You don’t have to go green by bankrupting the earth – it might actually save you money.
You can buy less stuff, using products made from renewable resources or that can be used over and over. You can refuse single-use plastics, and buy used items. You can use energy-efficient appliances, or even get off the road and ride a bike to reduce the carbon emissions from transportation.
Viewed from another angle, green budgeting is a form of economic planning, a way of making fiscal choices that takes account of environmental costs and benefits to support the pursuit of economic goals.
Reduce Your Waste
Along with volunteer work, sustainability efforts at home are a powerful way to make a difference by purchasing several reusable shopping bags instead of just one plastic shopping bag, or by replacing each piece of single-use plastics with its reusable alternative. Many of these changes are also cost-saving in the long run – buying a glass or stainless steel water bottle instead of plastic ones will cut down on trash and save you money over time. Shopping for second-hand clothes, furniture or building materials is also a great green choice since it eliminates the need of producing new things. In addition, the environmental impact of reused items is smaller because their production is usually less energy-intensive. By . You can save money on your carbon footprint by cutting down your eclectricity usage. by turning off lights when leaving the house; by turning off standby appliances and by taking shorter and less frequent showers. Another easy thing to do is to plant your own fruits, vegetables and herbs. While this does require some upfront costs with seeds and potting soil, it helps save money on produce in the long run. With composting food scraps, you’ll also help minimise your landfill waste and provide necessary nutrients for your garden. Also, try purchasing locally grown produce from local farmers, which may be cheaper than out-of-season or imported produce. This will also help further minimise greenhouse gas emissions by going with public transit/carpool when possible and driving efficiently.
Buy in Bulk
Bulk buying can save money because certain items are cheaper the more you buy of them at a time – for example, buying 10 boxes of the same item for less than the cost of 10 separate single-package items. It can be particularly effective when you already use something on a regular basis, such as batteries, detergent or trash bags. Just be sure you don’t overdo it and end up never using all of it by buying things you don’t ever intend to pull out, such as extra bars of soap that will never see the light of day, or trash bags that won’t fit into bins properly. Bulk-buying skills have to be learned. Begin by making a list of all the things you use on a regular basis, and then figure out which are best to buy in bulk, where paper goods and shelf-stable foods are ideal candidates, and fresh produce or meat, probably not. Don’t forget to check the per-unit pricing on each product line (often shown prominently or calculated by the most enterprising with smartphone calculator apps) – to be sure you’re really getting the best deal. Sales and coupons don’t hurt, either.
Use Energy-Efficient Appliances
Energy efficient appliances can save our planet,but they also can save a lot of money by cutting down on electric bills .There are many things you can do to make your home more efficient. For examlpe, you can switch to led light bulbs, energy efficient fridges, energy efficient washing machines, catch the rainwater-do any type of water harvesting, fix any plubmming leaks, catch some types of rainwater-harvesting systems and more. You can lower your carbon footprint by upgrading to energy efficient heating systems, such as solar power, heat pumps or boilers. ENERGY STAR appliances are independently certified to ensure they meet strict government efficiency standards. Energy efficiency is a major thread of our climate-pollution abatement strategy. Efficiency lowers energy use. That saves fossil fuels, lowers electricity bills, and leaves more money in the pocketbooks of families and businesses than electricity use does.
At NRDC we are active at the state and federal levels pushing efficiency standards for appliances and equipment used in buildings, and working on city projects to reduce energy waste in larger buildings, on programmes utilities can engage in to promote efficiency, and much more – and it all involves fighting climate pollution! Make the most energy – changing lightbulbs, turning off devices and properly insulating your home – but try to use less energy, too. Take showers and baths that are a couple of minutes shorter than you’d like, wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot, and stop leaks; dry your clothes on clotheslines instead of in tumble dryers; and stop TV shows from playing while you’re watching! When buying appliances, check the Energy Guide labels (formerly Yellow and Black labels) to compare their estimated annual energy usage with similar models: higher numbers mean more efficient appliances.
Buy Second-Hand
One of the best things you can do for the environment is to buy second hand. Be it clothes, bags, jewellery, furniture, instruments, musical equipment and electronics. Buying from these types of companies will help to reduce the amount of excessive packaging waste created by these companies and also the amount of pollution they cause. Buying second-hand stuff can also save you money; lots of brand goods are available for less than a third of their original price – small point perhaps, but important when one tries to be thrifty and curb consumption. Another advantage of shopping second-hand is that it helps the environment by stopping extra items going into landfill and waste sites that produce unhealthy gases and metals that contaminate our atmosphere and water sources.
Finally, another big plus to shopping second-hand is that we are using less material to make new items, which can cause extra demand to be put on unsustainable raw materials that are often being mined in an unsafe way that also causes environmental damage. By buying secondhand, you help support Local Small Businesses make a living in your community. For the most part, you will find that thrift stores, garage sales and smaller online marketplaces (for those way savvy entrepreneurs making a living selling second-hand for more money in the bank and still providing jobs in their community). When choosing used items, quality always comes before quantity: spending less money on low-quality will make things wear out sooner, creating more waste because you’ll have to replace things more often than if you spent a little more to get quality items that last longer – buy once, buy well, choose long-lasting reusable tools such as a wooden dish brush instead of plastic ones (especially at dollar bins).
Go Green
Aside from the benefits for the environment of going green, you can also save money. For instance, buying durable appliances that use less power, reducing waste or buying used items are all ways to help you save money as you are going green. By practising the three Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle – you can also save waste from going to landfills and water, reducing water use. Going green is easy. When you shop at the grocery stores, having a reusable bag and reusable water bottle with you can help to decrease the use of disposable plastics. In terms of goods, for example, if you invest in a high-quality product, the components will be more durable and less susceptible to wear and tear than the cheaper alternatives; thus, upper-quality materials, such as aluminium instead of plastic, cotton instead of polyester fabrics, or good-quality solid wood furniture instead of cheaper ones, will be better for the environment and for your budget in the long run.
The smartest way to reduce your carbon emissions is through your home. LED lightbulbs, draught-proofing, adding insulation: they save you energy and therefore money, while switching to renewable energy can be a huge long-term saving. You can save on fuel by carpooling or walking and bicycling distances less than one hour to your job. (Four out of 10 employees already do this.) You can save on fuel by taking public transit for more than an hour’s commute. (One out of 10 employees do this.) Here’s a simple way for you as a student to go green while saving money as well: eat one vegetarian meal per week. This lowers greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of meat you eat; cut down food waste by planning meals when foods spoil (use your pantry or freezer as extra shelf space), or, alternatively, make compost that can help your garden instead of throwing away your leftover food scraps.
