{"id":3604,"date":"2009-04-22T05:00:36","date_gmt":"2009-04-22T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=3604"},"modified":"2019-11-13T20:51:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T04:51:50","slug":"saving-money-and-the-environment-where-green-and-frugal-meet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/saving-money-and-the-environment-where-green-and-frugal-meet\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving money and the environment: Where green and frugal meet"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an article for Earth Day<\/a> from Beth H.<\/b>, who writes about saving time, money, and the environment at Smart Family Tips<\/b>.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"Going “green” has a bit of a bad rap. As soon as marketers realized it was profitable to be green, suddenly all sorts of products flooded the marketplace with eco-friendly claims. It can be overwhelming. Is it really necessary to buy all this “stuff” to be green? Are these products really as green as they say they are?<\/b> We’re in a recession \u2014 I can’t go into debt to save the planet!<\/p>\n

The good news: At its most fundamental, being “green” is nothing new. It’s actually built around a very old philosophy of consuming less, buying only what you need, using things until they’re worn out, and wasting not. Unsurprisingly, frugality and green-living are closely tied. You don’t have to buy expensive “green” products in order to be environmentally friendly. The real goal is to mind your consumption, and that’s good for your wallet and<\/i> the planet.<\/p>\n

Where to start?<\/p>\n

Reduce Consumption<\/h2>\n

Think of all the things you consume in a given day \u2014 or a given week. What can you use less of?<\/a> I’m not talking about self-denial. As J.D. mentioned in a prior post, it may not really be necessary to use two tablespoons of cocoa instead of three<\/a>. But on a larger scale, can you use less or use things in a different way to avoid waste? Some areas to consider:<\/p>\n