Member-only story
We’ve grown accustomed to hearing this: “Support the local economy”, or “Shop Local”. This, quite honestly, used to have an entirely different meaning to me than it does today. I would remember to make the occasional purchase, maybe of a shirt or a Christmas gift for a relative, and give myself a pat on the back. I’d shopped local. I’m supporting the local economy. However, the true notion of supporting the local economy goes much deeper than this.
The point of this writing is to show the amplified effects of shopping and investing locally, and show how you can make changes to responsibly support your local economy.
The local economic circle
Think of your local economy as a circle. The circle includes the people, organizations (schools, charities, social organizations, churches, etc), and businesses in the community. Money flows into the circle from the outside via spending in local businesses, paychecks to workers, and government programs.
Once cash comes into the circle, it can be recycled & reused by circulating it through local businesses. For example, initial income to individuals is spent at local stores, who spend their earnings at local restaurants, which deposit their earnings into the local bank, who provides liquidity in the form of loans to other local…
