buy local

A few years ago the local pharmacy that I used was bought by a big brand. I guess the contract is up because the local pharmacy is back, along with all the employees. When we went in for the grand opening, they all greeted me and asked how I was doing. :-)

We saw a news report on TV that the Main Street theater in the next town would probably have to go out of business when all the theaters switch to digital. The owners had mortgaged their home to buy the theater. So we decided to go see a movie there while we have a chance. I don’t remember the last time the two of us saw a first run movie, had popcorn and cokes and spent less than $20!

Before the movie, we had lunch at a locally owned restaurant.

We took a friend out for his b-day lunch and a cupcake. Both the restaurant and the bakery are locally owned.

(While we were at the bakery, my husbad went in the locally owned hardware store next door to pick up some stuff.)

Earlier this week it was in the teens when I borrowed my husband’s car to drive my father to the doctor. I adjusted the seat and reached up to adjust the mirror. Instead, the mirror broke right off in my hand. (All those laps have me not knowing my own strength!) I was really in the doghouse with my husband for breaking his car so I did the research for a replacement. All the after-market ones got really bad reviews, and the new ones were anywhere from $65 and up. I called a couple of local salvage yards and found one that told us to come on in to see what they could find. They ended up taking one off a wrecked car out back, and charged us $7.50! Yea local! While we were waiting in the salvage shop, we noticed a sign for a new cupcake shop. We stopped by, bought a couple of cupcakes and told the woman where we saw the sign. It ends up that the salvage yard is owned by her aunt and uncle. The cupcakes were very yummy and not too expensive either. Yea cupcakes!

we did our best to buy from locally owned businesses. It actually takes some research to find places when all the chains are on the main roads. We stayed in a state park and ate at 4 local restaurants.

We didn’t do any holiday shopping, but we did spend money with four local businesses… a garage, a restaurant, a bakery, and a hardware store.

http://www.the350project.net/home.html

We’ve been a couple of times and were recognized by the guys from last year. The veggies and strawberries have been wonderful plus we bought some plants from a guy who seemed thrilled to talk to us about them!

My husband had the day off so we decided to take a little trip. We went to a town 75 miles away, visited two museums and their gift shops, and ate lunch and dinner in local restaurants. We spent about $125, not enough to keep anyone open; but we had a fun day and came away with souvenirs and full bellies.

we’re trying to shop from local businesses as much as possible. I heard a news story before xmas which said that if you don’t buy from your local shops, most likely they won’t be there next year. It’s so easy and often less expensive to shop online, but that doesn’t help anyone around here. We’re able to pay all our bills and still save some money; I think we need to put something back into the local economy. We’ve been making local choices when we eat out, but it’s time to do more.