Making Green Living Affordable

The planet is important, but so are your finances. Whatever your situation, we all could save some money and put it to better use. We all have expenses, and we try to cut corners, but in doing that, sometimes we purchase products that are not natural and lack the quality we want to provide ourselves and our families with.

I have made it my mission to use green products while saving money. The first way I do that is before I go on a stocking up shopping trip, I read online ads at the applicable website for the store or stores I plan to shop at. I print out online coupons from the store website and sign up for whatever rewards programs they might have. I also check out what they may have available for online rebates. Mailing in rebates is a pain, but in the long-run, those checks add up! Most stores allow you to submit your rebates online anyway. Its the age of technology, everyone! Get on board.

Another fabulous way to save is to then go to the website of the product manufacturers you intend to purchase merchandise from at the store you plan to shop at. Print out coupons and check to see if they are offering any rebates or rewards programs. Print out those coupons they have available and combine them with store rewards cards, store rebates, and store coupons. You are allowed to use one store and one manufacturer coupon on each product you select to purchase. At times, with the two rebates and the two coupons, you pay almost nothing and get all of it back and sometimes more!

Clip coupons from the Sunday paper ads. They are loaded with savings on products you use every day. Sign up for samples from online manufacturer and associated companies for freebies and savings. Sometimes they send you a coupon for the product you sent away for. Its worth it! Every dollar off is a dollar in your bank account or in your pocket!

Use reusable bags. Stores sometimes give you discounts or coupons towards future purchases to be green. Obviously, this saves them money on bags and supplies, and they make money off of you purchasing the reusable bags. When you use a plastic bag provided by the store, that's dollars thrown away by the corporation so everybody wins!

Purchase refillable ink cartridges for your printer. Its a real money saver and its good for the environment! Sometimes companies will pay you for your recyclable goods. Its worth researching. You can end up getting free coupons for products, gift cards, and cold hard cash! This is also an excellent way to save money on trash removal. I know some communities do not provide this free or even cheap.

Barter on websites where people swap items. Somebody might need what you want to throw out. One man's trash is another man's treasure. It will give you a good feeling inside to help others and you can get what you need if necessary. There are rewards programs out there that offer goodies for giving away freebies to those who need them. Recycling electronics is super expensive! In some communities, we have to pay for our trash bags. If you ship smaller electronics and items that are applicable, these companies will generally pay shipping for your junk. You both win!

Donate items you don't want. There are local thrift stores, food pantries, religious organizations, shelters, community outreach programs, and schools that have no funds to help people and your old, unwanted items can really do them some good. It doesn't take much time out of your schedule, and it saves on waste in the landfills. Its your way of giving back without spending a dime. Even give them coupons you won't use. They may need them and they will then not go to waste.

Banks and utility companies often offer electronic billing. Its convenient. You can save your bills on your computer, which is great for organization. Your house is paper clutter free and you have just saved a ton of paper that would otherwise be wasted and cluttering your home.

Use refillable cleaning products. It saves money, and makes you have to take less trips out to the dumpster or trashcan, whatever you might have where you live, and that's something nobody ever wants to do. Often the refills are much cheaper as far as the amount of product in the container than individually buying a new one every single time.

Do your part, save money. Reduce, reuse, recycle!