More money, more impact

In the previous issue, I discussed the positives of ordering on the dollar menu at fast food chains. Monetary efficiency was the key in that situation, but there is another side to the argument that must be considered: the idea of where our money goes when one chooses more expensive options.

Recently, I went home for the weekend to work. My place of employment is right downtown, a short walk from a local coffeehouse that just finished its first year of business. As I sat waiting for the ten minutes it took for the barista to carefully craft my mocha, I looked around the tiny space. I heard the Christian music playing quietly in the background and the hiss as steamed milk shot out of its pitcher to blend with the coffee. I listened to the quiet murmur of people talking at the tables by the window and watched the light stream through the logo on the front. Everything was soft, clean, and simple.

I realized that I could feel the heart of the place beating in every small and unique way that the space moved and how I interacted with it. When the hot drink was handed to me, I thought about a restaurant experience from earlier in the week; one that had involved much more noise and chaos but had cost me less. In the end, I did not mind paying twice as much at that little coffeehouse than at a fast food joint.

I knew the person behind the counter was someone who lived in my hometown. The owner of the business graduated just ahead of me from my high school. People who I saw coming and going were teachers, students, and everyday workers making this same little coffeehouse a part of their day. As I took that first delicious sip, I felt satisfied by the fact that I knew where my money was going. The floor beneath my feet was the product of love. The love of people I knew.

Yes, the coffee was more expensive, but it meant so much more. It meant that I was supporting my local downtown. The money I would make at work would someday be cycled back into the community when I visited that little coffeehouse again. Yes, saving money is important, but when it comes to something that is bigger than oneself, the amount one spends matters less than where those dollars and cents go.