Where do you invest your money?

Have you invested in your community today?

Investing time and money in our community is one of the greatest gifts we can pass to future generations. Economic recycling in our individual communities promotes small business, growth and stability. Every time a chain restaurant or store comes into your neighborhood it has the potential to close a family-owned mom and pop shop on your corner. Yes, the guy who knows your name and sells those amazing burritos around the block from you is scared to death at the prospect of Taco Bell moving in.

Don’t think where you spend your funds has an important impact? Consider the reasoning behind our 2008 economic stimulus checks. In order to give the economy a boost, the Bush Administration gave out up to $600 per working individual and $1,200 per married couple, plus $300 per child to qualifying individuals who filed a 2007 tax return. The top level of government understands that where consumers spend their dollars is crucial to our society and its livelihood.

Where you choose to spend your money needs to be a conscious decision. A small, local store helps you out, too. The store’s prices are usually lower than big box chains and a good portion of that business owner’s profits are used to pay taxes on the property he owns or rents. Those monies, in turn, go to the city or town you live in and are added to the budget. The same budget that shells out cash for services we all use and benefit from – city landscape grooming, neighborhood programs, the salaries of the teachers that educate our children, snow removal, the upkeep of underground pipes, the list is endless. Still don’t care? Well, what if that small business closes and the property is bought by another business that prefers to outsource their jobs to other countries in order to save money? Now, you’re not only out of a personable, self-sufficient business owner, but you’re also out of a few less jobs in your neighborhood.

Small business also encourages our youth to be entrepreneurs and headliners of their own destiny. Being self-employed is not impossible and keeping hard-earned dollars in the hands of our neighbors and back into our community is one of the best ways to help build a vital atmosphere. To learn more about small business and what it can do for you, visit www.sba.gov.

Until next time, be a blessing to a stranger.

- The Lioness