paul smith blog

Who doesn’t like to save money? Nobody. Who does like to support small business? Not enough people. If you realize that you would save money by supporting small business products and services I think you would be more apt to do so. You just have to know what small businesses to support. Here are my top three ways that I save money from buying small business products and services.

Fur-Zoff. On average, pet owners spend close to $100 a year on lint rollers to clean pet hair from all over the house, in their cars, and on their clothes. A major company, 3M or some other corporate entity, usually makes these lint rollers. Now, if you take a look at Fur-Zoff, you will see that you pay $10 once and it lasts nearly forever. Plus, it works better than a lint roller as it gets hair that is embedded in the fabric. Point of the story is, purchasing a Fur-Zoff will save you money, support a small business, and it works better than the product you are currently using, not to mention it is made in the United States. Don’t believe me? Check out the website: FurZoff.net. They have a video and an online store for your convenience.

Coffee Shops. Starbucks is average for a cup of regular coffee and McDonalds is just plain cheap. But the difference between the chain coffee shops and the ma-and-pa coffee shops is the refills. At a local coffee shop you pay about the same price, maybe a tad more than the chains, but you usually get one free refill or unlimited refills for 25 cents a cup. And if you are the type of person that enjoys lounging in a coffee shop, reading or getting some work done, the refills will save you a lot of money. Take this for example: You go to the coffee shop three times a week for 3 hours and buy 3 cups of coffee at $1.50 each. That’s $13.50 a week on coffee. Now, if you go to a local shop with refills: $1.85 upfront and 25 cents a refill your new grand total is: $7.05, almost half of what you were paying before. That’s a grand total of $335.40 a year saved on coffee while supporting a small, local business. Not bad.

Car Repair. Last summer my radiator cracked while driving home from work. Steam all over the pace, people staring and pointing as I am trying to make it the last few blocks to my parking lot. It was bad. So I called all of the area car repair companies, most all national chains or dealerships. They wanted $600 to $1000 plus a one or two week wait time for the part to arrive. Wasn’t going to cut it for me. So I looked up the nearest local repair shop, called appropriately ‘Affordable Repair’. I explained to them my situation and they told me to bring it in if drivable. They were four blocks away…I made it there steam and all. They took a look and told me they could do the job for $300 plus labor, which turned out to be an extra $75. They also had it done the next day. The owner personally drove across town to pick up the new radiator and had it replaced. No wait time for parts to arrive from across an ocean and no crazy fees from a dealership either. I saved almost $700 and a week of time; I was happy. Now, you’ll have to find a local mechanic that you can trust, and that shouldn’t be that hard. If you are loyal, they will be loyal, and trust me the dealerships are only loyal to the dollar.

Look around town, there are plenty of small businesses to support and the best part is that most will try their hardest to support you. You, personally, can save hundreds of dollars and create a vibrant economy in your local community.