I Want to Quit The Gym

I joined Bally Total Fitness last February with my head full of marathon training plans and Spin class dreams.  Right after they ran my credit card for a 13-month membership, I tore my adductor (inner thigh muscle), and was more or less out of commission for nearly three months.

I also discovered in that time, that it wasn't just a fluke that it took me twenty minutes to get to and from the gym, and that 40 minutes round trip travel time means that I just don't want to go to the gym.  I'd rather spend almost an hour doing other things, and my membership was languishing.

So I tried to cancel it, and here's where things get weird.

In spin class one morning, people were talking to the instructor about the gym being sold to another company.  I asked my co-worker who goes to the same gym about this, and she confirmed it.  Since I signed a contract with Bally, I assumed that I still need to cancel my membership with them, so I followed the instructions on the back of the contract, sent them a letter in the mail and requested that they cancel my membership.  The contract stated that I could get out early if the club was sold to other entity, so I said that was why I was canceling.

No response.

Finally, I emailed them and asked what was going on, and they said I would have to cancel with the current owner.  Then I got lazy and didn't do anything about it until last month since they told me I would have to physically go to the club and fill out a form then make a phone call (of course).  I finally filled out the form, and then called the number on the form from my car just in case I needed to go back inside and yell at someone.

According to the woman I spoke to on the phone, my membership was actually cancelled back in June when I sent that letter to Bally--you know, when they said that they could not cancel my membership?  The new club says that they don't have my refund money, Bally does, but when I emailed Bally, they said they needed proof of the June cancellation in order to issue me a refund.

Simple enough, right?

Of course not.

I emailed Blast! Fitness (the new club owner) and asked them to send me proof of cancellation so that I could send that on to Bally.  I didn't think this was an overly complicated request, but so far I've dealt with six people who have been unable to help me.  Another fun thing, when there are a lot of responses to an email, their system deletes the previous ones, and the new person I'm dealing with doesn't have any of the clarifications that the previous person had gotten.  And you can't email a person directly, just the generic info@ email.

They're friendly, but completely unhelpful

 So we've been going back and forth for quite a while.  They've send me numerous confused responses and a copy of my contract in the mail (which I already have a copy of and can print off at any time since it's in my email).  Finally, one person wrote back and basically said, "I'm showing your membership was cancelled in June, what is it that you want?"  This was even though in the email I sent her I said "I need PROOF OF CANCELLATION" In bold letters, in caps and in a slightly larger font.

Finally, Bally said that Blast! Fitness should just contact them directly, and that's where I'm at right now.  If it wasn't a sizeable amount of money, I would have given up already, and I'm sure that's what they're hoping for, but $120 is walking around money, so I will continue to fight.

If you are considering joining a gym, I beg you to consider three things:

1. How far is it from your house?  If it takes a long time to get there, you will probably not go.  The gym I used to belong to was far away from my house, but close to work, and that made all the difference.  This gym is close to nothing, and even though it's technically only 3.5 miles from my house (according to google maps), it takes forever to get there.
2. Do you really need a gym membership?  Can you work out at home/outside?  Is there a nearby place where you can hike or walk? Can you find a place that doesn't make you sign a contract?  Can you buy a treadmill/elliptal/stationary bike?
3. Quitting the gym is an arduous task--do you have the mental fortitude to do it?  It doesn't actually burn calories to be so exasperated, which is a real shame.

Snow Day!

...but not a real snow day because I still had to go to work--drat!  I am pleased to report that since it was snowing out, I was unable to do my morning four miles.

BUT

I convinced myself to use that home gym I brag about all the time, and did a kettlebell workout with the handsome Bob Harper:

Bob wants you to work!

My legs and arms are still a bit shaky and I didn't even do the whole thing (ran out of time).  Success!

Weekend Reading: The Willpower Instinct

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal

This is a very appropriate book to kick of 2013.  Since so many people start off the year with lofty resolutions that seem to peter off, it behoooves us to take a look at the notion of willpower and see if we can harness a little bit more and actually meet those resolutions.

