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Tips to Save Money and Help the Environment

July 5, 2016


We all love saving money, but it’s easier said than done, especially when those savings come at the cost of a service or convenience you love. Luckily, with new technology and services, it’s easier than ever to save money, help the environment and not have to change your lifestyle much (if at all).

When we decided to move, we were focused on a number of factors. We wanted to minimize our lives for a number of reasons – and we ended up moving from a five bedroom house to a two bedroom apartment. Even though we didn’t reduce our rent costs (Hollywood is a more expensive place to live), we were able to eliminate costs for several of our utilities, specifically electricity, water, gas, and trash. 

We started looking at places and knew that we wanted an energy efficient and future-proof residence. We chose our current home because it was built with the environment in mind, from eco-friendly materials (including flooring), to various recycling options and electric car chargers in our garage, we were happy that as we make more and more moves to reduce our carbon footprint, they won’t flip our lives upside down to accomplish.

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Get a New Car

If you commute in an old car, you’re likely getting relatively poor gas mileage. We recently traded in our two old big engine cars for new ones. The payments are reasonable and our gas mileage has nearly tripled. You can go all-out and get an electric vehicle like we want to do in the future.

Switch to Energy Efficient Lighting

This may sound minor, but it adds up for sure. As a bulb goes out, switch it with an LED bulb. You’ll use less energy and they look better. If you really want to get creative, there are smart LED bulbs that allow you to program schedules, change colors and even play music from them.

Add a Solar Water Heating System

If you are a homeowner, adding an solar water heating system is a great way to potentially cut your gas bill significantly and reduce your impact on the planet. Best of all, these systems work with your current water heater and will make you eligible for federal, state, and local rebates up to $10,238. Contractors are easily found online, and you can even install yourself by attending an installation workshop.

Minimize Your Life 

It’s harder to do than it sounds. We’re still going item by item, but selling things you don’t need, recycling things that you can’t sell, and reducing how much you buy can impact both your pocketbook and the planet positively. Start small. Go through your closet, get rid of anything that doesn’t have a special sentiment to you or that you haven’t used in the last months. Soon, you’ll be feeling less cluttered and free to focus on more important things in life.

Have you made any steps to be more energy efficient in your household?

 

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