April is Move Your Money Month, but any month is a good time to look at where our money goes. Our economic choices matter, and we can choose those that have more positive local returns. When dollars circulate locally, they support local jobs, local businesses, and the community as a whole.

Thinking locally starts with where you bank, continues with where you shop, and extends to how you invest. Where you keep your money, how you spend it, and where you invest it all matter.

Your money is essentially your vote. Shifting money from Wall Street to Main Street strengthens our neighbors and community, instead of sending more of our dollars to corporations with little stake in this region.

Here are four easy ways you can move your money to support your local economy:

Bank local. Western Massachusetts has great local banks and credit unions. They are embedded in our community, rely on strong customer relationships, understand the needs of local people, businesses, and markets, and make loan approvals locally. When we bank with a local credit union or community bank, 100% our money stays within this region, compared to less than 1% with the big banks.

Shop local. When we buy local, our money rotates through the local economy, and there are more positive effects and fewer negative consequences. Studies show that for every $100 we spend at a locally owned business, an average of $68 stays in the local community. Compare that to just $43 for a big box store.

Pay with cash. When you use your credit card or debit card to pay for a service or product, the business does not receive the entire payment. Processing fees are one of the highest expenses for small businesses and can result in higher prices for customers. Visa and Mastercard control 85% of the credit and debit card transactions, and they took in $111 billion in 2024. When you pay with cash, you don’t have to hand any of your money over to the credit card monopoly.

Invest local. Many of us have money invested in Wall Street through retirement plans and stocks and bonds. Our money is often invested in companies we don’t understand and industries we don’t know and that don’t care about us and our community. Instead of putting money into Wall Street, consider opportunities to invest in ventures in your community, where you can experience the impact. There are more Local Investing and Impact Investing opportunities than there used to be. One awesome example is the PVGrows Investment Fund. This fund has been operated by the Franklin County CDC since 2015 and has paid interest to investors every year, while providing financing to 114 farm and food businesses that could not obtain funding elsewhere. For as little as $500 you can become an investor and feel good about where your money is. Find out more at www.pvgrows.net, or better yet, come to our Investor Gathering on May 6 at Sawmill Herb Farm in Montague to learn more, and hear what other investors and borrowers have to say about this opportunity. Register at www.pvgrows.net/events.

John Waite is the executive director of the Franklin County CDC and lifelong advocate for supporting local economies. He lives in Gill and has never ordered from Amazon and has not shopped at Walmart for over 25 years. To talk more about this, contact him at johnw@fccdc.org.