10 Easy Ways to Save Money & the Environment
Here are ten easy changes to your life that will leave you and your environment richer.
1. Your Diet: Eat less meat, fish and dairy or, if you feel neither are necessary as part of your diet, become veggie or vegan. Livestock farming has a hugely detrimental effect on the natural world and it is just not necessary. According to Brandon Brazier’s study, by becoming vegetarian or vegan you will:
(a) Reduce your carbon footprint. One study estimated that the farming of animals caused more emissions (18%) than the world’s entire transport system (13.5%).
(b) Save water. It takes thousands more litres of water to produce a kilo of beef than to grow a kilo of grains, vegetables or pulses.
(c) Save land. Livestock production is responsible for 70% of Amazon deforestation.
(d) Protect the oceans. Industrial fishing practices are wiping out whole populations of sea creatures.
You should also try to freeze leftovers and avoid throwing away food. Around a third of the food produced in the world for human consumption is lost or wasted according to one United Nations study and this causes about 8% - 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food Waste Index Report 2021!
2. Shop Wisely: Buy locally sourced food regularly. To get locally-grown, reasonably priced, organic vegetables delivered, check out veg boxes that you can collect from your local community centre or may be delivered to your door.
You can do a lot for the environment when shopping for shoes and clothes. Shop around in charity shops, Vinted or on eBay to pick up cheap and unusual second-hand clothing. Avoid brand names that will charge you lots of money but will pay those that make the products in sweatshops abroad very little.
Buy sustainable shoes – cheap shoes fall apart quickly and this means more waste. Often, buying a slightly more expensive pair of shoes and taking good care of them — cleaning and polishing them, and maybe even getting them re-heeled and re-soled when necessary — is more sustainable as they will last several years. I have some boots that cost me more than any other pair of shoes or boots that I have bought but I have worn them every winter for the last 13 years!
3. Your Home, Your Impact: You can change your lifestyle slightly and save considerably on electricity, gas and water bills in your home. Replace all your lights with energy-saving light bulbs or low-wattage bulbs. Turn off all lights and appliances when not in use and switch everything off before going to bed, instead of leaving it on stand-by mode. Switch off your mobile and computer at night to avoid being woken up by the light or sound they can make and to save energy since you won’t be using them overnight.
Only put the amount of water in the kettle that you need to boil, not more. Don’t switch the dishwasher or washing machine on until it is full and use the eco functions where offered. Sometimes it is also considerably cheaper to use the dishwasher or washing machine at night if you have an Economy7 energy deal - but this is becoming an increasingly less common tariff.
Cooking large amounts of food at once and then freezing it when it is cool saves you both time and money. It also reduces the amount of time the oven is on. Eat the food within about a month of freezing. Defrost your food the night before you need it by transferring it from the freezer to the fridge. Then heat it until piping hot in the microwave.
Using appliances like air fryers can save energy. But if an air fryer is not within your budget, you can eat raw foods or steam your vegetables on top of a pan with only a little water in it.
In terms of saving money on gas bills, put the heating on in winter for as minimal time as possible – two to three hours a day. Instead, put on a thick jumper, hoody or cardigan and slippers. Buy an extra thick blanket for your bed and take a hot water bottle to bed, instead of blasting on the heating late at night. Electric throws are good for wrapping around you whilst working from home if you don’t want to put the heating on. To avoid burst pipes when you are away in winter, set the heating to come on for around 7°C for at least an hour at 5 am and 11 pm.
In summer, open windows and doors first instead of putting on a fan or air-conditioning. Save water in your home by getting a free water-saving kit from your water company - most water companies do them!
4. Transport and Leisure: If your health and mobility allow, walk, cycle, scoot or skate. It is healthier and better for the environment. When walking or cycling is not possible, take public transport or share lifts. Many workplaces do cycle schemes now, which are often tax deductible as they come out of your paycheque before tax and it means you don’t have to pay a lump sum up front!
For longer journeys, try to take the train with a railcard to other cities rather than driving there. If you avoid travelling by car, you avoid traffic jams and can enjoy your journey a lot more. Traffic jams mean using fuel even though you are not going anywhere and can also be highly stressful. Train journeys also allow time for naps, reading and other self-care activities.
