Sofi, thanking the local goats for her cheese :)There are so many things we can do to save the economy. One thing I am doing to help is to make every cent I spend be significant in some way. I am making sure as much of my money as possible is going directly to people and not big corporations. I look around me, I listen to what my friends are saying and I watch the news and I see that there are hundreds and thousands of people just like me suffering from the poor economy and suffering from the fees and rates banks pile on us. Sometimes just a few dollars can make a difference to a family like ours. When you are struggling to get by, a few dollars can buy milk, some more gas, or even an item of clothing for a child.
When I spend my money I want to know that that is where it is going. If money comes out of my home and away from my family (to buy clothing, food or gifts) I want to know that it is enabling someone else to purchase those same items. When you purchase from large corporations your $5.00 gets broken into parts - $4.70 goes to the corporation, ten cents goes to China, ten cents goes to running the business and ten cents goes to the person who is at the cash register. These numbers change according to what corporation you are purchasing from but the idea is basically the same, most of your money is going over-seas or to someone who already has enough.
This week I purchased the following items and I know where my money went:
Local Goat Cheese from Local Farm - $4.25 - Money went directly back into their business to keep them running and into their pockets to purchase food for their own family.
Handmade Sweater from Local Business Owner - $50.00 - This sweater will last me ten times as long as any machine-made sweater. The money went directly into the business to keep it running and into their pockets to support their family.
Jar of Honey from Local Farm - $3.25 - Money went directly to the farm owner. I even placed it in her hands.
Hand-spun Yarn - $10.00 - Money went directly to the person who raised the sheep.
Coffee at Local Coffee Shop - $4.50 - Money is helping to support their business. Hopefully if more people go there each day and spend $4.50 they won't go out of business during these rough times and they won't be driven out of business by Starbucks.
Groceries at a market that supports local agriculture, dance lessons from a local dance teacher...
The list goes on and on....
It feels really good to know that my money is going to real people. I almost feel like every time I shop I am making a donation, instead of just "spending money". On a more "morbid" note, I also think, "well, at least if I go down with the economy my money went to prevent other people from the same fate" - LOL!
So vote with your dollar and help out your neighbors and friends and local business people as well as anyone running a small business. We may be going through rough times but we can help each other simply by making our spending really count!
