This year, I noticed that more and more people are really becoming aware of the plight of our planet. In spite of the fact that we have gotten used to modern day conveniences, it seems that more people are becoming more willing to sacrifice laittle bits of comfort here and there to help the planet out. And even better, when we do “go green,” as many like to say these days, we also get the additional benefit of showing our finances a little love – by making additional savings. Here are my favorite ways to go green and save money at the same time.

Be more careful with the food that you purchase.
Your first impression would probably be that I am talking about the quality of food that you buy. That is actually a good idea, not only for the planet but for your health as well, but what I want to focus on right now is the quantity of food that you buy. Personally, I tend to go overboard when I hit the supermarket. I like to stock up on food, perhaps due to this idea that I would rather have overflowing cupboards than to find them empty.

However, if I think about it more and actually pay attention to our consumption patterns, I would probably realise that we end up throwing a lot of food away. This is particularly true because my partner does not eat leftovers. It would not be a problem if I could consume all the leftovers but that rarely happens. So the more common scenario would be lots of food thrown away, left to waste.

If you are in the same boat, then a better strategy would be to buy less food, especially the perishables. This would not only lessen your grocery and market bill considerably but also help lessen your waste. It is the sensible thing to do, isn’t it?

Light up for less.
I love lighting in the house. I love it bright most of the time but there are times when I like the soft lights as well. Naturally, light bulbs can cost you more than you think. That is why companies have made a lot of various bulbs that can help you create the ambiance that you want and yet not spend too much on electricity at the same time. Take a look around your house or flat and check your light bulbs. What are the power ratings? Perhaps you can pay the hardware store a visit and change to energy efficient bulbs? They are the rave these days and you will not have a difficult time finding light bulbs that emit the same bright light at lower energy consumption rates.

Shower instead of bath.
This is difficult for me as I love soaking in a hot tub for hours. However, when I think about the water and electricity that I use up each time I do so, I have second thoughts. Perhaps a shower would be better most of the time? A hot bath can be a perk, something that you reward yourself with every now and then.

Any other green saving ideas? Maybe next time.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 3:13 am and is filed under Saving, Personal Finance, Advice . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.