April 8th, 2005 - Buy locally–how locally?
I’ve always preferred to buy locally, although I didn’t always do so. I’m thinking a lot more about it lately. But I’m conflicted on its importance versus maximizing my money. For example…
Bank: I use a local credit union, but also have an ING account. ING has a higher interest rate (now at 3%) which is very nice. But they are far from local–I think they are European (German?)! They don’t employ a sole in my area as it’s an internet-only bank. Not even a bank, really, it’s just a savings account. (They also have our mortgage, by the way. And can’t take the payments out of my ING account!) My credit union employs only people in the local area, and I am friendly with many of the employees. It’s the sort of place where I don’t have to verify my identity because they all know who I am. But the interest rate is barely over 1%. So…do I support my local credit union or have more money? [At the moment, the balances aren’t all that high, so we aren’t talking about all that much money. However, we had quite a bit in there over the last few years and received a few hundred dollars in interest. The difference was significant at that point.)
Groceries: We shop at two grocery stores. Both are chains, but both are local. One might have 6 stores–very local! The other one has 20 or more, but is primarily found in NE WI. As I move into buying more organic products, I’m becoming familiar with the natural food stores in the area. So far, this is The Red Radish. It’s a small store owned by two local women. I’m sure the prices in the organic food sections of Festival and Pick ‘n’ Save will cost less (they are also 8-10 miles closer to home). But I also like the completely locally owned store option. Which do I use? This one is complicated by the fact that we’ve rarely been able to stick to the frugal grocery budget we’ve set. Buying organic is going to cost more period (some say it’s less, but nothing I’ve looked at is cheaper!). Every little bit less something costs could help. But I won’t be supporting local families that way.
Money isn’t the only thing that matters to me, but it is certainly a major factor in my choice to live simply. Does it cost less? is the question most often asked when decision-making. Other factors, however, are also considered–will the more expensive option last longer? Is it more environmentally friendly? Do I like the company more? (I chose my Saturn for the company as much as for the car.)
Oh! I just thought of one area where I’ve chosen local over cost: books. I research books on Amazaon, then buy them at my local LP Books store. It always costs more–especially if they are available used at Amazon–but I want a bookstore to remain in Oshkosh! [We actually have two; the other is The Paper Tiger. It focuses more on mags and papers, but the last time I went in it seemed to have more books.] Hmmm..exept for the book I’ve most recently been thinking about. Now I’m starting to get conflicted again–I think used is better than new. But we don’t have any used bookstores in town for my to haunt which sends me back to Amazon. ::sigh::