What?! I Only Clicked a Little!

Dear My Toy Garden friends!

Oh, that'd be great for Sam! Click! Love that for Grandma! Click! Awwww, that's sooo cute for Sophie! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! There, holiday shopping all done..whew! That sure was easy!

Zoom...off goes your dollars from your bank account to the online retailer's account in a bank far, far away never to be seen in your community ever again.

Or...if you will.....one stop shopping! Enter the mega world full of this, that and the other thing. You fill your cart with goodies for beneath the tree. No staff member acknowledges you or can be found when you need them. But no matter, you are done with your holiday shopping...whew...

Zoom...off goes your dollars from your bank account to the corporate office in the land of far, far away. Some of it trickles back to your community in the form of employee paychecks, sales tax paid to the state that funds community projects and offices, and property taxes paid in your community.

Or....one last trip with me if you will...you visit 3 locally owned stores who carry a wide variety of merchandise. You are greeted with a smile, by name. You are personally guided to just the perfect gifts...things only found in special stores like these. Your gifts are gift wrapped for free. You are helped to your car. Your shopping is done stress free. You know everyone will rave about their gifts.

Zoom...your dollars fly from your account to a local bank account that supports the local community. It goes to the retailer's account who lives in your neighborhood, pays community taxes, eats at the local restaurant, gets their haircut at the local salon, shops at the local grocery store, donates to the local charities, hires local employees who do the same local spending. It goes to pay taxes that pay for your schools, your fire department, your police staff, your library.

Where you spend your dollars matters...tremendously! With each local purchase, you send your dollars swirling around the other local businesses you drive past every day. With each local purchase you make, you keep the charm in your community. With each local purchase you make, you nurture a flicker of light that one day will shine brightly in what is now a vacant storefront. You make a difference one dollar at a time.

Playfully,
Toylady Janet