It’s no secret that going green is great for the environment. Adopting an eco-friendly, zero-waste lifestyle leads to a healthy Earth, which in turn leads to better living.
So why don’t more people do it?
According to a study conducted by retailmenot, a site dedicated to helping people save money via digital offers, 4 out of 5 people think that eco-friendly products cost more money. This Bloomberg article supports this notion, claiming that eco-friendly products are more expensive due to a lack of consumer demand.
This creates a cycle where makers of eco-friendly products have to charge higher prices because demand is lower, which in turn kills demand as people don’t want to spend more.
But we’re here to tell you that going green and adopting a zero-waste lifestyle doesn’t have to be a drain on your finances.
On the contrary, it can be financially rewarding when done correctly. We are here to help you do just that.
We hope you enjoy our 10 reasons why going green is amazing for your wallet. By just starting one of these today, we guarantee that you’ll save a good amount of money while practicing good habits that lead to a greener, better Earth.
10 Reasons Why Going Green Is Amazing For Your Wallet!
1. Saves Money On your water bill
The water bill can be one of the biggest monthly utility expenses, especially when you are living with other people or housing a whole family. We use water for tons of things, but showers, toilets, and washing machines make up most of the bill.
Let’s focus on the activity that we have the most control over.
Showers.
Limit showers to 5-10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to chill in the shower or hide in the bathroom while a shower is going. The steamy environment may be nice, but the impact on your finances certainly isn’t.
By cutting your own shower time down, you can expect some great savings.
Using the shower calculator by omnicalculator, we can get a rough idea of how much money is being saved:
~30 Minute Shower
~5 Minute Shower
5 minutes = 5.48 per month spent showering.29 minutes = 30.22 per month spent showering.
Savings = $24.74 per month or $296.88 per year.
That’s quite a hefty chunk of money saved by changing just showers. Changing other water usage habits can have significant savings as well.
If you can afford the upfront cost, energy-efficient, water savings toilets and washing machines will save you a ton of money in the long run too.
2. Increases the Value of Your Home
Being eco-friendly can have financial benefits in areas that you may not even initially realize. Your home is one of those areas if you decide to invest in solar panel technology.
Adding solar panels can have a sizable impact on the value of your home.
According to money.com:
“On average, solar panels raise a home’s value by 4.1% across the U.S., according to a new Zillow analysis of homes across the country— that’s a boost of $9,274 on a $226,300 home.”
$9,274 on a $226,300 home is a big boost. You can also take advantage of state/federal tax credits on solar panel installation to cut down on costs and save yourself a ton of money.
3. Reduces the electric bill
Adding from the previous point, going green with energy can save you money. The main reason why people install solar panels is to save money on their electricity bill, so let’s see how much is saved.
We currently live in Tempe, Arizona. This city is well known for the punishing heat that comes from ample sunlight, so these numbers are going to be a bit on the high side. Nonetheless, they work for our example.
According to Google’s Project Sunroof, our area would benefit from the following amount after installing and using solar panels:
$87 saved per month = $1044 saved per year.
With the average cost of installation being $12,000 after incentives, the cost is recouped in about 11.5 years. That may seem like a long time, but the savings on the monthly bill will be well worth it. You’ll be living greener and saving a lot of money in the long run.
Keep in mind that this is just with solar panels. Practicing good energy-saving habits can reduce your electric bill too. Here are a few tips to do just that:
- Turn off lights that aren’t in use. If you can, use natural lighting instead.
- Unplug appliances that aren’t actively being used. Some will continue to consume energy even when turned off as long as they are plugged in, driving up the bill.
- Minimize air conditioner usage as much as possible. If it’s cold, invest in blankets and clothing designed to hold body heat. If it’s hot, invest in heat-blocking curtains and cool the house/apartment during the night.
- Learn about your service provider. Some will offer deals and discounted rates depending on when you decide to use your electricity. Pay attention to plans that offer low rates at uncommon usage times and sky-high rates at popular times.
By actively monitoring your energy usage and making an effort to use less power, you’ll save a ton of money when the bill comes due. We’ve personally gone from spending $120 per month in a studio to $78 per month in a two-bedroom apartment just by changing some simple habits.
4. Minimizes excess spending
You might have heard of “zero-waste”, but do you know what that means?
Here’s a quick refresher from Wikipedia:
“Zero Waste is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused. The goal is for no trash to be sent to landfills, incinerators, or the ocean. In a zero-waste system, the material will be reused until the optimum level of consumption.”
It means that you try to live a lifestyle that focuses less on “use it and lose it” and more on “use it until it can’t be used anymore”. Zero waste places a large emphasis on reusable products, which makes it inherently eco-friendly as well.
When you decide to go zero waste, you’ll find yourself spending less in general.
Why would you go get a Starbucks coffee ($4 to $5+ per cup easily) and trash a single-use plastic cup when you could make your coffee at home (less than $1 per cup) and transport it in a washable thermos?
A savings of $3 to $4 per cup is a lot, especially for avid coffee drinkers. This is just one example of zero waste being both eco-friendly and wallet-friendly.