Personally, I went into this book a bit skeptical but also intrigued.  Since I'm the type of person who hates feeling out of control but still frequently gives into temptation, I was not really convinced that this book would do anything for me.  I pleased to report that I was pleasantly surprised.  I'm certainly no saint for having read this book, but putting into practice some of the ideas may actually work.  Unfortunately, it's too soon to tell, but I'll keep you posted.

Best takeaways:

• Willpower is controlled by the prefrontal cortex region of the brain, so everyone has willpower, but some are better at tapping into it than others.
• When people encounter sugary snacks, the reason the treats are so hard to resist is because our blood sugar actually drops in anticipation of eating the snack.  This is so that if we do actually eat it, we don't go into a sugar coma, but it actually makes resisting that much harder.  It's true!  It's not (as much) your fault!
• Willpower and self-control are finite, and you can run out, but you can also exercise your self-control muscle and gain better willpower endurance.  Meditation apparently helps in this regard, and the more skeptical you are about meditation, the better the result (though I still don't really want to try it out, but I might).
• When we are 'good' and recognize that we're good, we give ourselves much more permission to be bad.  Studies have even shown that thinking about giving money to charity--not even actually doing it increased desire to buy something extravagant.  Thankfully, by knowing this and thinking about it, we can quell those urges and get back on track.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book.  I don't typically read books that seem like self help, but this is much more rooted in science, which makes it feel less like self help and more just like logic.  This is not a book to just sit down and plow though.  Even the author says that you should read one chapter at a time and try the techniques mentioned before going onto the next one.  So I'm going to sit down with it again and try that out--I'll keep you posted.


This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

It Pays For Itself

This is a phrase that I've heard many people use and that I've used myself, but for some reason, the other day, I started thinking about what it actually means.

Example: When I thought this, I was just leaving yoga class.  I do Bikram yoga, which is hot yoga, so when I leave the studio, I am a sweaty mess.  I need shoes to wear to and from class that can get bathed in my particular sweaty musk.  In the summer, it's flip-flops, but once it started getting cold, I was a bit concerned about what to do.

Thankfully, a couple years ago, I bought the faux Uggs that Old Navy sells i.e. Adoraboots:

Mine are sparkly silver

They are certainly ugly, and I would never normally wear them out of the house, but it turns out, they are super handy for the yoga.

Digression

I have been on the quest for a decent pair of house slippers for years.  Perhaps it's because I'm picky that I haven't been able to find any, but my criterea are:

1. Non-skid sole--we have hardwood floors and I would prefer not to slip and slide around on them.
2. Some kind of back-- I do not care for any backless footwear, even my flip flops are slingback.
3. Both of these goals are just a way of saying that I want slippers I feel comfortable in rather than shoes that make me feel like I'm going to fall either out of them or because of them.

Apparently ALL slippers are fuzzy on the bottom and have no back.  I've been looking for literally years.  So I was quite excited when I found these adoraboots, but quite dismayed when I realized that instead of just keeping my feet warm, they made my feet HOT.  Like sweaty hot--gross hot.

So they went into the back of my closet until I realized that they worked for going to yoga.

Why is this story so long, you may wonder.  Well, I was leaving yoga the other night,  looked down at my ugly footwear and thought, these slippers have really paid for themselves.  Then I wondered what I meant by that, and what that expression actually means at all.

It's good that I found a use for something I bought that would have otherwise cluttered up my closet until landing at the thrift store, but does that really mean they've paid for themselves?  Is this just a little phrase that we tell ourselves to justify purchases that otherwise seem out of bounds or extravagant?

For instance, how many times do you have to wear a sweater before it pays for itself?  If the sweater is $30, would you have to wear it 15 times before you would say it was worth it?  Are we saying that renting the sweater for $2 a wear would be a reasonable investment?

I can see this phrase working in certain situations, for instance if you're currently driving a regular car and switch to a hybrid, you could look at the gas savings as the car paying for itself because it is literally saving you money that you can put toward buying the car.

Are there other situations where this works, or is it usually just an excuse to buy something?  Was it moronic for me to think this about my faux Uggs, or was I actually onto something?

Weekend Reading: Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail

Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail by Caitlin Kelly.

