Since the U.S. economy started its recent roller coaster ride, I've received a few e-mails asking for simple money-saving tips around the home. This list is thoroughly incomplete, but here are a handful of my suggestions for ways to save a little green:
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What are simple techniques you employ around your home to save money? I look forward to reading your advice in the comments!
Posted by: Ana| October 07, 2008 at 01:11 PM Last winter we tried setting our heat 1 degree lower than usual and wearing an extra layer of clothing. We did that for an entire month and saved about $40 on our gas and electric bill. So we plan to do it again this winter. We wash our laundry on cold/cold. When cooking, I try to plan a couple things that bake at the same temp so I can use the oven more efficiently. We recycle everything we can. I think living greener ends up being healthier and cheaper in the long run! I cut every little corner I can. I take cardboard boxes from work that would otherwise be thrown away and use them to stash my recycling. The more I recycle, the less trash bags I use, and the less money I spend on something that goes to the dumpster anyway! Plus, I'm recycling things from work which my boss thinks is great. Going with the green theme, use little to no paper towels. I’ve been using dishtowels to dry my dishes or using smaller towels to wipe up counters and to clean up spills. I think paper towels can get quite expensive. Although I haven't eliminated them from my home, I use them sparingly. I know you’ve already mentioned it, but meal planning is a BIG money saver. I’ve been meal planning for a couple of months now and have noticed my grocery bill go down and noticed that we waist a lot less food. What ever I buy will be used in a meal or two and will be eaten. I spend less than $100 a week for meals and snacks for the entire week for 3 people. Another way to save money with food is buying produce that is in season and on sale and freezing it, once the season is over everything will go up in price. Another way to cut back on spending is reducing the size of the garbage can you use. The waste management company for my city allows customers to pick 1 of 3 different sized garbage cans (while keeping the recycling and green waste cans the same for all options). We used to use the biggest can provided and have recently switched to the smallest can and are now saving $10/month. Hot water tanks use alot of electricity. Insulate them with a hot water blanket from the hardware store. Also use pipe insulation to cover the pipes coming out of the tank feeding hot water to the rest of the house so the water will stay hot until it reaches the faucet. One trick I do to save electricity is to turn the hot water tank off at the breaker if I'm going to be gone for most of the day. Tape a post-it in a likely spot to remind you to switch it back on so there will be no cold showers in the morning. Takes some practice, but it saves $40 to $50 a month on the electric bill. |
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Invite people over instead of going out. We rarely go out to dinner with friends because we can feed four to six people quite well for the same money it would cost just for the two of us at a moderately priced restaurant. It doesn't have to be fancy either, dishes that are our boring tried-and-trues can be interesting for our friends who have different standby dishes of their own. When money is really tight, one friend can bring dessert, another appetizers, and a third drinks while we take care of the main meal. We usually cook to a theme, like Mediterranean, Mexican, or English Country, so that people can pick foods that coordinate without having to do too much planning.
Another thing we do to save money is plan a couple ultra-cheap dinners every week. This is the sort of stuff that we wouldn't want to eat every day, usually heavy on a cheap ingredient like rice or pasta, and lots of vegetables, with a cheap protein (for us often cheese, beans, or those frozen meatballs from Trader Joe's). These meals go together really fast, are filling and fairly healthy, and often make good leftovers for lunch. The money we save by eating cheaply a couple times a week goes into buying interesting and higher quality ingredients for the rest of the meals, a nice cut of meat, a block of good cheese, lots of fresh fruit for breakfasts, etc.