Local

My dad taught me that buying local is always the better option. He explained:

• The people that ran their own shops were usually experts of what they carried.
• Because they have to look you in the eye, it was difficult for them to screw you.
• If you get to know them, bargaining becomes easier. You’re both aware of each-other’s limits.
• Quality.
• Department stores may have an item priced a little cheaper but you pay for it in gas and time.

Naturally that lesson didn’t hit home until I went to Haiti where you can literally watch your money leave your hand, into the merchant’s, into their kid’s, who ran down the street and returned with milk for the family.