I picked this book mostly because I loved the title (wordplay!) and because after working in retail for most of my life and just sort of going numb to the way things are, I thought it would be interesting to get an outsider perspective on it (and revel slightly in the fact that I no longer have to do it).

My review, in a sentence, is that this is an important book, but one with far too many flaws to really have the impact that it should.  Kelly is a professional journalist who, feeling the pinch of the recession and the cutback that most journalists are feeling these days, wants a source of steady income and takes a job at a North Face store.  The problem with this book, and one that I didn't think would occur considering that this writer is a professional writer who has thus far managed to keep herself fed and clothed using the power of her prose, was that this book is just quite poorly written.  I don't know if the original draft was too short and she just added a lot of padding, but this is honestly the most repetitive book I've ever read.

I read this in an afternoon, and perhaps it was intended to be read over the course of months, or the author wanted to just excerpt each chapter out as a stand-alone essay because she kept repeating herself over and over again.  I feel like I'm repeating myself just mentioning it more than once, but at least I'm aware of it.  One of the other major flaws--she only worked one shift a week, usually just five hours.  On one hand, it's a bit shocking that working that few hours could make a person crack after just two years, but on the other, it's a bit disingenuous to call this a "career" in retail.

Best takeaways:
--We expect stores to provide a high level of customer service, yet retail employees are barely paid more than minimum wage, the industry has 100% turnover and staff are rarely trained.  This leads to frustration for the customer and abuse for the staff.  Kelly mentions that on several occasions, particularly when she asked too many questions, she was rewarded with inaction.

--Expectations from on high.  At this store, employees were given a daily sales goal.  It was a pretty arbitrary number and they were expected to meet it, but whenever Kelly asked what would happen if they didn't meet the sales goal, no one had an answer.

--Lack of employee support. At one point in the book, Kelly broke the de-tagger, which is that tiny gadget that takes tags off of clothes.  Because it was broken, staff had to constantly use one of the other two, which are bolted to the counter.  This necessitated a lot of hopping around, and took up more time.  She later found out that the replacement de-tagger cost something like $10, but their store went without one for months.

--Ludicrous demands and policies.  I alluded to this when I talked about my experiences at Barnes & Noble and how obnoxious upselling is, but it bears repeating.  I've never worked at a clothing store, but I thought it was interesting that they had a person on staff whose job it was to 'stage' the store.  This meant that every so often, someone would completely re-organize the store so that the staff never knew where anything was.  This was to create new displays and highlight certain collections, obviously, but it also seems like a tremendous waste of time and effort.  Of course, this was something I wanted to know more about, but it was only mentioned briefly once.  This is something that the frontline staff has no control over, but they have to deal with the fallout of not being able to find anything for customers and we, as customers, have to wait longer.

Overall:
Disappointing.  This book says something needs to be said, but it's just poorly written.  I was hoping for more of a retail version of Nickle and Dimed, but this is half fluffy memoir, one quarter analysis of the retail industry and just one quarter whining/boasting.  In writing something so sloppily, I feel like Kelly looks down on her readers the same way corporate overlords look down on retail employees, but that might be a bit of a stretch.

Best of 2012

Maybe my year wasn't quite as great as Adele's,
but close.

We have to end the year on a high note, so after completely Debbie Downering this blog yesterday, let's take a look at the stuff that happened this year that is awesome (it's a much longer list).

1. Paid Vacation!
This year, I went on vacation to Sweden, Denmark and Minneapolis and still got paid even though I wasn't working! One positive about working in the non-profits is that you may not get paid much per hour, but they give you a lot of vacation.  I started out with 21 days vacation + personal time that accrues.  It's just silly, but I am not complaining--at all.

2. Free Yoga!
This year I started getting into yoga for the first time in my life, which has made me stronger overall, and possibly slightly more flexible (though I really don't think so).  If I was paying for this yoga, I would not be able to afford it, but the studio allows me (and a few other people) to exchange light cleaning duties for unlimited free yoga!  Being in the hot room makes winter much easier to bear, and I think I'm getting some ab definition...  maybe.

