The 3/50 Project

I'll be the first to admit, I love shopping on the Internet. I appreciate the convenience, the delivery right to my door and the fact that I can do it all while sitting on my sofa in my pajamas. If I were to tell you how much I spent with Amazon last year, you would be shocked. I would be embarrassed. It's just so darn easy and almost anything you can think of is right there at the click of a mouse.

But, I am also an independent business lover. If I'm going to buy locally, I'm going to support independent businesses over chain stores whenever I can. I prefer locally-owned eateries like Cyd's at Junction City, One World on Main, or Freidalicious in Morton over any restaurant chain. If I want a cup of tea, I'm certainly not going to Starbucks. I'll head to Eli's in Morton or Leaves 'n' Beans in Peoria Heights. The same for furniture and appliances. Our locally-owned independent retailers are usually always able to meet or beat the big box store prices and their customer service is usually going to be over and above what anyone else can offer. I'm not saying you won't see me in Target or Kroger or Walgreens because you will but when I can, and the merchandise is available at independent shops, I do my best to patronize them. 

To help support our local businesses, I wanted to pass along some information I found about this organization called The 3/50 Project. The 3/50 Project started from a blog post written about two years ago by a woman named Cinda Baxter. I'll let you read more about that on The 3/50 Project's website, if you care to. Essentially, what this project is asking people to do is spend $50 a month in three of their favorite local independent businesses. You don't have to spend $50 more than you already do, or $50 at each of the three stores... just funnel $50 of what you would spend anyway into local businesses, rather than national chains or online. 

From the website, I learned for every $100 spent in locally-owned independent businesses, $68 of that remains in the community. If you spent the same amount in a national chain, only $43 stays here and if you spent that online, no money benefits your local area. See? It's good for you and your neighbors. 

Who is with me? Can we all agree to try to spend at least $50 of what we would normally spend anyway at our favorite local independent businesses? There are some amazing shops out there that I think we all want to see stick around and where we choose to spend our money directly impacts that. 

I'd love to hear what your favorite locally-owned independent businesses are and what makes them special to you. Do you think you could spend $50 a month at your favorites?

Comments

[Kellee]

I am quite certain that my coffee shop counts. Every Saturday I go to Sunrise Coffee, and basically stay for about 4-5 hours. I have lunch and a drink when I get there, and another drink or two while I'm there. It is amazing, delicious, and affordable. I have no doubt I spent $50 there a month, so I'm glad I'm participating! <3