My top 3 not-so-common tips for saving green through living green:
1 - Take a look at your credit card statements for the past few months
(or your checkbook, if you have sworn off credit cards). You can do it;
it won't bite you. See if you can find just one monthly charge that wasn't
necessary at all. I don't mean a fraudulent charge (though if you find one,
you'll be glad you looked!). But a charge that you didn't see any benefit from.
Like an automatic payment to a gym membership that you never canceled,
but should have. Or a credit card finance charge that you could avoid in the
future by just paying the darn thing off already.
2 - While you're looking at your monthly statements, see if you can pick out
the biggest expenses. Now find just one that you can realistically lower.
Maybe you don't really need all those mobile phone minutes. Or maybe you
can make coffee at home and bring it in a fun travel mug instead of getting
something every morning on the way to work. Be creative. The idea is to find
ways to trim the extra without making you feel deprived -- there's no virtue in
self-denial. You'll just get resentful. The first one my husband and I found?
We were paying for unlimited trash removal when we only had one small bag
a week. Updating that service reduced our monthly charges right off the bat --
savings that kept on saving. Awesome.
If you do this every month, eventually you'll have scoured most or all of your
expenses. And you'll feel lean and mean and ready to be pro-active. What do
I mean by pro-active? I now give you my ALL-TIME FAVORITE strategy, the
one that has saved me countless dollars and many hours of remorse:
Make a 'Wish List'.
Any time you see something you want, put it on the list, with the date and the
retail value next to it. Your item stays on the list for 30 days, after which you
are free to either buy it, cross it off, or re-list it for another 30 days and think
about it some more. [Caveat: when shopping on sites like eBay this strategy
clearly won't work the same way; you can't always wait 30 days. So, wait until
after the first 30 days before looking for the item on eBay. If you know its retail
value and you've had time to think about it, you'll know when you see a true
bargain. Swweeet.]
What goes on this list? Everything that isn't rent, a winter coat, or groceries.
That is, what isn't basic food, clothing or shelter. Be honest, though. Store-
bought cookie-dough is not considered 'food' and a new jacket when you
already have one isn't considered 'clothing'. Going out to eat? Goes on the
list. That new iPhone? On the list. Why does this work?
Putting off the purchase stems the Impulse-buying bug and gives you time
to think about what you're doing. I've found that if I have a chance to think
about what I'm buying, I actually might not want it as badly as I thought. Or
I'll find an alternative that makes me just as happy. After 30 days, if I still
really want it, then I'll buy it, guilt-free. And I'll enjoy my purchase all the
more for it.
Because, in the end, the name of the game is not deprivation. It's getting
the absolute most out of every dollar you spend. Using your resources to
their max? You can't get much greener than that.
By Lori Del Genis
www.consciouselegance.com