3. Free Bike!
After my bike was stolen, I had the sads big time.  I still wander back behind our house where it used to be hoping that the person who took it just needed it for an emergency and would return it when finished.  Of course, that is not the case.  BUT, I put an ad on Freecycle saying that my bike was stolen and asking if anyone had one they weren't using that I could have, and someone responded!  I got a new-to-me bike that's in really good shape completely for free.  I need to take it to a mechanic for a once-over, buy a basket and some lights, but then I'll be back on the road in time for spring puddle season!

4. Walking to Work!
Not really much else to say about this one, but the walk to work clears my head, wakes me up and lets me smile at the quirky world I live in.

Walking home from work in the snow, I stopped
to make this tiny snowman and put him on a Stumpchair.

5. Bonus Money!
Though I do make less money working at only one job, I still fill in at two other libraries.  It's a bit of a grind to work those extra hours, but it's also fairly awesome because they don't expect as much of me.  Yes, that sounds really lazy, but I'm basically just a warm body who can do that job, but who doesn't have real responsibilities.  Double bonus, one of the libraries I fill in at still pays time-and-a-half on Sundays.  Bonus money gets split between my Roth IRA and my travel fund, so I know I'm not squandering it.

6. Crock Pot!
At first I was a bit intimidated by the crock pot, but now I absolutely love it and would never want to be without it.  Everything made in the crock pot tastes better--fact!  I can use it to soak beans and barley, which are frequent work staples and doing them in the crock pot is nearly effortless.  I can simmer away delicious healthy soups that not only taste amazing but also make my house smell good.

7. Home Gym!
I have broken up with my gym (though that's still a work in progress--more on that in a later post) but I have also created a highly functional home gym that has everything I need.  For the days when I don't have time to run or go to yoga, I can still get in a good workout without leaving my house.  2013 shall be the year of abs!

8. Friends!
Two of my besties came out to visit me this year for my birthday, and I'm currently making plans to go on a mini-break with two other besties in the spring.  I'm so lucky to not only have so many wonderful friends, but  also to have friends who I don't see that often, but can catch up with instantly, years later, and it feels like no time has passed at all.

9. Learning How to Live Within My Means!
It's my one-year anniversary of my job, and I now know what to expect at work, but also exactly how much I'll make and how to budget accordingly.  Setting up my budget last year was all guesswork, and I was still on a high from the excitement of even getting this job, so I wasn't making great choices.  Now, I have an entire budget from 2012 to refer back to, and nothing should really be changing for 2013 except for the fact that I should buy fewer clothes.

10. Clean(er) Closet
I'm ushering in the new year with a cleaner and better organized closet.  Yes, my closet will never be perfect, mostly because it's a narrow/ deep hidey hole under a staircase, but I think I finally have it sorted out in a way where everything has a place and I can actually find things.  Plus, I only had to spend $16.99 on a six-shelf organizer and I used furniture we already had to organize the rest.

11. Free Holiday Party + Holiday Bonus!
At my library, we have an awesome Friends of the Library group.  Many of them are there on a daily basis sorting donated books, cleaning DVDs and CD, and twice a year they have books sales that make some serious cash.  Apparently, they also give the staff a holiday bonus!  Also, the regular library patrons were coming in every day before xmas and giving us homemade cookies, truffles, donations and cards.  As if that wasn't overwhelming enough, The Progressive Democrats of Rhode Island, which is a group that regularly uses our meeting spaces, collected money from their members and gave us $100 for a staff holiday party!  This is the first time in my working life that my holiday party wasn't a potluck, and it was so nice not to have to stress about what to bring.  This is the stuff that makes it easy to love my job.  Like I always say, it doesn't pay in money, but it does pay in warm fuzzies.

What awesome things happened to you guys in 2012?

Worst of 2012

These last two days of 2012 are all about reflection.  Which celebrities had a great year (Channing Tatum)?  Which celebrities had a bad year (Lindsey Lohan)?  Etc. ad infinitum.  But, people love lists, so you have to give them what they want.  I present you with my worst financial moments of 2012.

