The old three-word mantra in real estate is location – location – location. It does not matter how immaculate the house is or how many square feet the commercial building has, the one thing you can never change about a property is its location. That is the reason location is one of the most important factors in real estate transactions.
I would also urge you to choose wisely when making your holiday purchases this season. When you are purchasing your Christmas gifts and all those important ingredients for your holiday meals shop local – local – local.
Electric cooperatives know the importance of shopping local and supporting the local economy. Cooperatives were built by the community for the community. Electric co-ops were established with the hard-earned money of local farmers and property owners who pooled their resources to build power lines and substations to connect rural areas to electric service. Electric cooperatives are still owned and funded by local members today. The money used for construction and maintenance comes directly from the members at the end of the line every month. If there is any money left over at the end of the year those margins stay in the community and are returned to those members in the form of capital credits.
This year – more than ever – it is important to keep our hard-earned dollars in our local communities. The ongoing pandemic has forced local stores and shops to close their doors and modify their business practices. Let’s help them out this holiday season by keeping our purchases local. When you shop at local businesses approximately 67 cents of every dollar remains in the local community according to a study commissioned by American Express in 2018. So, as you start to take a look at your Christmas lists, please, also consider this list to help our local businesses.
- Take advantage of deals at local stores during Small Business Saturday on November 28. Keep that momentum going by shopping at local businesses throughout December.
- Consider buying South Dakota-made products for unique holiday gifts.
- Dine-in or carryout from locally-owned restaurants to take a break from holiday cooking.
- Tip delivery drivers or restaurant servers a little extra during the holidays to help offset the tips they may have missed when businesses were shut down in the spring.
If you make a little more effort to support local businesses during the holidays it will have a big impact on our community. So, think about that important decision to shop local – local – local over the next few weeks.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and a Merry Christmas.
