Shop Green, Save Green (Spend Less)

By now I think I have stated it enough times.......going green does not have to be costly, and in fact it can save you hundreds of dollars on your overhead expenses!

If you shop around you will notice that due to everyone shopping green and demanding environmentally friendly products and services, we are all becoming more earth and health savvy, and therefore stores are going along with it. Where and how you spend your money shapes the world we live in. If we all started eating in moderation and bought more organic foods, we would have to be catered to. Remember that whole supply and demand thing you learned about in your early years of school? Well this is exactly what happens and what I am talking about.

Due to alot of people being more health conscious the stores have to stand up to the competition. For example, Whole Foods has their own line of organic products called 365. Not only is the 365 line cheaper than the name brand organics out there, they are also often cheaper than their non-organic alternatives.

Another way to cut back on expenses is buying in bulk. This does not mean buying large cases at your local price club. Buying in bulk simply means buying the largest size of a product that you were going to purchase anyway. Buying a 64 ounce bottle of laundry detergent is better for our planet than buying a 32 ounce bottle,. It not only uses the smallest amount of packaging per ounce, it also saves you some money per ounce, and that means there is less waste going into our landfills.

BYOB! Bring Your Own Bags! Almost every supermarket I have been to offers some sort of "bag credit." I have received discounts between 2 and 10 cents per bag for bringing my own. There are huge positive impacts to skipping out on the plastic bags. Too many plastic bags have ended up as litter making their way into oceans, killing marine animals, sea creatures and birds by the millions. Man made plastics don't biodegrade and stick around for thousands of years!

And although paper may be recyclable, they can be worse. According to the Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment (www.ilea.org), although nearly 20% of paper bags are recycled, it takes more energy and creates more waste to make one paper bag than it does to make 2 plastic bags.

The U.S. has begun to follow in the footsteps of countries that have banned or heavily tax the use of plastic bags. Australia, South Africa, Ireland, and some U.S. cities have begun to take a stand. San Francisco has banned plastic bags since March 2007. There are various other cities, such as New York, considering the same eco-friendly move. Read more about plastic bag bans at www.treehugger.com
Search "plastic bag ban"

You probably already know that eating less meat is better for your health. It is also better for the environment! Here's the rundown: Methane from captive livestock is responsible for 1/5th of all greenhouse gas emmissions caused by humans.

Eating less meat will also result in saving for you! Like in any health conscious diet, moderation is key! A "normal" serving of meat should be no bigger than the palm of your hand. And half of your plate should be filled with greens/vegetable. The last small part left can be a carb of some sort or can just be left empty.

You can also save money by substituting your meat for another source of protein. A pound of organic lentils might cost you about $2 and will yield you around 13 servings! Cheaper and serves more than a pound of ground meat would. Lentils are packed with nearly as much protein as the beef! So why not give it a try? You don't have to become a vegetarian, but consider cutting out meat once a week to start with.

You can save money on vegetables by buying locally and in season. Local farmers are more likely to sell you produce a little bit cheaper since they are selling it to you directly. There is no middle man or shipping involved.

Another way to save on produce is to grow your own! A packet of tomatoe seeds might cost you $3 (about the price of a pound of tomatoes at a supermarket). The seeds will produce fresh, tasty tomatoes that will last all summer long.

Healthy home, healthy you

We are all constantly hearing about what we should and should not be doing to try and save our planet. We know you do honestly care, but let's face it we all get a little too busy to actually do anything. But I can guarantee that if you knew of a few green actions that would mean more green in your wallet, you'd find a way to play a more active role even with a busy lifestyle.

SAVE MONEY ON YOUR ELECTRIC BILL:

Replace all of your traditional light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. At least replace the five most frequently used lights in your home with CFL's.
I know you may have heard this a thousand times before, but this simple move is guaranteed to not only waste alot less energy but also keep your hard earned dollars in your wallet!
YES, the bulbs are a little pricier than your regular light bulbs but they are guaranteed to last to last at least two years. If one blows before that, the manufacture will replace it. Basically, you use less energy so you save on your electric bill and you won't have to buy more light bulbs for at least two years!

Another way to keep your money in it's rightful place (your wallet) when it comes to your electric bill is to unplug any electrical devices around the home that are not being used! Believe it of not just because your device is off doesn't mean that it isn't sucking up power, raising your electric bill. I like to use surge protectors so that I don't have to unplug everything, I simply turn the strip off! I also have devices that are not used often, such as our VCR, that I only plug in when we do use it. I always unplug my coffee maker once my coffee is done. I have other ways of telling time and really don't need it on 24/7. For those that use the programing feature on their coffee maker, set it up before you go to sleep and unplug it in the morning before you leave for work. Does it really need to be on all day? I also always unplug my cell phone charger once it's done charging. If my phone is not attached to it, I am needlessly wasting energy keeping my charger plugged in. We also use the old fashioned method of air drying some of our clothes.

I know you maybe thinking that it's impossible to save the world while saving money. I will share with you that my electric bill averages $70. Not bad for a 2 story house. the family and I watch TV, I charge my phone, use a coffee maker, microwave, wash and dry my clothes, use my computer, charge the cordless phones, etc.

Another simple thing you can do during those nice sunny days is open your windows and use nature to illuminate your home!

SAVE MONEY ON YOUR HEATING BILL:

We all know the old use a programmable thermostat rule, right? In the middle of winter there is really no reason why the thermostat should HAVE to be over 68 degrees. Any degree above that will significantly raise your heating bill. The heat can also be turned down even lower for times that there will be no one in the home. And no matter how cold it is at night, the thermostat can actually be turned down a few degrees when everyone is sleeping. When we are sleeping our bodies do not require as much heat to stay warm. Plus we have all those blankets and comforters that we hide under.

Another way to help out with your heating bill is to not have to heat up so much water. Let me make something clear to you: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BOIL YOUR UNMENTIONABLES TO GET THEM CLEAN!

You will be perfectly fine washing all of your threads in cold water. Washing you clothes in hot water can cost up to 9 times as much per load, and warm water will cost up to 5 times as much. The water, soap, and agitation are all you really need for all of your clothes to come out clean.

There are a few things, such as oily stains, that do need hot water. You can pretreat it and soak it in hot water. The amount of water needed to fill a bowl or bucket is much less than would be needed to fill up your washing machine. And of course if your clothes were to come in contact with something such as poison ivy, you would need to wash it in hot water. But for the most part you can chill out and live with a clearer conscience knowing that you will cut your annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 320 pounds.

This is just a small sample of what you can do to save money and our world at the same time.