1. Bartered Away 401k
After the library where I work received news that we were suffering a major budget cut, we did what any other library would do to avoid closing three weeks--we took it out of the employees' already meager pay. Yes, I'm still pissed about this and will remain so.  Silver lining--I got an extra week off-paid, but I didn't really accomplish anything that week.  As I've said before, I love my job, but I don't want to drop dead at the reference desk!  Save for retirement, people!

2. Less Income
I don't know why it didn't occur to me before, but by having only one, full-time job, I'm making significantly less money than I was before.  A friend asked me recently how that could be, and it all comes down to: 1. working fewer hours than before a.k.a. a normal workweek instead of 40 hours one week and 45 the next 2. Making less per hour  3. Paying for health insurance.  Being a grownup is kind of bullshit, but at least I can walk to work!

3. Wanting to go out
Now that I have a reasonable work schedule, I had/have to really remind myself that neither my waistline nor my wallet can afford to go out all the time.  Going out is fun!  Eating out is exotic!  But it all costs money, and I don't have much to spare.

4. Stolen Bike
My beautiful, tricked-out (blinking lights and basket mean tricked-out) bike was stolen by nefarious jackanapes, which left me not only bikeless, but also feeling violated and paranoid.

5. Car Repair
My stupid car keeps breaking!  The windshield wipers keep freaking out on me by not working in sync and getting stuck together.  Presently, only the left one works, but as that's the one I need most, I've been lazy about bringing it in to get fixed (again).  Also, according to the city of Providence, my 2007 Chevrolet Malibu has increased in value from 2011-2012 and will be taxed more because of it.  You stay classy, Providence.

Not my car, but this is basically what happens

6. Parents
My parents and I don't have the greatest relationship in the world, but usually they send me birthday and xmas cards.  Now that I have a full-time job, it seems that I am completely cut off.  When I saw then in September, they didn't pay for anything (usually I get a meal, maybe a little something for airfare, etc.) and this year they didn't even send me an xmas card.  Yes, I am 33 and shouldn't need money from my parents, but see point #1 and #2 above. I actually could use their help more than ever, but I'm also certainly not going to ask for it.

7. Student Loans
My student loans were outsourced to a new company this year, and getting back on Income Based Repayment was a godawful nightmare of a gong show.  All of the progress I had made in reducing my amount owed--years of progress, was basically wiped out in a matter of months.

How about you?  What totally sucked for you this year?

Clean Slate For 2013

Can you believe that it's almost 2013?  It's just weird--not that another year has passed, but for some reason 2013 just seems like a weird number to me.  It'll take me a while to get used to writing that.  Anyway, my plan for the new year is to start it with a clean slate.  I've been carrying balances on my credit cards for the past month (no late fees or anything like that, just more owed than I would like).  With my next paycheck I'm paying them all completely off and heading into the new year with nothing owed except stupid student loan debt.

I'm also doing a major overhaul of my closet and wardrobe.  Since my closet is narrow and deep, I lose things in there, never have enough room, and usually just let my laundry sit on top my dresser until I wear it again and it goes in the dirty clothes pile.  I'm working on a new scheme to organize my clothing in a way that makes it easier to find things/ put them away, and that makes me not want to scream with frustration.  I'm also getting rid of a lot of things I just wasn't wearing.  Those really nice pants from Banana Republic that have only fit once three years ago?  Yeah, they're going to Good Will and I'm just going to accept that my huge thighs are unlikely to get any smaller.  Strong is the new Skinny!

As far as my Holiday Challenges, I'm pleased to report that I've been going to yoga a minimum of three times a week, even four some weeks!  My run streak sadly didn't stick as well as I hoped.  There were some mornings when I just didn't get out of bed in time, and doing a single mile on the treadmill just became annoying--it took longer to shower than it did to run!  It's not all bad though.  I have run more miles this month than any other month this year, and I've realized that even if I get a late start in the morning, nipping out for a two mile run really makes the day better.  I used to have the mindset that unless I was running at least four miles, it wasn't worth bothering, but now I love my little two mile runs!

For my Financial Challenges, I've been limiting eating out, I've been walking to work though I wasn't able to ride my bike for reasons I'll explain in a moment.  I've gone over budget in the clothing category, but that's just because I paid my Old Navy bill from the previous month--I haven't bought anything new!  My budget is full of no-spend day stars and I'm pretty pleased about that.

