The increasing impact of our individual actions
Personal finance has always been demoted to second place when it sits alongside the well-heralded and lauded world of corporate finance. What we as consumers and ordinary folks do with our money is important, but never given the credence of what the “big boys” do with cash. Until now…
Not in my lifetime have I ever felt that what we do with our money will be so important for so many reasons. How we deploy cash, any savings and the buying decisions we make will influence so much more now than it ever has in the past. Quite literally, it could make or break businesses, sectors and countries.
It seems that while we have been on lockdown, the world has been able to breathe again. Pollution levels have tanked and the global ecosystem that looks after the purity of our air is in tip-top condition. How wonderful this actually is. To know and feel that the Earth has been given a chance to regenerate, recuperate and recharge its own recovery. In short, the Earth’s blood pressure, heartbeat and other vital signs are all good again. But probably not for long. The airlines are bursting to open up again. So too the big cruise ships and every car and bus that can take to the roads. What does this mean?
Well, in a few months, the poor old Earth will be polluted again. But the buying decisions we make in the coming months can influence this hugely. Will you buy a bike and cycle when you can? Will you walk where possible and not jump in a cab? What is your view on airports, air travel and that trip to the Greek islands? I think many of us will be thinking a bit deeper about how we individually feel about this. But it has ramifications for the economy. If we do not travel, catch an Uber, hop on a weekend break to Berlin or use credit cards, the economy takes a hit. I ask you: what is more important to you now as you almost return to a new normal?
China is also in the spotlight right now. Our lives have been “made in China” for three decades now as we consume thousands of tons of products from there each day. Even the Mac that I am writing this piece on says “assembled in China” on its base. We buy cheap clothes from there that are transported on big, heavy diesel ships to the UK. Then there are all the little things that we do not even think about that are made there and come cheap to us. So, how do you view China?
Has the confusion about where coronavirus originated and China’s communication of it made you think twice about doing business there? And by that I mean checking the labels on the clothes you buy. If Trump hits China with tariffs will it influence you on buying goods from there? China is massive when it comes to the world’s GDP. We now need a successful China, don’t we? Well, that is up to each of us. We either buy Chinese goods or we do not, taking a stance on how the country conducts itself. One thing is for sure. If we do not buy with “made in China” on the label it will affect the retail sector in this country hugely. Jobs will go at a faster pace for sure. And again there is a dilemma for us as we think about our personal finances and the planet. Never forget those pictures of the constant smog over Beijing.
Even how we spend money locally will have an impact on the economy.
Will we eat out at restaurants with such high mark-ups? Or will we continue to order food in and stay at home? Is supermarket alcohol at a quarter of the price of pub alcohol still appealing when there is the opportunity to go to the pub? And will you continue to bake and cook more from scratch?
All these personal finance decisions will affect not just how we come out of lockdown, but how the new economy takes off again. Will it be just back to normal or have we actually changed as a result of what we have witnessed and experienced? Perhaps spending some time thinking about this will indeed influence your spending in a few weeks.
Jim Duffy MBE, Create Special
The buying decisions we make will influence so much more now than ever before