The 3/50 Project

Pick 3. Spend 50. Save your local economy.

The idea behind the 3/50 project is to commit to spending $50 every month in locally owned businesses, total. Maybe that means rethinking where you spend; choosing to pick up that new book or bird-feeder in a locally owned business instead of the big box where you’ve been shopping. Maybe it means eating out once a month at a locally owned restaurant. Maybe it means spending a little more in person, locally, rather than getting it cheaper (and impersonally) online.

Did you know that if half the employed population in the United States spent $50 a month in locally owned/independent businesses, that would produce more than $40 billion?

Did you know that for every $100 spent in locally owned/independent stores, $68 returns to the community? If you spend that in a chain or big box store, only $43 returns. If you spend it online nothing returns to the community.

Are there three independently owned business that you'd miss if they had to close? Stop in. Say hello. Buy something - even something small and inexpensive. Your purchases are what keeps those businesses around.