Local or Big Box?

It’s always the question…

Pay more money and purchase things and/or hire locally

OR

Get a discount and buy from a Big Name Store?

We wish we could say that we have always been supporters of the Local Business Community that we live in, but in reality, we have only been looking in our bank account. We never took the time to look at the business in town or the Farmer’s Market on Tuesday’s.  But as we are going through the changes in how we handle our Grocery Money and Household Expenses and Savings Accounts, it seems like we might be able to take the time to reach out and support our local economy.

We know these things for sure:

• We do want to support our community.
• We do want to be a part of the social aspects in our community.
• We do want our family to participate in community events and we make efforts to do that.
• We understand the concept of Self-Employment and know some of the pressures that come with the idea of being a provider in a small community.

So with all of this in mind the next item to think about is always A #1 on our mind “How much is it going to cost?” We have been using that question since we got married 6 years ago. There has never been a time, and most likely will never be a time, when we don’t think about how it is going to affect our finances.

We are learning that keeping a close eye on our finances can be time consuming and eye opening and somewhat of a drag at times, but when we have that information within reach, it’s a whole lot easier to think about future purchases or how to build things into our budget.

Earlier this summer a friend of ours encouraged us to use local businesses for home repairs. He said it is actually a much better deal in the long run, because if you are not satisfied with the outcome… YOU KNOW WHERE THEY LIVE!!

As we drive around and deliver our paper route about 80% of our route is on County Hwys and Country Roads. About 40% of our subscribers are Dairy Farmers or Garden Farmers (one of them is an Organic Farmer. Another grows for the Farmer’s Markets in Southern WI all summer long!) We see LOCAL self-employed people 365 days a year and they are some of the hardest working people we have ever seen.

I think the only way for us to be a true supporter of our local businesses we are just going to have to take the steps to try something new. It’s very easy to run to Madison and see what’s available, but we are going to step outside of our “comfort zone” and start calling and checking the local listings.

We have been discussing this issue in our house for a while. It sounds like a great idea. Buying and hiring local seems like it is the best way to go, but I will have to confess that I doubt this will stop me from shopping @ Aldi’s and WalMart.

We would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on buying/hiring local. We really do not know much about it. If you have any “Do’s or Don’ts”, please send them along to us.