Supporting small businesses vs saving money

[Glitterbiscuits]

I love the idea of supporting small businesses like independent cafés, restaurants and local shops. And if I’m going out, I’m choosing independent over chains every time. But honestly, most of the time it’s not Starbucks vs an indie café… it’s café trip vs no café trip at all. And right now, saving money usually wins.

The independent bookshop in my local town has closed down. I buy lots of books, yes I used Amazon a lot because the bookshop was a bit of a drive away for me. But also because I tend to buy secondhand books from eBay or Vinted for environmental reasons.
I’m not on the bread line but I’m not rolling in money either. So I feel sad that the bookshop closed but know I contributed to its demise.

There is a local club is doing Sunday lunches and part of me thinks it would be nice to go and “support” it, but honestly I’d rather just eat at home and save the money. It’s not even about choosing between places — it’s more that going out for lunch feels like such an unnecessary expense. I like cooking so it’s not a hardship but without people spending money then another business could go under.

Does anyone else feel a bit guilty about not spending money?

No. If you don't have it to spare, then you can't spend it.

If something feels like a real treat to you, then it is probably worth the cost, but as you can get the same books 2nd hand, and as you enjoy cooking (as per your examples) it would seem daft to spend money unnecessarily.

If you were choosing Starbucks over a local independent cafe, then that would be different, but you aren't, you are choosing to not spend money unnecessarily. Which is very sensible.

I get this! I was thinking about it the other day.

I love to see businesses thriving, high streets busy etc and want to support hard working people taking the risks. But even though we're on v good incomes with plenty of savings I also feel like we need to save more 'just in case' so often opt to make coffee or lunch at home.

Have a big birthday this year and wanted to go to a local pub but then I start thinking about how expensive it'll be and maybe we should just buy drinks in and host at the house!

Maybe it's an age thing. My mind hasn't kept up with inflation and when you're still comparing everything to the 25p a mars bar was growing up it all just feels insanely over priced. I remember DF being outraged we'd spent X on a pretty standard holiday and thinking 'that's what things cost'. That's me now!

Agree. I really try not to spend unnecessarily. Other than maybe twice a year the only time I buy a coffee out is when I meet friends and tbh we usually meet for breakfast or coffee as it’s cheaper than dinner.

i don’t tend to buy ‘stuff’ from all those cute little homeware shops.

i have cute down on takeaways as we got in a habit in covid and they have gone up in price so much that’s £50 down the drain in one go. I think back then it was the highlight of the week! There is a nice local independent pizza restaurant but last time we went it cost £85 for not a lot. While nice I don’t want to be spending £85 on a just because meal in an end of my road restaurant.

It is tricky isn’t it.
We have had a nice locally owned restaurant near us for many years. It’s a good go to place when friends or relatives visit as the food is always decent and prices not too high, but just not exceptional enough for us to make a point of going there otherwise. They have sold out to Miller and Carter we believe and I feel sad about it, but if others used it like us I guess that’s just not enough to sustain a business.

My choices are now coming doen to whether I think something is worth the money. So if I'm going to a cafe, I will go the place that's nicer, even if it's more expensive, because the cheaper places are still not that cheap and I'd rather spend a bit more for a better meal.
But I'm going out less often.

Re books, I'll buy from Waterstones or Amazon - whatever is cheapest tbh. I don't believe that independent shops are necessarily more worthy of support than chains or are better in all cases. The person who works in Waterstones needs the sake as much as the inde bookshop.

The decline of the high street is definitely real, and I do feel a bit guilty about it. I like the idea of supporting local cafés, shops and restaurants, because I’d hate to see them disappear. But at the same time, I can’t really justify spending money just for the sake of it. If I don’t genuinely need or want something, I’d rather save the money. It’s a weird mix of feeling bad about it, but also knowing my own finances have to come first even though I can technologically afford it.
I save spending on treats for times when I’m on holidays or having a special day out.

