Shop Locally: Get More Flavor for Your Dollar

I recently had the opportunity to visit a locally-owned, coffee shop called Sacred Grounds in upstate New York.   Sure, I could have stopped at that famously-named coffee shop along the way, but I didn't.  I shopped locally.  Why?  For several reasons.

Firstly, it's new in our community and I thought I would check it out. I like to give new local businesses a try.  As a society, we have lost our way in the "Big Box Mart" industrialization for more and more profits, while sacrificing people and our environment.  Plus, shopping locally keeps more money in the local community.  And, shouldn't we really be re-building our economy from the inside out vs. mortgaging our future with loans from overseas?