The organizers of No Kings is promoting May Day Strong - A Day of Action.
What is May Day Strong?
From the May Day Strong site - "This May Day, It’s Workers Over Billionaires. On May 1, 2026, workers, students, and families rally, march, and take action across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping."
May Day Strong is a one day event. It will be easy for me to participate. I'm retired. I don't need to worry about missing work or sending kids to school. I can easily forego shopping. Not everyone will be able to participate so easily. The hope is, lots of people will do what they can.
May 1st falls on a Friday. Even if you can't miss work or school, let's definitely not shop! Keep in mind, if you go out and spend like crazy the day before or after, it won't much matter. Try to plan ahead so that businesses will feel a difference.
I plan to go beyond this one day event...
VOTING WITH YOUR WALLET is not new. Especially in the last year, there have been calls for various boycotts and spending changes. I've been working to be a more intentional shopper and truthfully, it's been complicated! I'm not always successful at avoiding companies or brands that don't align with my priorities. I'm not always up on which company is "good" and which is "bad", and it often seems most companies are a mix of good and bad. Even when I feel strongly about avoiding a particular company, I've had to make exceptions. It's been hard keeping up with it all, but I am getting better. If we all make the effort and continue to improve, over time our impact will become more and more significant. When we impact the financial bottom line of a corporation, we get their attention. Just ask Disney and Target.
Leading up to May Day, I plan to raise my bar on shopping intentionally. I'm no expert, but I will share what I'm learning.
The companies supporting people or actions that are tearing down what we value should not benefit from our money. It feels so much better to support companies trying to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, there are a couple of no-brainer changes we can all can make to our shopping habits...
The Easiest Tip of All - Buy Less
If you are lucky enough to have disposable income, maybe this is a time to NOT use that income to "feed the corporate beast".
Consumerism is rampant. When we continue spending on things that are not really needs, even while corporations are price gouging, we are telling them that we will tolerate their overblown prices. If we tolerate overblown prices, the companies will keep them high.
Remember, during Covid, prices went up due to supply chain disruptions. Once the supply chain began working fine again, the prices did not come back down. Companies knew we were still buying at the inflated prices and their profits were great. They had no reason to lower prices.
When we tolerate price gouging, we make it harder for people whose budgets are strained to the point they have to make choices about things that are absolute necessities.
Bonus Move - If you have disposable income, consider making donations to organizations that help those in need!!! Food pantries are struggling. This page has loads of information on that - Food Insecurity Resources.
The Second Easiest Tip of All - Buy Secondhand
This is easy for me. I've been on board with the whole Reduce-Reuse-Recycle trend for years and have particularly enjoyed the thrifting aspect of this. Buying secondhand can sometimes be the smartest way to go. Many older things were made better than their newer versions.
In January, 2025, the country's economy began to feel unstable. I decided I would buy less and save more. If I wanted something, I would consider secondhand when possible. I have kept an ongoing list of things to watch for. When out running errands, I often swing by secondhand shops and see if I can find any of the items on my list. I have been wildly successful. Almost all of my postcard art supplies were purchased secondhand. It's amazing what people throw out.