The trouble is physical shops are so expensive to run compared to online businesses. There needs to be a radical change in the cost of rents and taxes on small high street businesses or they will all be gone soon.

It’s not your responsibility to prop up someone’s small business - and I say that as a small business owner myself!

But even if she was choosing Starbucks over an independent - that’s still okay. People are allowed to spend their money on whatever they choose - none of us have a responsibility to spend our money with a small business just because they’re a small business.

I say that as a small business owner who regularly chooses Starbucks over a small independent coffee shop as I know what I’m getting and that I’ll like it.

I like and use many small businesses. But I think you can get situations where the service slips due to staff who have been there a very long time, especially if the owner isn’t hands-on.

There used to be a local boutique in my small town, stocking some well known brands that appeal to the ‘mum’ market. They were:

Difficult about returns
Unable to get other sizes, suggesting that you ‘order it online’.
Generally giving the impression that it was a bit of a private clique of staff and regulars.

The last time I was in there I went in and out of the changing cubicle, putting my trousers on again each time, at least twice, with no offer of help to get other sizes. If it was a busy time I wouldn’t have minded but it was 9.30am on a weekday and at least two staff were chatting at the desk!

When they closed down there was a lot of sadness and sympathy on social media but I didn’t really feel it myself.

I do try to avoid tax avoiders be it coffee shops or online shops

We have several local shops that are so good they're worth paying a bit extra for.
Our butcher is so helpful, the meat is all locally sourced so we're supporting local farmers too. He encourages me to try new cuts of meat and tells me how to cook it and it's often cheaper than what I would have chosen myself. His home made pies are so good we had one for Christmas dinner.

The local kitchen shop is brilliant. If they don't have it in they'll order it for you and pop it round to your house.

Our hardware shop, cafe and little real ale bar are also fab.

The baker is shite. She's rude and the bread i crap.

It's worth paying more for brilliant advice and products but if you're not getting those then they don't deserve your business.

Agreed. As far as I'm concerned the wrong Amazon is on fire.

A shop in my town closed recently. It was exactly the sort of place I would buy gifts from, but it was just too expensive.

I acknowledge their prices needed to be a bit higher than online/chains, but this was too much higher. A present I would normally spend £30 on would be £60-70 in there. So I stopped going.

And then it closed. Apparently nobody even realised till the local paper ran an article about it and ONLY THEN did local FB pages go mad about it. Blaming every other person, the traffic, the parking, the weather....anything they could to excuse themselves from it (and the fact they weren't even aware it had shut down.)

I don't know what the solution is though, especially since we opened the pandora's box of the internet, coupled with cost of living and all that.

Our town fb page had a big thing about shopping local and using independent businesses. Its a fairly mc area and lots of people seem to have a lot of disposable income. A lot of the restaurants are independent, some i love, a few are massively overrated and overpriced. But we generally only go out for birthdays or special occassions....but I realise they need people to do more than that to keep them going. We have about 3 take aways a year from an amazing Indian restaurant.
But I dont buy things in the expensive deli or butcher because they are out of my budget. There is a hardware shop that I always use....but not that often because the things you buy from there (hooks, hoover bags, descaling liquid etc) are the type of things you dont need to buy frequently....
I buy most of my books from charity shops, and I dont drink coffee so i dont frequent any coffee shops, chain or indie.

Yes I agree with you OP, we vote with our wallets for the high Street that we get. And the customer service, jobs, community feel that comes with that.
I don't think independent cafes are more expensive. Book wise- i get most of want at the library so when I buy I can get from book shop or from Hive.co.uk which is online but sources from bookshops.

I think the jmpact on local economy/jobs of neglecting high Street and independent shops is terrible - means your money is taken out of your area and to the Bahamas or for big businesses to expand into other areas, whereas supporting local shop means putting money in local economy to someone who will then spend money at local cafe, buy stuff from other stuff and services around. Big corporations much likely to wvade taxes too whereas your local businesses will be paying taxes and might only just be keeping afloat.

I think the local economy impact of shopping local isn't talked about enough - keeping your money circulating near you and supporting jobs creation in your area.

