Week 4 - Carson Ho

Carson Ho

ASA 141

5/19/19

For this week's green challenge, I did a good job of not buying any material items. The challenge makes me realize and think about where the rest of my money goes: mostly towards food and boba. I noticed that despite the challenge helping me save money by not buying clothes, I still found that my bank account was hurting since I eat out a lot. For the most part, I like to eat out and get boba as a way to socialize with my friends and catch up with them. I would like to cook more in the future to cut more costs and live a healthier life, but sometimes buying groceries can be hella expensive too! I found a website that gave tips on saving on groceries and some of my favorite tips include sticking to meal plans and freezing meals for storage.

This week's reading touched on the Hmong story cloths and the history behind Hmong culture. Relating to the green challenge, I started to think about seeing ethnic/traditional clothing items in thrift stores. Personally, I do not think that I would buy such items unless I feel like some sort of spiritual connection, since I do not want to be accused of appropriating another culture by buying second hand items. At the same time though, I also see the thrift shop as a nice way for ethnic items to bring attention to certain cultures and to find a new home for that item to be loved. 

?: do you consider buying traditional clothing from thrift shops cultural appropriation?

Ramsey Solutions, Dave. “15 Ways to Save Money on Groceries.” Daveramsey.com, Dave Ramsey, 25 Nov. 2018, www.daveramsey.com/blog/ways-to-save-on-groceries.