As the cost of living crisis continues to send bills soaring, more families are seeking out money-savings tips and cost-cutting techniques. However, rising costs isn’t the only worry that homeowners are facing. As we face a critical climate tipping point, families are looking for ways to be more sustainable too.
Many people assume that being green means spending more money, but this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, becoming more sustainable can actually reduce your costs and help you save hundreds (or thousands!) of pounds every year. To learn more, take a look at these seven ways to go green and save money:
1. Drive an Electric Car
If your current vehicle is on its last legs and you’re looking for a replacement, consider trying an electric car. With no need to top up with petrol or diesel, you won’t be faced with spiralling fuel costs and an electric car doesn’t produce any carbon emissions – so you can drastically reduce your carbon footprint by making the switch too!
If transitioning to an electric vehicle sounds stressful, there’s no need to worry. With ElectriX, you can find out everything you need to know about electric cars, arrange for a smart home charger to be installed and even find low-cost insurance deals. Whether you’re interested in electric car leasing or ownership, you can access all the information you need and switch to a cleaner, greener form of travel.
2. Use Natural Cleaning Products
You may not associate cleaning products with high costs but check your latest grocery bill and you’re likely to be surprised. It’s not unusual for the cost of cleaning products to add £10 – £15 or more to a weekly grocery shop, so you could be spending more than you realise keeping your home clean and tidy.
However, chemical-laden cleaning products may not be quite as beneficial as you think, particularly if anyone in your home suffers with respiratory conditions or allergies. Often, the chemicals in these products trigger symptoms which could be avoided by switching to natural products.
Both vinegar and lemon juice are great as all-purpose cleaners, for example, while baking soda is a great deodoriser. Just remember to test your homemade cleaning products before using them and avoid mixing incompatible ingredients. By prepping your natural cleaning products in advance, you won’t miss out on the convenience of having a spray bottle to hand and you can keep your home spick and span without putting any nasty chemicals into the environment.
3. Eat Seasonally
If you’ve noticed your grocery bills increasing over recent weeks, you certainly aren’t alone. Although the price of most products is creeping up, eating seasonally could be an effective way to reduce your spending and save the planet.
Food that’s in season can be grown locally, which drastically reduces production costs and means that products aren’t being transported thousands of miles via plane, ship or lorry. As a result, you’ll spend less when you purchase seasonal produce, and you can choose from locally grown fruit and veg that doesn’t have excessive air miles.
A wide range of fruit and veg is in season throughout the summer, including blackberries, cherries, raspberries, carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, cucumber, salad leaves and beetroot, so you can even enjoy a varied and tasty diet while cutting costs and going green.
4. Install Low-Flow Taps and Showerheads
Tracking your water usage can be tricky but the vast majority of households use far more water than they need to. Reducing your household’s water consumption can be one of the best ways to be more environmentally friendly but this isn’t the only benefit on offer.
If your water rates are rising and you have a meter installed, using less water could decrease your bills too. In fact, having a meter installed and switching from a fixed-fee payment could be more economical for many families.
With low flow taps and showerheads, you can easily reduce the amount of water you use, without noticing it! Low-flow taps can work optimally with both high and low pressure water systems, so you can reduce your usage and still enjoy powerful showers and effective flow rates.
5. Dry Clothes Outdoors
If you have a tumble dryer at home, don’t be surprised to see your energy usage spike when it’s in use. Tumble dryers are one of the most energy-intensive appliances you can use, which makes them costly to use and not very eco-friendly.
As the weather improves and the sun starts shining, make the most of the chance to dry clothes outdoors and save your tumble drier for a rainy day. By doing so, you can cut your energy costs and reduce the amount of energy you need to power your home.
6. Use Renewable Energy
The rise in energy costs continues to be a major issue for many families, particularly if your bills have risen by 40% or more over recent months. Fortunately, you don’t have to be reliant on major energy companies to keep your home ticking over. In fact, it’s easier than ever for homeowners to switch to green tariffs but installing at-home renewable energy producers can be a great way to go green and save money.
Rooftop solar panels, air source heat pumps and even wind turbines in your garden can all be effective ways to produce renewable energy and green energy solutions are becoming more affordable all the time. With plenty of financial incentives available, making sustainable changes to your home could be more cost-effective than you think.
What’s more – switching to renewable energy will have a major impact on your carbon footprint. Energy produced from fossil fuels is one of the major climate change contributors, so transitioning to green power will take you a step closer to net-zero.
7. Avoid Single-Use Products
You might have heard of ‘single-use plastic’ and how damaging it can be to the environment, but any single-use product could be increasing your expenditure and contributing to environmental damage. Certainly, single-use plastics, like straws, cups and bottles, are particularly harmful because they often end up landfills, which is why they could be banned in England.
However, other single-use products, like kitchen roll, anti-bacterial wipes, and aluminium foil, all contribute to the planet’s waste problem. Luckily, you don’t need to rely on single-use products, if you make sure you have alternatives available. Using a washable cloth and natural cleaning product can be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than using antibacterial wipes, for example.
What Impact Does Being Green Really Have?
It’s tempting to assume that being more sustainable will be a lot of effort or end up costing you more but, as you can see, being green is easier than you think. Furthermore, many sustainable lifestyle changes can actually save you money and reduce the amount you’re spending on bills, so there are financial benefits on offer too.
By using a smart meter to track your energy usage, you can monitor the impact that the changes you make have on your carbon footprint and even create your own sustainability challenge! Similarly, keeping an eye on your bills will allow you to document the difference in your spending and calculate how much you’re saving by being green.