In these hard economic times everyone is looking for ways to save money while still maintaining a sustainable lifestyle. No environmentally aware person wants to use potentially toxic petroleum-based personal care products or buy pre-packaged food because every penny now counts more than ever. The upside to this seemingly endless “recession” is that its actually cheaper in the long run to utilize sustainable and natural things in your everyday life than to rely upon commercial goods that cost a lot of natural resources to produce and take money out of the community. You can actually save money by shopping at local farmer markets, buying used, growing your own food and herbs, and making simple repairs yourself.
1. Buy more of your produce at local farmer markets. Its been shown that in many areas of the United States its actually cheaper to buy fruits and vegetables from your Farmer’s market than to shop at the nearby grocery stores. Try to buy in bulk, too.
2. Only buy used clothes. This is a classic frugality tip, but I think its good to point it out anyway because you really can save a ton of money just buy getting everything used. Buy your clothes at the local Salvation Army store and garage sales. You can also buy decent furniture way below the store retail price. Though I admit I take this to the extreme sometimes when I buy used electronics and household appliances at garage sales such as keyboards, computer modem, blender, bread maker, microwave, and coolers.
3. Try to grow some of your own food and herbs. By starting your own edible food garden that includes vegetables, fruit, nuts, and herbs you can save upwards to hundreds of dollars. Of course, not everyone has a lot of space for gardening but if you can still do container gardening or square foot gardening. Herbs are very useful as they can be used in cooking, medicine, aroma, and cleaning while being easy to grow and maintain in your garden. And many herbs can easily be grown in a container on the windowsill.
4. Stay away from shopping malls or any kind of large commercial store. This is one of my weaknesses and why I usually stick to only buying food from local markets and anything else I need from a store that sells used goods.
5. Learn to de-clutter your life and fix things yourself. Try selling some of your old stuff in a garage sale or online to make some extra cash. Learn to make simple repairs such as fixing bikes, preparing meals, making soap, and repairing vacuum cleaners.
6. Try to bike, walk, carpool, or take public transportation more often. If you live in a suburban or rural area like me then a lot of your income probably goes towards vehicle-related expenses like repairs, insurance, and gas. I know in a rural or suburban area it can be difficult to get around without a vehicle but you can try to bike, walk, or carpool to some places. When shopping for a vehicle don’t buy anything that gets less than 25 miles per gallon of gas and buy used.
Well, maybe the era of unrestrained consumerism is gone for good or maybe someday the economy will get better. No matter what happens it always pays to practice frugality in order to save money and protect the environment. After all, every dollar saved is one you don’t have to earn.