Going Green Saves You Money
Content Updated on February 28, 2008
"I can't afford to be environmentally friendly!"
Somewhere along the way, terms like eco-friendly, environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and green were coupled with myths. One myth is that to be environmentally friendly, you must eat organic granola and tofu for every meal, bathe only once per week, and smell like hemp oil. (This myth is something I often see among people who are financially well off.) The other big myth, typically seen among lower in middle income groups, is that you have to buy expensive eco-friendly products and build your own power plant using renewable resources in your back yard to fit in with the green crowd. No! It's not true.
Use Less Electricity from the Electric Company... Save Money!
Remember when your parents yelled at you to turn off the lights after you left the room. It's all because electricity costs money. More specifically though, electricity from the electric company costs money.
Plus, producing electricity also takes resources, and if you get your electricity from the electric company, be warned that unless you have a special agreement to only use renewable sources that have minimal impact on the environment, you're probably getting electricity generated from nuclear power plants or the burning of coal, gas, and oil.
Saving without Spending
If you want to save money on your electric bill without spending any money on new products, then focus on conservation. Turn off the lights when leave the room. Only wash full loads of dishes or laundry. Keep your heater's thermostat lower in the winter, and wear a sweater instead. Keep your air conditioner's thermostat higher in the summer, and wear a tank top and shorts instead.
Learn more ways to conserve electricity
Spend a Little to Save a Lot
If you can't let go of your electronic luxuries, then save money by making your own environmentally friendly electricity instead of buying it from the electric company.
When you buy products that require electricity, look for products that use solar energy (especially for products like outdoor lights, fountains, etc.). Sometimes they cost a little more, but you'll quickly earn your money back.
You can also use solar panels to charge up rechargeable batteries, then use those batteries to run small devices (cell phones, video games, toys, closet lights, etc.). Of course, you'll need to pay for those solar panels and rechargeable batteries first, but you'll soon earn your money back.
See Examples of Solar Powered Stuff
Take It a Step Further
If you can afford it, consider converting your home from a gas powered, electric company powered home to a solar, wind, geothermal energy powered home. The full conversion does cost money, but most people who have done it agree that it has saved them significant amounts of money. Plus, some people produce so much extra energy that they can sell it back to the electric company and make a few extra bucks.
Cook Your Own Food... Save Money
When you buy food from a restaurant, you're paying for the food, somebody to cook the food, somebody to take the money to pay for the food, somebody to clean up after you, a manager to supervise all those other people, the lights, the gas, the water, etc.
Prepared foods (e.g. frozen dinners, packaged meals, etc.) aren't much better. Even though you ultimately prepare the final steps of your meal yourself, you're still paying for all of those people and overhead costs that get that food into your kitchen.
Environmentally, most restaurants aren't doing their part to reduce waste or purchase environmentally friendly supplies. The same goes for many factories that produce prepared foods, but most prepared foods also have additional impacts. Prepared food products are often transported over long distances, which results in pollution from gas, diesel, and jet fuel used in the transportation. Packaged foods also require excess packaging, which fills up landfills and adds to air and groundwater pollution.
Saving without Spending
Instead of going to a restaurant or buying packaged meals, make your own meals at home and bring them with you. The lunch box needs to come back into style anyhow.
Consider becoming a vegetarian. Vegetarian diets cost less than meat eating diets, and plant agriculture produces far less pollution than animal agriculture. Instead of cow milk, try soy milk or rice milk. Instead of chicken nuggets, try mock chicken nuggets (the Quorn brand is my favorite, and most meat eaters I've fed love it). If you can't see yourself giving up meat completely, at least try to be a vegetarian (or even better, a vegan) at least one day per week or even half of every week.
Spend a Little to Save a Lot
Buy some seeds, soil, and compost, and start a garden. If you don't have a yard, you can even start a container garden in your home. Pick a fruit, vegetable, or herb that you use frequently (in my family, we gorge on tomatoes, carrots, green onions, and apples), and start growing your own. Home grown food tastes better, is healthier for you (if you grow it organically), doesn't require transportation fuel, and doesn't require any packaging. Plus, beautiful living plants in your home and yard lift your spirits.
Take It a Step Further
Get together with your neighbors, family members, friends, and coworkers about setting up a garden sharing community. One neighbor can grow tomatoes. Another can grow lettuce and herbs. The nice family down the street can grow squash. Your coworker can grow apples. Your sister can grow sunflower seeds. When it's time to harvest, everyone can share with everyone else, and before you know it, you'll all be saving money on food and eating the most delicious produce you've ever tasted.
