This is a guest post from Eric at Narrow Bridge Finance as part of the Yakezie blog swap. You can see my post on the same topic at Eric’s blog. This week, our topic is “What is your best go green method to save money?”
People have many different motivations for “going green.” I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who hates the environment, but people are willing to make different levels of effort to make a difference for the planet.
I have been a long time conservationist. I support efforts to move away from fossil fuel, I support recycling programs, and I make personal efforts to help our planet. However, as a finance blogger, I always have other motivations when I look at my environmental impact.
I have three favorite methods to both save money and save the planet at the same time. Depending on your situation, they might not all be possible, but at least one certainly applies to you.
For the super dedicated: Get a green car
When my old car, a 1990 Volvo Station Wagon hand-me-down, died while driving down the road, I had to get a new car. I had to do it quickly. When my car died in August, 2007, the average gas price per gallon was $2.75. This was during our first major run up of gas prices a few years back.
Sure, I would love to have a four wheel drive SUV to help navigate Colorado winters. However, I have always done fine with a sedan. And, I was not stupid. I knew that gas prices would continue to rise. I didn’t want to spend enough for a hybrid, but I did want a small, fuel efficient car.
I bought a 2008 Toyota Corolla. I have been thrilled with the car. It has been reliable. It is safe. It is easy to park and drives comfortably. Oh yeah, and it gets 28 MPG in the city. I once tested it out on a road trip and got 38 MPG. I don’t feel bad for people spending fifty or more dollars filling up their SUV. I bought a small car on purpose.
For the dedicated: Install a thermostat with a timer
Heating and cooling our homes is expensive. I live in an apartment building surrounded by people who like to leave their heat on high during the winter, so I just leave my thermostat off during the cold months. However, it gets HOT in my apartment during the summer.
How hot does it get? About $40 per month hot. That is how much more my power bill is during the months I use my air conditioner. However, if I forget to turn it off when I leave for work in the morning, my apartment stays nice and cool all day. While I am sure my plant appreciates it, I don’t.
If I owned my own home, I would install a thermostat with a timer. I leave every day around 7:30am and come home around 6:00pm or later. There is no reason to cool my home during those hours. If I had a timer, I could save money and not even think about it.
For the lazy: Conserve around the house
If you are not looking to buy a new car and you can’t change your thermostat, have no fear. You can still take steps to stay green without changing your life completely.
- Adjust your thermostat temperature – There is no reason to set your air to 67 degrees in the summer and heat to 80 in the winter. A few degree change can save a lot on your energy bill.
- Shorter and cooler showers – The energy conservation shower really saves water and hot water costs.
- Use cloth towels – We love our paper towels, but you can save money and the planet by switching to washable cloth towels instead. The landfills, trees, and your wallet will all thank you.
- Go paperless – By not printing, can save ink and save paper.
A few quick facts
From Cockeyed.com:
Tap water – $0 per gallon
Bottled water – $6.40 per gallon
Beer – $8.88 per gallon
Gasoline – $3.27 per gallon (today in Denver)
Printer ink – $2,702 per gallon
I am thrilled that we just moved to an area where we can leave the windows open and forgo air conditioning. It is a first for us and wonderful!!!! Of course, I always carry cloth bags in the car for shopping! wonderful blog swap topic!
Good thoughts, I would add using a col water wash for laundry. I think I saved roughly $10 per month in gas.
The message is clear… use less printer ink, drink more beer 🙂
Hahahahahaha!
We’re really good about turning the house up to 84-86 when we leave for work in the morning, so wouldn’t need a timer for that. However, it would be nice (and cost more) to set it to our ideal temp an hour before we are due home. As it stands, it takes about an hour or two to reach optimal temperature after we get home so it can be a little stuffy for awhile.
I print a lot of coupons but make sure I use everything I print.
I absolutely try to avoid printing as much as possible, at home anyway:) It’s good for the environment to go paperless, which was my initial thought. But I’ve also come to realize how expensive it can actually be to regularly print things.
Good post, interesting figures at the end.