During this holiday season, everywhere you look, someone is having a “SALE.”

Fifty percent off, buy one get one free, spend $50 and receive $10 off your current purchase. During such hard economic times, we are always looking for ways to make our dollar stretch.

And to be honest, I’m what you call a “Bargain Betty.” I love the “hunt for a bargain.”

As a child, I can remember thinking, “Why would I buy one pair of jeans at $80 when I could get four pair of jeans for the same amount.”

It only made sense to me.

But, when is a sale really a sale? When visiting our neighboring state, I always notice the advertisement sign at the nearby gas station. When paying with cash, receive .05 off each gallon of gas.

With the price of gas running approximately $3.39 a gallon, I can get it for $3.34 a gallon. If my car takes 10 gallons to fill up, I will spend $33.40, instead of $33.90.

Wow! Is that really a sale? And is it really a sale for the residents of Ironton? The many people who drive, sometimes several miles, will only save around 50 cents on their purchase.

We are so focused on saving money that we have bought into the ingenious marketing skills of today’s marketing gurus.

We spend more time and money trying to save money. When Irontonians run across the bridge to save a dollar, we are taking away from our own economy. Our businesses need us!

Is saving .50 really worth it? This will not buy a can of pop in today’s market.

But 50 cents times thousands can impact a local business’s annual budget. When they prosper, we prosper. The more we support our own businesses, the more we strengthen our economy.

Ironton, do you really want to see change take place? Do you want to see more businesses in Ironton? I encourage you to rethink your strategy.

We don’t have to wait on the state or federal government to rescue us, we can do it one purchase at a time.

Katrina Keith

Ironton