Reduce Your Trash... Save Money
Paying for somebody to pick up your trash and take it to the dump costs money. Even if you take it to the dump yourself, you still end up paying quite a bit.
Environmentally, trash usually contains harmful chemicals that leach into the soil and groundwater and contaminate our tap water, agriculture, and even play areas. Plus, it's ugly, and it stinks.
Saving without Spending
Recycle. Recycle. Recycle.
My university environmental studies professor, Frank Schiavo (a man I deeply admire and learned a lot from), only produces enough trash to fill a small lunch bag ever 2 WEEKS! How? He recycles, buys products that don't require packaging, and uses what he buys.
Rules #1, avoid buying anything with excess packaging. Unfortunately, this is difficult to do since many companies focus on marketing by putting tiny products in large, eye-catching boxes rather than focusing on being environmentally friendly. Keep your eyes open and look for products that are sold in bulk or products that don't use too much packaging.
Don't buy something unless you can recycle it. Glass, paper, and metal can always be recycled. Most plastics and foam packaging can be recycled, but not all recycling companies will take all types of plastic, so only buy plastic containers if you know you can recycle it. Fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, and other plant based items can be composted. (Don't put animal products in your compost bin.)
Donate used items (e.g. clothes, furniture, kitchen gadgets, toys, appliances, electronics, etc.) to charity. You can even donate items to art centers for modern art materials and broken electronics to schools and organizations that teach technology, mechanics, and physics classes. If you donate them, you don't have to pay for somebody to haul them away, but there's an even bigger money saving advantage. You can claim your donation as a tax deduction if you donate to tax-exempt organizations. Just keep a list of all the things you've donated and get a receipt for the donation if you can. In our household, we got about $2000 in tax deductions from donations alone last year.
Spend a Little to Save a Lot
Buy recycled and refurbished items.
My favorite store is Goodwill. When I was growing up, my family went to thrift stores because we were tight on money. Now, I can afford to shop at trendy retail stores, but I still opt to shop at thrift stores 90% of the time. Why? Because I know that when I buy something from a thrift store, like Goodwill, I'm helping an organization that helps the community, and I'm keeping perfectly useful items from ending up in a landfill. True, sometimes when you buy used furniture, clothes, or household items, you need to make repairs or get artistic to make them fit in with your style, but it's fun work. Next time you're in the mood to hit the craft store for supplies, go visit your local thrift store instead and go shopping with your inner artist.
Take It a Step Further
Start your own recycled products business. Make jewelry out of plastic bottle caps. Reupholster furniture and sell it. You can even sell your compost to gardeners. It doesn't need to be a full time enterprise. It can be just something you do on weekends, but who knows, maybe it'll make you a billionaire.
Get Some Exercise... Save Money
Transportation contributes to some of the top sources of pollution, and it costs consumers lots of money. The increase in gas prices alone should be enough to make you think twice about how much fuel you're using when you commute.
Save without Spending
Walk! Instead of driving from place to place, store to store, etc., put on a comfortable pair of shoes and walk. Walk your kids to school instead of driving. Take public transportation to a centralized part of town and walk from store to store (bring a backpack to making carrying your purchases easier). You'll save money on fuel and vehicle maintenance; plus you can say good-bye to your treadmill and gym memberships as well as improve your health (which could reduce your health costs).
If the weather isn't cooperative all year-round, at least try to walk during the half of the year that the weather is nice. (Something is better than nothing.)
If you have long distances to commute, try carpooling or using public transportation.
Spend a Little to Save a Lot
Buy a bike, a helmet, and a basket or bag that you can attach to your bike to carry your stuff (or even consider buying a bike trailer), and use your bike to get to your typical destinations. It's faster than walking, is an excellent source of exercise, and doesn't require refueling.
Just as when walking, if the weather doesn't cooperate all year-round, at least just bike when you can. (Something is better than nothing.)
Take It a Step Further
Trade in your gas guzzling car for an eco-friendly hybrid, so when you do drive, at least you'll be using less gas. Or even better, get an electric vehicle for short commutes, and use renewable energy sources to recharge it. Yes, at first it's a big investment, but over time, you'll see big savings by avoiding the gas station.
Keep Looking for More Ways to Save
Pay attention to the latest environmentally friendly products and practices. Even if you only adopt one or two new money-saving, eco-friendly habits per year, you'll quickly make a big difference in helping the planet and your wallet.
...by Feed