5. Saves Money By Going Paperless
Many people already do this one automatically, but it’s still worth mentioning.
There are a lot of companies that try to push you to go paperless anyways (saves them money), so you might not even be aware that not going paperless can end up costing you.
Many companies will charge you a small fee every month that you request paper statements from them. This fee is usually around $1 to $3 depending on the industry.
In a day and age dominated by technology, there’s little reason why you shouldn’t go paperless. Accessing statements online is much easier than having to dig through tons of paperwork, anyways.
By making the switch, you’ll be saving trees and a few easy dollars to boot. Score!
6. “Green” cleaning products Save Money
Ditch the idea of dumping a boatload of chemicals in your toilet or wiping down your counters with single-use wipes that end up in a landfill.
Those cleaning products may be convenient, but they are pretty awful for the environment and can even harm your body. Allergies can be triggered by chemicals contained in these products; they also generally act as irritants and cause skin issues.
Instead, consider making your cleaning products. With some materials that you can easily pick up at the store or order online (baking soda, vinegar, cornstarch, etc.), you can make:
- Dish Soap
- Detergent
- Window Cleaner
- Toilet Cleaner
- Multi-Purpose Cleaner
These can all be made by hand with little effort. Making your cleaning products have 3 main benefits:
- You know exactly what’s in your cleaning products.
- You save money. You can make more cleaning products at a fraction of the cost of what it would be to buy them outright.
- You are being environmentally conscious and making the world a better place.
And once you make your cleaning product of choice, you won’t have to make it again for a long time.
You can reuse it over and over until it’s empty, giving you maximum value for your buck.
7. Rechargeable Electronics Save Money
Using rechargeable electronics is a great way to embody the zero-waste lifestyle. They are also a good way to save money to boot.
Rechargeable electronics are typically more expensive than their single-use counterparts, so the savings aren’t obvious at a glance. But rechargeable electronics can be used over and over again as long as they get a charge-up from time to time.
Recharging costs far, far less than buying a whole new electronic outright. And the longer your recharge, the more savings you will enjoy.
The Simple Dollar compared single-use batteries and rechargeable batteries. After the 1st year following paying for the rechargeable batteries, this is what was discovered:
“Each year after [the first year], the cost investment in the rechargeables is $0.24, while the non-rechargeables cost $77.70 – an annual savings of $77.44.Over the long haul, the rechargeables are clearly a good investment.”
You won’t see immediate returns, but the savings add up over time while reducing electronic waste.
It sounds like a win-win to us!
8. Creative “Green” Solutions Save Money
When you go green and live the zero-waste lifestyle, you’ll find ways to make the most out of what you have.
We already mentioned making your own cleaning products, but there are many methods out there that you can use today.
Have you considered using less energy to cook? Cooking with residual heat saves both energy and money.
How do you do that? It’s pretty simple.
You cook your food as normal. But near the end of the cooking process, you turn off the heat and let the residual heat finish cooking your food for you.
When heat is contained, such as in an oven, it takes a long time for the heat to totally dissipate. During that time, your food will continue to cook until the heat has left.
The result? A well-cooked meal that took less energy to make, thus saving you money. This is simply one way to take advantage of creative green solutions.
We encourage you to experiment and find some of your own!
9. Reusable Products Save Money
Reusable products like reusable grocery bags, beeswax wrap, cloth tote bags, stainless steel straws, and so much more are easy money-savers.
The reason is simple: when you decide to reuse these products, you remove the need to purchase them every time you want to use them. And better yet, the Earth will thank you for not adding to one of the millions of dumps.
Most of these products aren’t prohibitively expensive either, though there are definitely some that have harder-to-swallow price tags for those on a tight budget. But keep in mind that these products are designed to last; you won’t need to buy them again for a long time.
So consider picking up a few reusable items of your own. You (and your wallet) will be glad you did.
10. Creating Produce Saves Money
You might be thinking, “Creating produce? That’s crazy! I don’t have a farm and/or can’t grow anything in my area!”
Well, we are here to dispel that myth. While you may not have a huge amount of farmland to grow an empire of crops, you can certainly grow some popular produce within your own home. That includes apartments too.
What are some things that you can grow? Here’s a quick list:
- Carrots
- Beets
- Onions
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Mushrooms
- Sprouts
- Kale
- Lettuce
The list goes on and on. And yes, all of these can be grown indoors.
When you sit down and put forth the effort into making your own produce, you’ll not only feel satisfied eating something that you created, but you’ll also be saving money that would’ve been spent in the grocery store.
Another win-win in our books! Just make sure to grow them correctly, otherwise, you could end up costing yourself money instead.
Conclusion
And that concludes our list of the 10 reasons why going green is amazing for your wallet. We hope that you enjoyed it and found it useful. It was fun to write and we learned a lot of new information doing so!
If you want to see more of this kind of content, leave a comment down below and let us know. We’d love to hear from you.
Until next time, thank you for helping us strive towards a greener, better world.