Sadly shops, Cafés, pubs and restaurants have become "tax collection centres", rather than local amenities that thrive, employ people and provide owners with an incentive to invest capital in.

I know several local business that are holding on till the end of their lease, as the business in no longer viable despite still being relatively busy.

These business are labour intensive and negatively effected by the rise in the minimum wage, NI and energy costs.

This isn't how you deliver growth into the economy, but Labour seem blind.

We used to have a brilliant local garden centre & plant nursery. Family-owned and independent, they were my absolute go-to, not only for plants (and they grew all the bedding plants & tomatoes etc themselves), but for their really lovely and original gift section. Reasonably priced and stuff you wouldn't see elsewhere. The plant section was fantastic, they had knowledgeable staff, and everything was watered well and looked after properly. They cared. It was a proper garden centre for gardeners, if you get my drift.

Well. The owners retired and it was sold out to a garden centre chain. The first thing they did was to demolish the beautiful old wooden white-painted glasshouse, which had stood there for decades. That did not endear them to me.

The gifts & housewares are now the sort of thing you'd find in B&M, and all the plants are shipped in from Holland in lorries. Pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap. Except the plants are not cheap, and they don't have anywhere near the variety as before. It is all 'in season' stuff, and whatever variety happens to be in fashion.

Sadly shops, Cafés, pubs and restaurants have become "tax collection centres", rather than local amenities that thrive, employ people and provide owners with an incentive to invest capital in.

Yes!!!!! - that's the most accurate description of the high street these days that I have ever seen! tax collection centres.

I think the local economy impact of shopping local isn't talked about enough - keeping your money circulating near you and supporting jobs creation in your area.

On the contrary, I feel like it's talked about constantly (in our area, at least) but ultimately people are not going to spend double or even triple on something just because it comes from an independent business, and nor should they feel guilted into doing so.

We've had several independent businesses shutting their doors lately - every single one has blamed poor footfall and online shopping but everytime I've gone to shop in them, they've either been closed, not had what I was looking for or the staff were too busy chatting to offer me any help.

On the other hand, the independent cafes and coffee shops are thriving.

Not all small businesses are more expensive though. My local coffee shop is 0.50p a cup cheaper than the big chains. I buy my candles from an Etsy business that someone recommended here - two huge Jo Malone scents for £25.99. I buy my books in the local bookshop which is cheaper. My farm shop is cheaper than Sainsbury’s for veg and seasonable fruit. Still have a local fish monger and butchers - both cheaper than the supermarkets. Even have a local greengrocer!

Near me it’s the big businesses going bankrupt, not the small ones. 🙂

See I love shopping small - especially indie bookstores, Etsy businesses or local ones to me, local farm shops etc but sometimes I do prefer places like Starbucks. When it comes to my coffee I value consistency, indie places are so hit and miss that I’d rather go for something I know will be good.

I do spend a lot unnecessarily 😂 I think I have about 20 books on pre order currently, several items being made by independent businesses on either Etsy or their own website and I’ve just got back from the local high street with a bag full of cheese from the cheesemonger and chocolate from the small chocolate shop 😂

I think for me the issue with independents is that some are amazing but some are downright awful and you often don't know what you're getting in advance - so if I'm out, I'd rather go to a chain and know that I'm spending my money on something I'll like.

We had similar. Lovely large local garden centre. Great restaurant always packed on a Sunday for breakfast.

got bought out by a chain and no longer the same.

There’s an independent café in my town that I’d like to support but when I went in it was v quiet and a bit like Acorn Antiques. There was nowhere to tuck myself into for an hour to read a book. They have been there for years and seem to have a loyal following.

There are other cafés further away that aren’t within my usual circuit. I deplore Caffè Nero’s tax arrangements but the staff are friendly and know the regulars and the building is attractive. I can find a corner and read in peace.

I never buy from Amazon unless I can’t get the item elsewhere and I have no issue with paying more to avoid them.