Several ways to save money by being green in 2023 - Check out our recommendation
There is no denying it, our planet is in an increasingly poor state and inflation is proceeding at a furious pace and does not want to stop so far. More and more, we are thinking about how to save money while forgetting about the planet, such as saving money on clothing and enjoying fast fashion. But what can be done so that we save money and the environment does not suffer? If you are interested in eco friendly ways to save money, you have come to the right place. There are indeed many ways. We will try to present the simplest and most interesting of them.
Reduce food waste
This advice may seem downright obvious, but are you really following it? If you search for statistics on food waste in the world, you will certainly be blown away. Why is this happening? People buy quantities of food that they cannot eat. They cook oversized portions that later spoil and end up in the rubbish. How can this be remedied?
- Plan your shopping and only buy as much as you can eat. There is no point in buying to stock up - excess food will be wasted, whereas too little can be replenished at any time.
- If you cook too much food, give it away to loved ones in need or freeze it. It won't spoil, and you'll make someone happy or have a meal for later.
- If you're craving restaurant food, try free food options that would normally go in the bin, such as TooGoodToGo or Olio.
Start buying things second-hand
This is certainly the best tip for saving money and saving the environment. When we hear about buying 'second hand' we only associate it with clothes. However, this is the wrong way of thinking! This is how we can buy furniture, electronics, white goods for the home, motor vehicles, toys for kids, jewelry and basically anything that does not break down with the first owner. Not only are second-hand items cheaper, so our wallets suffer less, but they also help to reduce the production of further items, limiting, for example, the over-expansion of raw materials needed to produce them. Used products can commonly be purchased at flea markets, garage sales, but not only! It is becoming more and more common to sell off unwanted products on websites and portals designed for this purpose, but in common places we are familiar with, such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace or Depop.
Switch to a more eco-friendly mode of transport
At first glance it is not the cheapest option, but if you think about it more deeply, buying a car with a hybrid or electric engine is an investment that reduces fuel costs and therefore pays for itself over time and is absolutely one of the best eco friendly ways to save money. How does it work?
Vehicles with an electric motor, following a logical line of thought, are powered by electricity. Charging a car battery is really significantly less expensive than filling it up with gas, which prices are really high nowadays. Even up to around 70% cheaper depending on the country you live in!. Also, the hybrid engine is proving to be salutary in its combustion - cars with this drive even burn half as much petrol as normal cars. Both of these options are therefore an expense that pays for itself (not immediately, of course, but over the course of a few years), and helps the environment a great deal because they reduce emissions, which, as we know, are very harmful to the earth's atmosphere.
Another eco way to get around is to swap transport in the form of a car or public transport for a bicycle or scooter (also electric), rollerblades, skateboarding or even walking. These options are additionally beneficial for health, which is their main advantage, but one has to reckon with their one main disadvantage, which is the forces of nature, such as rain or cold, slippery and wet seasons, over which we have no control.
Reduce your bills during everyday activities
If you are wondering how to reduce the cost of your household bills, you can also do it while being helpful to the environment. Here are three eco friendly suggestions to save money at home:
- Take care of the insulation of your home. The cost of thermal insulation may not be the lowest, but it can help you reduce your air conditioning and heating expenses later on. A well-insulated house stores heat for the winter and stays cool during the summer!
- Save on lighting. If you have old light bulbs, replace them with modern ones - LEDs. Keep the use of lamps and other light sources to a minimum. Do you really need as many as three lamps lit at the same time in your bedroom if you are only in one part of it? Although it sounds fun, surely more frequent romantic dinners or candlelight baths won't strain your budget as much as unnecessary electricity either!
- Give your washing machine and dryer some rest. Use quick, everyday wash programmes more often. They last between 15 and 30 minutes and the difference compared to washing programmes on specific temperatures and speeds is really negligible. As for the tumble dryer, think, are you really in that much of a hurry? Your clothes may take longer to dry, but it will save you money and, if you're struggling with dry air in your home, it will help humidify the air (you won't need humidifiers, which also draw unnecessary electricity!).
Shop consciously
This paragraph generally refers to a wide range of content. Firstly, buy 'decently'. It refers primarily to the quantity of the items purchased and their origin, by which means the country and method of production.
We will again use fast fashion, which has been popular in recent years, as an example. These are usually clothes that are mass-produced under conditions that are very harmful to people. Although they appear cheaper than the top world-famous brands with big reputations, their trick to making millions of dollars is that the low prices make us buy more and more of them, unconsciously spending the same or even bigger amount of money than we would on a better quality stuff.
The advice we would like to pass on here is, above all, that when you want to buy new clothes, you should first familiarize yourself with the brand you want to buy from and only buy what you actually need at the time. Unworn clothes will linger in the wardrobe for years and then end up in the bin, because, despite the widespread use of passing unused objects on and giving them a second life, only a small number of people take advantage of this in comparison to how many of them actually buy the goods in question.
Small elements in everyday life can turn out to be big ones
If we think about it longer, apart from the 'big' things in life in which we waste money unnecessarily and litter the environment, there are also small elements of our everyday life that can be changed to improve our standard of living a little. Here are some examples of money saving and additionally be more eco-friendly:
- Ecological savings in your bathroom. Instead of shower gels and liquid hand soaps, buy bar soap. This will reduce the excessive use of plastic. Don't buy disposable razors - investing in a reusable razor with variable tips will prove to be a return cost.
- Don't buy bottled water. Buying a bottle with a filter or a water purification jug for drinking water also comes out much cheaper and is kinder to the planet. This also applies to buying coffee in town, for example. Many cafés offer to prepare coffee in a cup that you bring along, which also doesn't cost very much and is worth buying if only to be able to prepare take-away coffee yourself more often, which also reduces costs in everyday life.
- Travel and order online in groups. If you are going on a trip with a group of friends, try to fill each car as much as possible. Perhaps two vehicles will suffice instead of three? Not only will this significantly reduce the cost of the trip, but it will also ensure that there are slightly fewer emissions into the atmosphere. If, on the other hand, you like to shop online, offer your friends or family a larger order. The shipping costs will remain mostly the same and less paper or plastic will be used to pack the parcel, so once again you are doing the environment a small favor.
