With our thanks to the Helensburgh Advertiser.

Traders gave shoppers the high five last month with the area’s first Totally Locally Spring Fiver Fest.

The two-week mini festival, which saw prices cut on a range of products including breakfasts at local restaurants, fitness classes and clothing brands, has been branded a triumphant success as locals backed the move to spend their hard earned cash in Helensburgh.

And this week, Katharine Crawford owner of Stow Away and Totally Locally organiser, paid tribute to shoppers for backing business on their doorstep. (more…)

The Fiver Fest launch went a bit brilliantly on Saturday! The sun was shining and the shops joined together in full force to bring the lovely people of Helensburgh some spectacular bargains to be had by all! Don’t worry if you missed it, it’s running for the next 2 weeks, until 31st March.  (more…)

Well what do you know! The HELENSBURGH FIVER FEST hits town on the 17th March.

Following the message of how spending an existing £5 in your local shops and businesses can dramatically affect your town, the great independent shops and businesses of Helensburgh are creating their own £5 offers for the people of the town to get their mitts on. (more…)

If every adult in the Helensburgh area spent £5 with their local independent shops and businesses instead of online or with the big supermarkets, it will be worth an extra £3.1m into the local economy.

Which means more Jobs, better facilities and a nicer place to live for us all.

Makes you think doesn’t it.

(or how to turn £10 into £50!)

That got your interest didn’t it.

There’s a bit of maths that says if you spend £10 in a local shop that sells stuff from local producers the amount of money that goes back into Helensburgh’s economy can be over £50!

Well if you imagine that when you buy a Helensburgh-made pie from a local shop, a big part of your money is passed on to the local piemaker. The shop employs a local accountant or even a decorator. In turn the piemaker who sources his meat from a local farm spends a big percentage of his money with the farmer. The farmer then spends some of his money at his local garage, the garage owner etc. etc…..

With each step, in a case like this, around 80% of each spend often goes into the local economy. So in effect the money that stays within Helensburgh gets more & more.

Local independent businesses are far more likely to use other local firms than any of the big national giants would – it’s what makes them tick and they know the true value of keeping it “Totally Locally”. It’s also a lot easier!

The more everyone spends within our area the stronger our economy grows, which means more jobs, better facilities, a vibrant town centre and a nicer place for us all to live.

This can be applied to everything from a college to bike manufacturers, to music shops, to food producers.

If you compare this with buying online & outside the area – where none of the money comes back into the Helensburgh economy – it seems to make sense really. Add to this a smaller impact on the environment due to less transportation and you have good reasons for keeping your purchasing Totally Locally.

It’s not about protectionism, it’s about small decisions that have a big impact on where we live.

Only by following the money trail do you get a true sense of the knock-on effects of buying Totally Locally Helensburgh. It takes you in all kinds of directions, ping-ponging from groceries and clothing, to tradesmen and accountants, each time adding to our economy. The trail is staggering.

So when you go for your next purchase, be it eggs, a sofa or new pair of shoes, consider the true effect of how you buy.