It’s Thursday evening. The turkey leftovers are in the refrigerator. The kitchen is cleaned. The final football game of the day is about to kick off. And the first Christmas deals of the season are about to be had at area stores.

But as you plan your holiday shopping, consider spending some or much of your money at locally owned retailers. Doing so will benefit your community tremendously because money spent locally stays local.

A recent study by the research firm Civic Economics found that money spent at locally owned businesses has more than three times the economic benefit locally than spending at chains.