This is a guest post from Lakita Humber, the author of the new personal finance blog - Personal Finance Journey. I encourage you to subscribe to Lakita's RSS feed and to follow her on Twitter.
Do morals and ethics guide the way we spend money? Of course they do! But to what extent?
For example, I'm sure we would all agree it is immoral to buy stolen goods. Not to mention illegal! We don't need our morals to guide that decision because the justice system has made it clear for us that purchasing stolen products is wrong. However, there are other products and spending behaviors that are perfectly legal but ethically questionable or a matter of conviction.
Morals are simply principles of right and wrong. An individual's unique moral code is developed over time and can be influenced by religion, environment, experiences and personal conviction.
A large percent of the population refuses to purchase products made with animal fur. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was organized to bring education and awareness about how animals are treated to create the products seen in retail stores. Pressure from organizations like PETA and consumers lead to many retail stores removing fur products from their inventory.
Another ethically fueled product is the diamond. Diamonds mined in some parts of the world are referred to as conflict diamonds or "blood diamonds" because they fund civil wars and insurgencies, usually in Africa. In 2003, the Kimberly process was established an audit trail of diamonds from the mines to retail to ensure no conflicts or exploitation was part of the process. While this greatly reduced the sale of conflict diamonds, the system is not fool proof. Jewelers will offer certificates to show their diamonds are conflict free, however some consumers don't want to risk the possibility of their purchase contributing to foreign wars and avoid the purchase of diamonds altogether.
Furs and diamonds aren't common purchases. Whatever stance you take is not going to impact your daily routine. But what about where you shop? Discount department stores such as Walmart are often the target of ethical debates citing the low wages for employees and threat to local businesses.
A hot topic is the personal finance community is the use of credit cards. Adam Baker from ManvsDebt has taken a strong stance against credit cards and their reward programs, stating it's an industry that derives a large percentage of their profits from a select group of people who are caught up in destructive, cyclical habits. There is an equal or possibly greater percentage who feels the use of credit cards as perfectly acceptable.
Other common choices include:
- dolphin safe tuna
- reusable diapers
- products not tested on animals
- biodegradables
The intention is not to pick a side on either issue. I stated at the beginning individuals have unique moral codes. The point is our spending patterns are often determined by more than cost and convenience.
What financial decisions have you made based on your own morals / values?
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
If we find out that xyz company is supporting something we disagree with, then we should try to do business elsewhere or choose another product to buy and not theirs. Of course these days, I think it would be difficult to find a company that is 100% honest and moral.