The St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce is attributing the increased spending power of residents, to self-reliance.

This as they earned an income from small businesses they started, especially after receiving training from HEART Trust NTA.

Chamber President Eccleston Campbell made the observation, while commenting on how businesses in the parish fared over the Christmas holidays.

Some business operators had expressed concern that while there was a good turnout of shoppers between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, actual sales were not very high.

Campbell noted that even though shoppers were being cautious about what they spent money on, it was noted that they had more money to spend.

He pointed out that the shoppers spent their money mostly with local entities, and small businesses.

Campbell added that several persons earned from the many parties that were held over the holidays.