I just spent the past two days at a conference that was all about making money. The words yield, capital, investment and RevPar (Revenue Per Available Room) were bandied around like bon mots.

I hated it.

When the CEO of a company I have supported for a long time started talking about property development without even mentioning the thing that makes his brand so special (hint: art), something inside me collapsed into a dark hole. I had been spending money with his business for years, blithely thinking I was supporting artists.

Turns out I was supporting a rich guy get richer.

It is gross to me that some sectors worship the Big Bank Account in the Sky. These companies have no face, and with that facelessness comes a dangerous sort of freedom: no human accountability.

When a business moves from the hands of the founders and their families, into the hands of boards, shareholders and senior executives, a lot more effort needs to be made to ensure that the company behaves like a community member, and not a detached robotic entity churning out dividends.

I have no problem with people getting rich but I do have a problem when corporations forget that they are made by people, for people (and the planet on which we depend).

So I have reached a new stage of disappointment and, thus, motivation to change. I only want to spend my money with businesses that actively look after people and the planet (so they can afford to keep doing so).

From Galluzzos, the green grocers on Glebe Point Road who donate loads of money to church behind my house (the church their great-grandparents joined when they first arrived in Australia), to the florist across the road who has been running his shop for 20 years, this will be my mindful preference from now on.

I don’t want to spend another dollar increasing the wealth of a social succubus.

Do you think about where you spend your money? Do you know anything about the big companies (good or bad) that you want to share?