Photo by Brian Goddard

Redirect your hard-earned money from chains to indie businesses using these simple steps.

• Review your monthly expenses and highlight which businesses received your money. Substitute the chains with local businesses. Need suggestions? Visit Local First Arizona (localfirstaz.com) for a directory of more than 1,600 locally owned businesses. Aim for redirecting 10 percent of your total expenses to independent shops to really make a difference in the local economy.

• Look for the Local First Arizona logo at shops throughout the Valley.

• Keep a list handy of independent shops that fit into your daily schedule. For instance, if you need a coffee fix in the morning but you’re stuck on Starbucks, cut out our list Homebrewed (page 106), and keep it in your car for convenient reference.

• Entertaining guests? Create a daily itinerary that includes only local businesses. A day in Downtown Phoenix might look something like this: breakfast at Matt’s Big Breakfast; shopping at the Heard Museum; a tour of local artwork along Roosevelt Row; lunch at Switch Bakery; checking out the Phoenix Art Museum’s latest exhibit; cooking dinner using ingredients from the Downtown Phoenix Public Market; late-night libation at Sidebar Lounge. Not only will your money go toward the city’s economy – your guests will be wowed by your knowledge of the city’s cool “finds.”

• Get the little things locally. Farmers’ markets provide plenty of produce and spices; local pet shops carry many of the same brand names of pet food as national chains (see page 101 for examples); and Melrose Pharmacy in central Phoenix can fill your prescriptions and help you stock up on vitamins (see page 88).

• Keep your clicks local, too. Shopping online with out-of-state companies does nothing to help Arizona’s economy, and many independent businesses here have online shopping and/or delivery options.
For more tips on finding local businesses and how to localize your spending habits, visit localfirstaz.com.