Save the Earth and Save Money, Too!

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One concern that I frequently hear people express is that they cannot afford to be green. These people see all of the hybrid cars, high-tech gadgets and other "green" goodies out there, and they conclude that it's too expensive to live sustainably. I try to convince these people that there is another side to being green, and that is to conserve resources. That doesn't mean you have to give up your home for a cave-dwelling, but it does mean that if we were smarter about the way we use resources, we could help the environment and actually SAVE money. Try the following seven tips, and you'll see significant monthly savings.

Pay Your Bills Online
Whenever possible, choose to pay your bills online rather than receiving paper statements in the mail. These statements are a waste of paper. By paying online, you can save a tree, all the water and energy that went into turning it into paper, and save on stamps as well.
The Savings: If you start paying 5 bills online, you'll save $2.10 a month in postage.

Turn Down Your Water Heater
Most water heaters are initially installed to heat water to 140 degrees Farenheit. That's pretty hot. If you turn it down to 120 degrees, you'll save money on your electricity, oil or propane bill, depending on your setup. And you don't have to worry about scalding yourself in the morning.
The Savings: You can save up to $3.00 a month using this technique, depending on the energy source you use to heat your water.

Switch to CFLs
I know I promised you wouldn't have to spend any money, but this one was too good to leave out. Those incandescent bulbs in your light fixtures are energy hogs, and they need to go! The initial investment in CFLs is small, and you'll make your money back in the first month. Plus, you'll be using less electricity, which means less fossil fuels burned.
The Savings: If you buy a four-pack today, you'll break even for the first month, and then save $4.00 per month after that.

Hang it Out to Dry
It may sound crazy, old-fashioned, or both, but try hanging your clothes out to dry rather than using the dryer, particularly in the warmer months. I wouldn't advise leaving your unmentionables out to dry in January, but there's nothing wrong with hanging out your laundry on a June day.

The Savings: If you use the dryer for five fewer loads, you'll save $3.30 for the month.

Drive Smarter
This is the big one. What many people don't realize is that the mpg rating of their vehicle is not a hard and fast rule. Driving smarter can greatly increase your fuel economy. If you stick to the speed limit (rather than 10 mph over), avoid fast starts and stops and turn your engine off when you used to idle (in parking lots, drive-thrus, etc.), you can see as much as a 20% improvement in your gas mileage. This is the toughest tip in the list to follow, because we can be so impatient/eager/aggressive behind the wheel, but you'll hard work will definitely pay off--literally!
The Savings: With an average car, driving an average number of miles, you'll see a monthly savings of $28.98 from this tip alone! To figure out exactly how much you'll save, just take your monthly gas bill and reduce it by 20%.

Take Shorter Showers
Don't just stand there! You can reduce your water use, and the energy needed to heat it, by cutting your time in the shower. Try shaving two minutes off your time.
The Savings: If you take thirty-five showers in a month, and take two minutes off your average time, you'll save around $4.50 in heating costs.

Turn That Thermostat Up/! (Or Down!)
In the colder months, turn down the thermostat by two degrees. In the summer, set the A/C to two degrees higher than you normally would. Thermostats can recognize a two degree difference, but chances are good that you can't. So save money and save resources by making this small change.
The Savings: If you put this tip in action, you'll see a 3-6% reduction in your total bill. On average, this works out to be a savings of $9.20 a month.

Total Savings: $55.08

What all of these tips have in common is that, besides saving you some money, they can help you reduce your use of some resource, whether it's electricity, fuel oil, propane, natural gas, trees, water or anything else. And as any green-minded individual knows, reduction is the key to sustainable living.

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