The reason I wasn't able to ride bike to work was because my bike was stolen by some nefarious jackanape!

RIP, my bike that I never named

They also stole BF's tire pump--dicks.  It's not all bad though, I put an ad on Freecycle asking if anyone had a bike they weren't using, and a nice lady gave me her daughter's old one!  I need to get it looked at by a mechanic and buy a lock, basket and lights, but it's a nice bike that should last me quite a while.  I'll also be storing it indoors so no one can get their hand on it!

2013 begins with no credit card debt, a new bike and a new diet plan!  I signed up for Taylor's DietBet, which is a fun little online wager.  Everyone who wants to play kicks in $2, and then if at the end of the month you're at your goal weight, you get to split the pot!  It's a nice little incentive to do what I should be doing anyway.

Things are looking up!

Happy Holidays

"Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! 

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. 

What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" - Dr. Seuss

Ten Reasons Why Buying Local is Better

I talk every now and then about the importance of buying local, but it's usually in abstract ways like: 45% of money spent locally stays in the community, do you want to live in a world where the only place to buy things is Wal-Mart, etc.  This holiday season, I have shopped 100% local, and I've had so many positive experiences that it hasn't ever seemed like work (shopping almost always seems like work to me).  I'll admit, I don't have to buy nearly as many gifts as other people, this time of year, but I'm not just talking about buying things, I'm talking about just supporting all local businesses.  Even if it costs a little more, the return you get in warm fuzzies more than makes up for it.

1. Customer Service
Obviously customer service is never a guarantee.  Sometimes people have a bad day, or are just jerks, but I have personally had some of the best customer service experiences with local businesses, and it's likely just due to the fact that they actually care.  If you work for or own a local business, you want to be there.  They're not in it for the money, they're doing it for the love, and that is just an awesome thing.  When you see people happy to be doing they are doing, that is a great feeling, and it radiates out.  Sure, local businesses want to sell you something, but they also want you to come back, and they get that by being real people and (hopefully) selling high-quality stuff.

2. Knowing where something came from
If you go to Wal-Mart, you can hazard a guess at where the stuff you're buying comes from, but likely it's just a warehouse in China and no one knows more than that.  If you shop local, you can ask the business owner where he or she purchased an item, and they will actually know.  It might be a local artist or craftsperson, or it might be a company you've never heard of that you end up liking.  Either way, it's nice to actually know what you're taking into your home, instead of just buying a bunch of random crap mindlessly.  And if you're giving something as a gift, it's nice to tell the recipient, "This came from an artist collective in Peru that only employs women who have escaped abusive relationships.  For every item sold, they get 50% of the proceeds."  Knowing where something came from makes it more valuable because value isn't really what something cost, it's how much value you place upon it.

3. Bring able to ask questions
A friend of mine recently posted on facebook that she had seen a dress in a Sears commercial but couldn't find the dress either in stores or online.  I suggested that she email Sears and see if they could help her out, but I haven't heard what happened after that, or if she's still waiting for a response.  (UPDATE 12/16/2012, I have heard, see below)  Recently, I wanted an item from a local store near where I work. They had posted a picture of the item on facebook, but by the time I got there, it had sold out.

Obviously it sold out, I mean, yeah, it's awesome!

I was upset, but the employee I spoke to told me that they would likely get more in soon.  I sent the store a facebook message asking if they would hold one for me when they arrived, and sure enough, they were happy to do so.  They messaged me when it came in, and I picked it up on my lunch break. SCORE!

4. Putting a face on a product
When you buy local, you also know who sold something to you.  It's not a random cashier at Barnes & Noble 2606 (where I used to work), who may never be there beyond the one time you saw her, or who is just punching the clock until it's time to leave (again, me).  You can go into a store and say, I bought this last week from Steve, and it broke right away, or I bought this from Steve and it's so great I need two more!

5. Giving direct feedback
Likewise, in a smaller local setting, your feedback really has the power to make things happen.  If you buy something that really sucks, you can tell the store employees or owner, and maybe they stop carrying it.  You can make suggestions, and not feel like you're throwing your words into a random void where they may or may not be heard.  Certainly the store doesn't have to listen to you, but it's still nice to be heard.

