Living a local lifestyle is a simple way to involve yourself in your community and live a cost efficient life.
Avoid expensive shopping trips and impulse buys of unnecessary items and stick to shopping within your neighborhood.
Not only will you help stimulate your local economy, but you will also walk away at the end of the month with some extra cash.
Here are 11 simple ways you can save money while supporting your local business and residents.
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1. Buy and Sell Secondhand
By buying and selling secondhand with neighbors you are eliminating a lot of costs associated with traditional shopping.
Besides spending less money purchasing items at their resale value, you will also cut the cost of shipping or transportation!
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You can use local classifieds sites like Krrb to have a safe and friendly experience with locals!
2. Join a CSA
Whether you are living solo or with others- joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a great option for anybody looking to cut back on food spending.
At the beginning of the season, you simply sign up for what you would like to receive from local farmers.
All CSA’s are different, but you will most likely be offered a range of fruits and vegetables, dairy products and meats.
3. Shop at Farmers Markets
Maybe you’re not that committed to cooking and don’t need so many ingredients, we get it, we like to order in dinner too.
In any case, by visiting farmers markets you can pick and choose what you want when you want it.
Whether you’re picking up veggies to cook up for dinner or eggs for the week your receipt is going to be less than if you went to a big brand supermarket.
4. Get a Plot at a Community Garden
Let’s take this one step further, shall we?
Community gardens are also an option and become more and more popular in cities and towns all over.
You can join one of these gardens and grab a plot where you can plant and grow your own produce and herbs.
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This is great especially if you’re living in a city without any personal outdoor space.
5. Host a Clothing Swap
Buying new clothes every season is definitely not essential, but we understand that you want to revamp your wardrobe.
Host a clothing swap or attend one if you get the opportunity to.
6. Shop Local
It can be a hardware store or an electronics store or well, anything, but by shopping locally it will help save you a pretty penny and you will also be greatly stimulating the economy of your town and it’s residents.
From purchasing locally sourced items that eliminate costs of shipping, to hiring for services locally, you’re going to see the financial benefit of keeping things close to home.
7. Have a Yard Sale
Yard sales, garage sales, stoop sales and every type of sale in between.
These classics are classics for a reason- they work!
There are little to no fees associated with holding your own sale on your property and all the money you make goes right into your pocket.
8. Swap Your Books
Much like clothing swaps, you can also participate in book swaps!
If you’re buying books and reading them within a week, the tally on how much you’re spending is going to add up pretty quickly.
Save your favorites for your bookshelf, but swap with others to pick up a new read and a happier bank account.
Note: If you’d rather get cash for your books, you can use BookScouter.com to sell your used books for the most money possible.
9. Support Local Makers
It’s common to fall into the habit of using household names and big brands, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for you to break that habit.
Put the extra effort into finding and buying from up and coming local makers and artists.
10. Attend a DIY Workshop
If you’re looking to make home updates or add a trendy item to your home, you don’t need to go to the mall and lay down the big bucks.
There are free DIY workshops all over the place that will supply you with the materials and training you need to make something great.
11. Join Forces with Local Parents
Being a parent isn’t easy to begin with and then start tacking on the costs of raising a family.
Parents are sticking together in their towns and creating groups of babysitting coops where they rotate their schedules to take turns babysitting a group of children.
The Bottom Line
After following along with these 11 simple and fun ways to get involved with your community, you will be happy to see how much spare cash you have accumulated over the course of the year.
Live local and spend less!
While I admire some of these ideas, some communities just lack the resources to make logical to shop locally. Sadly, my tax dollars and I have to go elsewhere.