I was running recently and grabbed this quick pic of a bus board that I saw as I crested a hill in my neighborhood!  (yes, that’s multi-tasking at its finest)  I thought this was so clever of Credit Union Atlantic to send a message to potential customers to include banks in their list of ‘shop local’ destinations! Brilliant. We all know the importance of shopping local.  Keeping dollars in the local economy, building a strong community well-being and job creation are key. But there are other wonderful benefits too.

When you shop local you are protecting the unique character and flavor of your city. You almost always receive better customer service and  staff often have superior  product knowledge to offer. It’s all about the experience!  Getting to know local store owners is a great reason to shop local. Local business owners are well informed about their products because they know their customers, they can easily adjust their inventories to include the goods and services local people want to buy. It’s a win win!

These are other great motivators for keeping our spend local.  What’s your favorite local hang out?  I just discovered another new one today Downtown Dartmouth J  Food Noise – offering cooking classes, healthy baking and crock pot meals to go!  www.foodnoise.org