Today is the day traditionally known as Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year for retailers. The day is so named because it is the day that retailers supposedly go into the “black” after being in the “red” for much of the year. The last few weeks of each year, retailers have traditionally made the bulk of their profit for the entire year.

The name Black Friday has stuck even though most retailers’ profits are now spread throughout the year, but there is no denying that sales on the day after Thanksgiving are a great harbinger of things to come. For retailers, sales today and through the weekend will determine if this is another down year or if the tide is finally turning.

The state of the overall economy is dependent on the state of personal economy, and the more people who are still out of work and the number of people looking for employment is still very high. While this may signal a downturn of sorts for the shopping season, the one thing that everyone can do to help our economy is to shop locally and keep your dollars here.

If you have money to spend this holiday season, spend it where you live, whether it’s Valdosta, Hahira, Quitman, Nashville, Lake Park, Lakeland, Homerville, Adel, etc.

The more money you spend in your own back yard, the more money there will be to support others in your community. Sales taxes, jobs, and livelihoods all depend on your shopping dollars. Shop where you live today.