It's a Holiday Win-Win Situation

The holidays are here and we are reminded of it everyday. Just when we thought we had a break from Halloween, bam – Christmas trees have arrived! Holiday music is playing, decorations are up and the stress of holiday shopping is among us.

The holidays can mean more shopping and now more than ever, we have many options to choose where we spend our money. One option I want you to consider this year is buying local.

You may have heard the advertisements urging consumers to “Buy Local” for produce. One of the benefits of buying local produce is they are fresher than imported produce due to less travel time. In addition to produce, there are many other goods to consider when buying local – i.e., local shops, antiques, restaurants. The benefits of buying local with these goods is you may find unique items not found elsewhere and even more important is they put money back in your community.

Most states charge a sales tax rate on purchases of goods and services. A majority of the sales tax goes to the state and the rest is divided to local taxing authorities such as city, county, transit and possible special purpose districts. For example, if one person for the month spent money on gifts in their city, they would have put back a portion of their spending to their local libraries and emergency services for the year. While one person won’t impact a large dollar amount, the collective amount from the entire community can fund many community services in your area.

When you buy local, you are putting money back into your local libraries, emergency services, schools, highways, and parks. The next time you reach for your wallet, make sure to buy local to create a win-win situation. Find that unique item while keeping money flowing into your community!