected officials
Vote for new elected officials (ALL CONGRESS SEATS UP FOR GRABS THIS FALL)
Look into alternate candidates (Jasmine Sherman)
Protests (peaceful - remember, they are looking for a fight) #coffeerevolution
Volunteer events
Follow and support social media accounts like Operation Olive Branch

It may seem hopeless, and I know I’ve felt that way. But there are things we can do. We can take the time to make a few changes in our spending and lifestyle habits to support the common good.

Taking the time to review how and where we spend our money can only benefit us. Is it fun? Not always. But treat it like a date, be kind to yourself, and celebrate the wins no matter how small :)

Some money wins from March:

WIN: I deleted Walmart and Amazon apps off my phone and made no purchases from them since doing so. This was made easier by boycotting them too.

WIN: We spent less than $11 ON DINING AND EATING OUT!!

WIN: 16 NO SPEND DAYS IN MARCH

WIN: I kept Starbucks off my phone and stayed out of the drive thru !

By switching from grocery/household shopping at Amazon and Walmart to Aldi, we saved money on our groceries :) and utilized their super easy curbside pick up.

I can’t find everything at Aldi so some things had to be supplemented at Target. I found that switching from Pampers (boycott) to Up & Up diapers saved me almost $25 in diaper costs and they generally have deals on baby and home products that include gift cards.

Of course you have to spend a certain amount on certain products, but if I wait to stock up it generally saves me money and time. I LOVE CURBSIDE PICK UP. Umm yes keep me out of the store and away from shiny distractions.

Since I am boycotting Amazon I had to find an alternative, and it turns out you can make money the same way with Target Affiliates!

Obviously not everyone has the ability to boycott certain places, that is ok! No one is going to be shamed. But I will encourage you to continue being petty with your finances.

STAY PETTY. What I mean by this, although I am prepared for things to cost money, I am also prepared to question prices, bills, and major financial decisions. No matter how small or trivial it may be.

Insist on getting copies of contracts (especially leases) and READ THEM
Do not click on suspicious links or give up personal information without knowing what it is for
Do not give money to someone just because they ask (yes, I do need to say this). If you need to, say “my finances cannot support that at this time.”
Shop around prices when grocery shopping
Return things (if you need to) ON TIME and save those receipts
Get quotes from other providers if your rates go up. As they say, “don’t accept the first offer” Every penny counts. I usually get at least 3 quotes
Ask questions. I mean it, ESPECIALLY MEDICAL BILLS. I saved us from paying almost $3000 medical bills WE DID NOT OWE because I kept calling and asking them to check it was billed properly. Turned out, it was not coded correctly.
Document everything. Write down amounts, dates, names. You are now a spy for your money, congratulations special money agent you.
BOYCOTT - you are in control of where you spend your money, make good choices.

This month I’m starting a new series called “Get Petty With Me” - where I style fun outfits to feel less sad, and tell you how to be more petty with your money so you can keep more of it.

Stay petty my friends.

March/April outfits: Easter ROYGBIV

Fun news: I finally opened an Etsy store!! Naturally it will be filled with random crafts. To start: Necktie Belts 👔🎀🧵🪡Original inspo: @baekberg

A description:

Two gorgeous vintage men’s neckties sewn together to make this upcycled, beautifully unique wrap belt. Wear it with dresses, shirts, jackets…it’s a one of a kind fashion statement piece. I thrift/am gifted vintage ties weekly so stay tuned for more options!

Length: 116 -120 in

Tie 1: 58-60 in

Tie 2: 58-60 in

Weight for packaging: 4 oz.

Sewn together with sewing machine on front seam. Hand stitched on the back.