People hear them constantly, the complaints about how pricey things at home are and the boasts about how someone can travel to Estevan or Weyburn in order to buy the same thing while getting it cheaper.
So, why buy locally if you can get everything you need somewhere else? Well, for a number of reasons.
The first being it stimulates the local economy, which in turn helps everyone in the community. If driving to Weyburn or Estevan then you are helping their economy and their sports programs or local charities. It is said that approximately 45 cents out of every dollar spent in a community is reinvested locally. (www.shoplocally.com)
Local businesses support local community events and teams. Everything from gift certificates to a variety of tangible items or cash donations, businesses with a local tie are usually more willing to donate locally. There are a number of businesses from outside of the local area who do donate to the community, but these businesses will have a local tie to the area.
The local stimulation of an area's economy also means your friends and neighbours will be able to maintain a job in the area. People working at local businesses usually live in the local area. If a store is forced to close because of a lack of support, then friends or family may be out of the job.
Overall this aids in fostering a sense of community. People work together to ensure their town survives. To become a destination spot for tourists throughout the year, people at home have to support their local businesses to ensure they remain otherwise a lack of services will correlate to a lack of visitors to the town. Additionally, local businesses often offer a distinct sense of character that helps bring in tourism. Simply look at The Pearl Boutique or King's Department Store and any number of other businesses in the area, which add to the uniqueness of the town.
The Town of Carlyle website states it has a number of services: veterinarian, plumber, electrician, retail clothing store, groceries, restaurants, flower shops, green houses, gift shops, pharmacies, audio video needs, computers, hardware, lumber, salons, a fitness gym, service stations, and tire shops to name a few, though there are many more. Ultimately close to everything you could ever need is found at home.
It's also more environmentally friendly. When everything you need is already being brought to town by a vehicle, it's redundant to drive elsewhere to pick up the same item. For those who reside in town it is even possible to cut harmful emissions completely by walking or riding a bike to the store.
By investing locally items actually have a better chance of going down in price as well because the store isn't attempting to make up lost funds through a high price. Take a grocery store for instance. If they are unable to move items quickly enough they will suffer a loss, which requires items to be sold at a higher price to recoup from this possible loss.
