Jennie, we have State Farm and American Family Insurance in my town of 3300 people.

You don't need to do business with a major bank to have your online purchases protected. I bank with our two-locations bank "chain" but my credit cards that I use for online shopping are from conglomerates - WAMU, Bank of America, and Juniper. I'm as protected as if I banked where people have no clue who I am.

I can go and eat a huge meal of real food at our local mom and pop restaurant for less than I can get a chemically engineered "value" meal. I always have leftovers for a smaller second meal, so it's even more of a value. Plus I get to sit in a cozy atmosphere without blaring music and bright colors that are trying to get me to hurry up and eat to make room for the next herd of cattle.

I buy the majority of my clothing at Goodwill. I get to buy items that came from Gap, The Limited, Abercrombie and Fitch, just to name a few, and I pay pennies on the dollar, all while providing local support and jobs for people who might not be able to work anywhere else. I could buy a $6 flimsy T-shirt from WM that's going to rip apart after two wearings, or I can take that same $6 and get a pair of DKNY jeans and a Limited shirt that are going to last several years, or at least until I get bored with them and donate them back to Goodwill.

It might take slightly more effort than walking into Wal-Mart to do your one-stop shopping, but the individual payoffs are well worth it.