6. Local Commitment
Who do your kids go to when their sports teams need boosters?  Who supports Library Summer Reading Programs and donates prizes?  Who chips in for block parties, 4th of July parties, centennial and bi-centennial events?  Local businesses are owned by members of the community and want to help the community thrive.

7. Unique Items
See above.  You think I could get that kick ass bottle opener anywhere else?  I could maybe get it at two other stores in Rhode Island, and I'm just guessing--I certainly haven't seen it anywhere else.  Wherever I wind up in the world, I will see that bottle opener and it will make me smile and remember a time in my life when I lived in Lil' Rhody.  Do you want to have the same stuff as everyone else, or do you want something you can't get anywhere else?

8. Expertise
When I go into Target, I don't expect to be able to ask a store employee which is the best t-shirt, or if something will last.  Certainly they have people in various departments who can answer some questions, but a lot of the items in major big box stores are not built to last a lifetime.  If I'm going to spend a lot of money on something, I want to talk to someone who knows something about it.  Employees of smaller stores may not know everything about everything, but they are likely familiar with the brand and the standard of excellence that that brand has.  When you're personally choosing to buy something for your store and sell it, there's a higher standard than stores that just buying to fill a niche.  I recently was in Target with BF looking at skillets.  Apparently, both Paula Deen and Rachael Ray have their own line of cookware. I would likely go Ray because they're orange and I find that fun, but they also cost $100+  If I'm going to spend that much money on something I don't know how to buy, I'd like to have a conversation with someone about it.

9. They're Only Still Around Because They're Good
It's much easier to keep a corporate hub going.  New businesses rarely turn a profit in the first year, and for something that's just a one person or partnership operation, that means they either have to do well or sink.  Corporations can support flagging outposts on the hopes that they'll eventually become profitable, but for smaller businesses, unless they're run by people with trust funds, it's likely that they just know what they're doing and have something people want.  Why not stop by and see?

10. Warm Fuzzies
I love my silly small city despite how backward it is sometimes, and I like doing things to make it better.  This is why I go to work every day determined to help my neighbors and this is why I pay a little more for things made and sold around here. We recently went to Yelp's Merry Marketplace, which was a pop-up shopping mall that featured only local businesses and restaurants.  It was possibly the most fun night I've had in a long time.  We got free food samples from restaurants I know and love and places I've never been (but will be visiting soon); and we got to find new and exciting treasures from local shops.  We got to chat with the people making and selling goods and experience firsthand the pride they take in what the do, and the quality of work.  It was held in the converted mill building where the Wintertime Farmer's Market is, and it was just a beautiful and fun night.  I think everyone I went with managed to finish off their holiday shopping lists, and I left stuffed to the gills and slightly drunk (I wasn't driving), which was awesome.

I know there are many more than ten reasons to shop local, so leave your reasons in the comments.  My biggest reason, that I didn't add to the list, is that it assuages some of the guilt I place on myself for buying things.  I keep reading articles about CEO's rate of pay skyrocketing while their employees' remains stagnant, and thought I know that my frugal self can't make a difference in that situation, I actually can on the local level.  It's nice to feel important, and it's nice to live in a land where Wal-Mart is just one of many stores, and one that I can avoid (Wal-Mart is the worst, OMG I hate Wal-Mart).

UPDATE:  Apparently, she has had no luck so far, and posted one of her recent responses to the Sears folk on facebook.  It was too awesome not to share:
"You tell me you know NOTHING about where i can get it?! You are trying to tell me you have NO INFORMATION about a dress you displayed in a commercial trying to get women to spend money on dresses, in your store. UH- HELLO- I'M A FOXY YOUNG WOMAN TRYING TO BUY A DRESS, WHICH, I WILL GLADLY TELL YOUNG OTHER PRETTY WOMEN WHERE I GOT IT. I am simply trying to give you money and buy a dress, from you, in which you decided to put in your commercial. I am just a blue collar girl that takes pleasure in leopard print high to low dresses. So hook a girl up, for crying out loud."

I think that proves my point even better than my long list.