What I Learned from A Year of Living Locally

Can you believe it has been an entire year since I switched to local? That is a year of supporting local businesses, eating delicious local food and discovering hidden gems close to home.

Ryerson University

In one year I...

• Lost 20 lbs 
• Paid off all my credit cards (How I Paid off my Credit Cards by Going Local)
• Learned how to make cheese
• Learned about the food system
• Discovered local business's
• Became a gardener
• Went on the local radio and news
• Learned about myself
• And spread the word of local

There were times when being a Locavore felt socially isolating but what I learned from this experience far exceeded any of the personal struggles I faced. I learned that eating local is just the tip of the iceberg of things we can do to live more sustainably. My eyes were opened to the flaws in the food system that became more obvious when I took the time to learn about my food and what I was consuming. And once you have been wisened to the ills of the world, it is difficult to ever go back.

"Live simply so others can simply live."- Mahatma Gandhi

Un-Local Night

I learned that I have changed, even if the world around me has not. I recently visited Toronto for the National Student Food Summit and was disillusioned with a city that used to feel like home, instead it felt like an urban sink hole where all the problems of society seemed to flourish. I know now that I can carve out the kind of life I want by making decisions every day that will benefit me as well as others.

My first week of un-local-ness culminated with a blow out un-local night at Earl's Prince George with friends. When the cloud in my head lifted the next morning I understood that though it felt good to be bad I still had a guilty feeling left over, a feeling I could be free from as an ethical consumer.

I am a Locavore, I am a Freegan, I am a Change Maker.

Cheers to the end of a great year, and the beginning of a lifetime of local living.

XX Melanie

"Be the change you want to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi

How I Paid Off my Credit Cards by Going Local

Today was a good day. Today I paid off the last dollar on my last credit card, a card that has carried a balance since I got it in 2008. I made a goal this year of paying off ½ of my credit card hoping the sacrifices I was making as a Locavore would pay off. And it did! In 10 months I have paid off my entire card!

I got my first credit card on my 18th Birthday to book plane tickets to Ireland. By the time I left on the trip I had maxed it out. The next year, I applied for a second credit card with another bank...and then a third, low interest card. These cards funded important causes like the Melanie goes to the Dominic Republic fund,  Melanie moves to Europe foundation and the all important Coach purse investments. That's when the eye opener hit me, I had accumulated over $10,000 in credit card debt. Any money I saved I used to travel thus the cycle of debt continued and my balance has remained quite high since. Until now.

Here are some of the ways going local has helped me reduce my debt and maybe how it can help you: 

• Buy less
• Reducing your overall consumption is the best possible way to go and that means keeping more $$$ for other things. Those impulse buys like Starbucks and Target are off the table when you only shop local. I still get treats from the market though ;) 
• Buy better
• Better quality purchases have cut down on my cost of replacing items over and over again. Spending a little more money on things that are hand made or from local business's pays off when it lasts 10x longer then the Wal-Mart equivalent. 
• Make your passion work for you
• I have been so lucky to find work doing the things I am interested and passionate about. Managing the University Farmers Markets means I get paid to be where I love which is also where I shop and get to know lovely people. 
• Freegan it up
• I have been pretty active in collecting food waste when I find it and over time this adds up to savings on my grocery bill. I would say nearly ½ of my diet has been food that would other wise have gone in the garbage. I have also foraged for wild foods ( Going Wild) and grown my own produce to help save. 
• Credit Union



Notankers.ca

• Switching banks has helped me save even more money (Putting your money where your mouth is), I switched to a local credit union and don't pay fee's for storing my money now. Integris has been helpful in my personal life as well as housing business accounts for my work and helping me save money as a student. 
• Travel
• Instead of buying flights I spent money exploring beautiful British Columbia this year. I saved again when I used Couchsurfing and AirBnB for my accommodation instead of booking into a corporate hotel. 
• Biking
• If you drive or take the bus to get around, biking will help save you money on transportation. This is year I've biked my legs off and see the benefits on my wallet and my waist line. 
• Healthier
• Eating better food and being more active has also made me healthier. I don't use any medications anymore including my asthma inhaler and even shy away from Tylenol for headaches choosing natural remedies and keeping my money away from grubby pharmaceutical companies and in savings. 

I have become a better spender now, and learnt that I want to live within my means and ultimately be debt free. In 3 years of University I will have a whole new set of debt to worry about and I am just grateful that now I can focus on debt from my education and be free from my big scary credit card, forever! 

Happy spending,

Melanie XX

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy local, and that's kind of the same." -Unknown