Good Old Mom and Pop

I love a good bargain! How about you?

While I will never claim to be a super thrifty person, I enjoy saving money just like the next gal. I enjoy shopping at yard sales for kids clothes and toys and random household items, but alas, it is winter and I'll be itching to be "yard saling" in a few months. I have lots of hand-me downs for the kids, I try to make my own cleaning supplies (OK, sometimes), and we try not to buy stuff we don't need (again, most of the time, I'm not perfect)

There are lots of websites you can google with money saving tips: how to be frugal mom, how to reuse plastic bags 300 times, how to stretch a head of cabbage for 10 meals etc...I'm not linking to them because I don't follow any, but you get my point. You've probably seen them. However, there's something small I've been wrestling with that I thought I'd share.

With the economy being what it is, I'd like to take a few minutes to write about something that I've thought a lot about recently. As most people are, we are looking at our budget and making some trimmings where possible and making less trips to various stores unless we need to. With Christmas being over, I'm finding that much easier!


With big businesses announcing job cuts every day, I have to wonder what it does for the small business, you know, the little places you see all over and wonder, "What in the world do they sell there?" Or the small places you love to shop at because they carry unique and wonderfully cool things. Or the small hardware store versus large one, or small market versus large grocery store, or cool-individual toy store versus Walmart or Target.


I don't know about you, but I'm not much for big businesses. For those that know my family that might sound ironic since my husband is employed by a "big-business" home improvement store. We are grateful for that job as it helps provide for our needs and there have been times we have gotten some great deals that have helped make improvements on our home. But for the most part, we don't shop much there, unless he's getting a super-huge-can't-pass-it-up deal.


Without small businesses, we'd all be run over by the big companies. That's not to say all big businesses are bad, but when I think about the things I buy, say at Target or Giant (our local grocery store), I can find those things other places, at smaller stores. It would take some more running around to find them, perhaps, and I'm not all for that either, but it's not like they carry anything super unique that isn't found anywhere else. However, a lot of small stores have really neat things that you can't find anywhere else.

So what's the catch then? Why not always shop at small businesses? Well, you know the obvious answer, money! Small businesses have to charge a little bit more for all kinds of different reasons. They have bills to pay too, you know! And small businesses employ a lot of people. Take a look around sometime and think what would happen if some of the smaller businesses shut down. It would effect a lot of people.

I also have to say that advertising for some large businesses drives me nuts! The biggest offender is Wal-Mart. I am not trying to step on any walmart lover's toes so please don't get offended by these comments. It's really just my humble and personal opinion. But their advertisements of "Save Money, Live Better, Walmart," just tick me off. First of all, the store is totally overwhelming and I don't like walking a mile to find something I need when most of the time I can't find it anywhere because there is so much STUFF in that store. Second, whoever said that if you save a few pennies or dollars, your life will suddenly be better? Is life about saving money? Is "living better" defined by our back account? I certainly think not! Where is our trust in the One who promises to care for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field? Isn't it He who can make our lives better?

Don't get me wrong. Big businesses support a lot of people, provide a service to others, employ many people. They are not bad necessarily. I do understand the need to save money and that certain stores carry items cheaper than others, but I also understand the need to support the "little people." I love the little shops, the way you can talk to the owners and ask about their products and where they came from. There is a local soap store here where we buy all of our bath soap. She makes all of her own products and whenever we go there, she remembers our kids and has treats for them. She shows us new stuff or gives samples if we want them. I feel comfortable asking about her products. It's the advantage of a small personal business.

I'm also recently into buying homemade things. I love finding cool kids toys at yard sales for cheaper than new but sometimes I want my kids to have original stuff too. Check out etsy.com for an overwhelmingly cool site where people can sell their homemade stuff. Really addicting, by the way. If you spend too much time reading other people's blogs, get ready for a new passion.

Now, after saying all that, does it mean I'll never shop at Target again? No, of course not. But I will think hard about the things I need to buy and whether or not I'll buy them there or look somewhere else. And a bargain is a bargain so if I found a super deal at a big store, I'd consider it.

But I'll also think twice at whether the 24 cents rollback savings are really that important.