10 Ways to Save Money and Go Green

I put this list together just as some advice on ways you can both save money, and be a good steward of the earth. I think it is always good to save money when possible, and when you can also be a good steward, even better. I hope you can use some of the tips here and save some money. Post your thoughts, and any other tips you might have, in the comments area.

1. Buy a Tank-less Water Heater – A Tank-less water heater is a very small and compact water heater that only heats water when you need it. It eliminates waste by heating water only when you turn on the hot water. You might think that you will then have to wait for a while to get hot water but that’s not the case. Because of its small size, it can heat water very quickly.

A few years ago, the water heater at my house stopped working. I decided to go with the tank less water heater for three reasons.

3 Reasons to use a Tank-less Water Heater:

• Initial Cost - The initial cost of buying a regular water heater compared to a tank less water heater was in favor of the tank less heater. It was cheaper to buy and install compared to a normal water heater.
• Size - One of the best qualities of a tank-less heater is its size. Compared to a normal water heater, the tank less heater is significantly smaller, making it possible to install on the wall or almost anywhere.
• Long term Cost - The long term cost of a tank less water heater is less than that of a regular heater because it does not keep water heated, it only heats water when it is needed. This makes it easy to be gone on short or long trips and not need to worry about the hot water heater wasting energy.

Tank-less water heaters are a great money saving appliance but it is important to check with local codes and standards before changing to a tankless.

2. Buy your fruits and vegetables from local producers – as much as possible, try to buy all your fruits and vegetables from local farmers and markets. You will be supporting your community and eliminating emissions that come from the transportation of imported fruits and vegetables. Plus, you will probably be getting much better produce that is fresher and has less unnatural substances on it.

3. Use Tupperware – instead of buying and using and throwing away disposable bags and containers, use a Tupperware container to store food. You can save a good deal of money after your initial investment and, of course, you will be helping to keep our planet green by not using plastic disposable products.

4. Bring grocery bags with you when you shop – this is a simple, yet very effective way to keep our earth a bit greener. You don’t really benefit, unless they charge for bags, but still you save countless plastic bags by using your own reusable one.

5. Adjust the temperature in your house – I know that this might mean a little discomfort, but try turning up (or down) your air conditioning so that it does not turn on as much. You can use fans to help move air around your house. Also, turn your fridge temperature up a bit so it does not have to turn on so much. The benefits pretty obvious on this one; you save money on your utility bill and consume less energy.

6. Let food cool down to room temperature before putting it in the fridge/freezer – it’s a pretty simple idea. If you cook hot food, wait until it cools before putting it in your fridge or freezer so you don’t waste energy cooling it down.

7. Recycle – recycle as much stuff as you can. This means cans, bottles, paper, cardboard, and even clothes, furniture and anything else you can think of. Consider selling or giving your old stuff to a thrift store or goodwill. Also, in some states you can get money back for cans and bottles so look into places that offer that. There are a number of ways to recycle and even to earn some money back.

8. Start a compost pile – use your food scrapes to make rich fertilizer for you flowers and gardens. Now you can both eliminate some trash from going into landfills and use your own homegrown fertilizer. This is a great way to keep the earth green and save a little money.

9. Buy from green companies – whenever possible, try to buy the things you need from companies that are trying to go green. Show your support by buying their products. If consumers were all to start buying from environmentally minded companies, every company would have to star going green or go out of business.

10. Don’t buy bottled water – Instead of buying water, get a reusable container and fill it up at home. If you don’t like the tap water, consider buying a filter for it. By not buying bottled water, you will both save lots of money, and save lots of wasted plastic.

These are just 10 easy ways to save green and go green. leave more ideas in the comments below.