5 Eco-Friendly Ideas For Saving the Pennies

For ordinary eco-conscious people, living sustainably can seem more like a luxury than an essential practice. The prices of sustainably produced soaps and shampoos compared to their less environmentally safe counterparts are famously quite extortionate. Organic foods are a concept that has become synonymous with being consumed by those that do not have to worry about money. The list of ways to go green is endless, but so many of them are so costly for the average person.

Here is a collection of 5 ideas for going green while also saving money in the process. Check them out.

1. Domestic Vacation

If you buy into the idea that you would rather splash out once a year on a big experience like a trip or a festival, but often find trips abroad eating into your funds in a major way, why not try taking a vacation in your own home country.

The benefits are more numerous than you might think. Environmentally, cutting down on contributing to the emissions spouting aviation industry is only a good thing. Financially, you’ll be spending less on travel, allowing you to spend more on the experience itself. If you’re anything like the rest of us, you likely haven’t explored even half of what’s available only an hour from your front door, so imagine the options for adventure if you consider your whole country as a vacation destination.

2. Getting creative with meat substitutes

Restaurant consultancy Baum + Whiteman claim that the number 1 trending food keyword for 2018 will be ‘plant-based’. This should indicate just how far the vegan movement has come in recent years.

One of the main arguments that vegans put forward is that the meat industry is terrible for the environment. Even the most red-blooded meat eaters cannot deny in 2018 that there is a link between the meat industry and the rise in emissions.

Another aspect for those at home is that meat is really quite expensive. The Table below compares some standard cuts of meat with their substitute counterparts, and show that meat can be 30-50% less cost effective.

The trouble is, though, that cooking with Quorn and Tofu, and other substitutes, can end up getting quite dull quite quickly. Our tip: Get creative!

Here are two ideas for some seriously good contenders to their meaty equivalents:

Tofish – Battered and fried bar of tofu wrapped in sushi seaweed (It really does does taste authentic to fish and chips)

Vegan Fried Chicken – Replacing chicken with Nutritional Yeast to produce this classic, a genuine chicken-like replacement

So with a bit of playing around, you can have delicious food, save money on your food budget and help save the planet.

3. Sharing Economy Platforms.

Check out the sharing economy to save money and be more sustainable. Services under that umbrella include AirBnB and BlaBlaCar, and aim to get people to use the resources around them more efficiently – instead of going to a hotel, try staying in someone’s living room  – instead of buying and driving a car, get in on a carpool. These options are cheaper, and much better for the environment.

If you need to borrow a tool or a piece of equipment, perhaps you should check out one of the more recent entries to the sharing economy wave – Fat Lama. Dubbed ‘the AirBnB for stuff’, Fat Lama allows people to rent almost anything – from drones to mountain bikes – and in doing so is encouraging people not to buy objects they may only use once or twice, but to rent them instead.

All of these services will save users money in the long and short term, and additionally the added community focus means that they are more sociable as well. The sharing economy is definitely worth checking out if you want to save money and the environment.

4. 4. Using less plastic in the Kitchen

In 2016, the Guardian worryingly reported that only a third of household waste that could be recycled was actually being sorted correctly. This was put down in a large part to the nature of the recycling as unrewarding and frustrating, and if you’re a regular recycling sorter you’ll have had similar grief with the process, especially with the uncertainty of whether what you are recycling is going into the right bins.

Our solution: use less plastic. It may seem simple, but it’s an effective way of not having to worry about your carbon footprint. Here are two suggestions for cutting down on plastic:

• • A.  Sodastream

The eco-benefits of Sodastreams should not be understated for an eco-conscious lover of carbonated drinks. Getting a Sodastream, or any other carbonator, completely eliminates the need for purchasing bottled sparkling water or other soft drinks, thus reducing your carbon footprint – and you’ll save loads of money in the process.

• • B.  Making Coffee the proper way.

Plastic coffee pod machines produce really good coffee… but their waste is terrible for the environment. One way to cut down on plastic, save a lot of money AND pick up a new hobby is learning how to make bean to cup coffee in a cafetiere – the experience is authentic, rewarding, cheap, and much better for the environment.

5. Smarthomes

With the introduction of truly functional digital assistants, 2018 is truly seeing homes enter the realm of science fiction. With all sorts of control computers can have over the functionality of our homes, investing now in smart homes may be a wise idea for saving on the gas bill, and in the process cutting down on your emissions.

The reason is simple – with sensors in every room, smart-homes can detect when a person is inside or not. They use this information to determine whether to keep lights on or off, open or close windows and keep heating high, low or off. They can also micromanage central heating processes as well, making more efficient use of your gas expenditure.

They may have a fairly big start up cost, but like double glazing your windows, they will really pay off in the long run for making your house more energetically efficient, cutting down costs and emissions.

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So there you have it, 5 green money saving ideas to check out in 2018, try them today!