If you use electrical gym equipment indoors to run or cycle, switch to running or cycling outside. This way, you save money on buying and running electrical equipment or on a gym membership and can enjoy the outdoors, whilst getting the exercise you need.
Try to cultivate affordable social activities and hobbies that don’t use electricity - such as reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, playing board and card games, visiting museums and art galleries, attending local community groups, gardening, playing with your kids outside, going for picnics, taking long walks in nature, doing yoga, hula hooping, running, or going wild swimming.
5. Your Garden (or Window Box!): Growing your own vegetables or herbs is good fun and cheap, but, best of all, the food is fresh and you know where it’s been! You don’t need much more than a window sill to grow tomatoes, salad leaves, basil and parsley. If you have a backyard, you can grow numerous vegetables or fruit in large pots — look out for ‘container’ varieties of seeds.
Have a look at my blog posts on what you can grow each month from February to July. You can also grow microgreens for salads, such as cress, all year round on a sunny windowsill!
6. Your Waste: Recycling your rubbish in the recycling bins provided by the council costs you nothing. To report a missing bin or to order another bin, go to your council’s website.
Secondly, compost your food waste! Most councils now provide food bins. If not, try to convince your landlord to install a compost bin in your garden or start your own wormery, as both will give you compost, which is the main expense for growing your own food (as seeds are cheap to buy or can be saved from last year’s crop).
7. Clothing: In terms of clothing there is a lot you can do. Wash your clothing on an eco setting at 30°C if it is not heavily soiled, and only switch the washing machine on once you have a full load. If you need to do a wash immediately, ask your family or housemates if they have any washing they could put in with yours.
Give clothes that you don’t wear anymore to friends or charity shops or sell them online. Mend torn clothes, take them to a tailor, or make something new out of them. Alternatively, if they are beyond repair, you can compost clothes made of natural fibres, such as cotton. Otherwise, you can recycle them in your council’s clothing recycling or take them to an old clothing and shoe recycling bank.
8. Insulation: If you rent, convince your landlord to insulate your loft or if you own your property, look to get this done as soon as you can afford it. This will save you significant amounts of money on your heating bills and also keep your home warmer for longer after the heating is switched off. It also helps keep your home cooler in the summer. There is often council or government schemes for insulation and solar panels for low-income households.
Closing all your curtains at sunset will help keep heat in during the winter, especially if your curtains are lined. During the summer, you can close the curtains during the day to keep the sun out of the room. You can also get thermal blinds which keep heat in during the winter and the heat out during the summer. Having both curtains and blinds is a bonus!
9. Menstrual Products: Consider how many tampons or sanitary towels are thrown away over one lifetime! In the UK alone, 4.3 billion disposable sanitary products are used every year. This not only costs you a lot of money but also damages the environment considerably. This can change quite easily and there are different options available.
The menstrual cup functions in a similar way to a tampon, except you empty the contents into the toilet, rinse it under the tap and then replace it. Simple. When you are finished with it at the end of your period, sterilise it in boiling water, leave it to dry and put it back in its pouch. Costing around just £19.99-£29.99 and able to be used for up to 10 years, you can imagine how much you would save if you bought one.
Cloth sanitary towels cost between £4 and £18, depending on size and thickness. They are softer and more breathable than disposable ones and fasten with poppers. The only other difference is that you don’t throw them away. Instead, you rinse them out thoroughly in cool water and then either put them in the washing machine (without fabric softener) at 30-40°C with the rest of your laundry. They come in numerous patterns and most can last up to 10 years (check the seller’s FAQs). If you are creative, you can find patterns online to make your own sanitary towels. Imagine how much money you could save!
Also, cloth pouches are available from the above e-shops, so that you can carry any of the above sanitary products around with you discretely.
10. Spread the Word: If you do any of the above regularly, or if you try any of these tips and it makes a difference to your life, tell your friends and family. Encourage them to take these steps to save money and save our planet. After all, reducing CO2 emissions and slowing down climate change can only happen if we all work together. If you are already doing all of the above and want to make even more of a difference, then spread the word!
You could also join local climate change groups, which can help you have a voice and get across the importance of looking after this planet - we only have one Earth!
If you are looking to improve your health and well-being and get ahead with your goals, consider booking an Earth Coaching discovery call with me.
This website is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute providing advice or professional services. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment.
