Our theme this week is Earth Day!
For those of you that have been on Market Street in Corning, you may have noticed a unique display in the window the past few weeks. We are proud to promote local events that are happening in our community, especially when the organization is operating on a shoestring budget. The display is meant to bring awareness to an event happening on May 4th called “ReCouture,” previously known as Recycled Runway.
Here’s the really cool thing - in honor of this event and Earth Day (Today, Monday April 22nd), we are giving away a ticket to this cool event to the first person that speaks for it. Not just any ole ticket either, a VIP ticket! Full disclosure, I do serve on a sub-committee for The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, so I’d like to see the event do well for multiple reasons.* If you are interested in learning more about the event (and we’d love to see you there), check out the Fashion Show Website Page. What a fun night out this will be, along with being a good cause! And if you are wondering, yes this picture is made 100% out of recycled items.
Also stay tuned for Friday’s Wine and Dime Podcast release where we talk about how each of us can make small inexpensive adjustments in our lives to leave a better footprint. I think you’ll love Becky’s tips below, our resident budget buster has some great savings tips for you!
Earth Day
By Financial Planner Becky Partridge
Corning, New York
Earth Day is a day where people take a step back, and think about how they can help the planet. What if I told you that you can help save the earth, and save money while doing so? There are many things in your everyday life that you could do by making tiny adjustments so that you can save money and make a huge environmental impact.
Let’s start with drinking tap water instead of using bottled water. If you are in an area with safe tap water, consider using a refillable water bottle instead of grabbing bottled water. If you take a refillable bottle, you can save upwards of $2 a bottle depending on where you shop. This adds up over the course of a year, not to mention the fact that you aren’t wasting plastic when you use a refillable bottle! It’s estimated that only 23% of water bottles are recycled. If you do use a one-time use water bottle, please do your part and recycle. If you live in a state like New York, or any of the other states which have a container deposit, you can get the nickel deposit back for every bottle you return. If you do some research you may even find a redemption center that gives back 6 or 7 cents, which will allow you to earn some money back.
Another way to save money and the earth is to buy fewer groceries. I know this one sounds odd, but did you know that nearly 25% - 40% of food bought ends up being thrown out? If you could reduce your grocery budget by 25% - 40% think of all the money you will be saving! You will also be reducing the amount of space you take up in a landfill. When you have to throw food out, you could consider having a compost pile to make fertile soil that you could use to grow a garden to save even more money. There is nothing better than fresh picked fruits and vegetables.
Who doesn’t love a nice cup of hot or iced coffee? Keurigs have become the coffee maker of choice for people all over largely due to their simplicity and efficiency. It’s sad though that almost all K-cups are enclosed in an individual plastic shell. Thankfully there are some companies who are coming out with eco-friendly pods, and there are also refillable K-cups. The refillable K-cups are great because they save on the amount of plastic being sent to landfills and they are much more economical than throwaway pods. In fact, a single K-cup averages out to be about 4 times the cost of using traditional ground coffee in a refillable pod. If you drink a lot of coffee that adds up to a substantial saving each year. Going along with saving money and the environment on coffee comes coffee on the go. Places like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts have made getting coffee on the go very convenient, but think about the effect that has on your wallet and the environment. To-go cups are often times plastic or what appears to be paper, but the inner coating is actually plastic which makes these cups take a long time to decompose in the landfill. The average cup of coffee is around $3. I’m not saying don’t spend your money this way if that is what makes you happy, but it might be beneficial to reduce the amount of coffee you buy outside of your home; try making it from home and taking it with you on occasion. If you are going to be purchasing coffee when you are away from home, consider taking a reusable cup with you. Most coffee shops and gas stations welcome you bringing in your own cup. In fact, many places even give a discount if you bring your own cup.
*The ARTS Council of the Southern Tier is an independent organization, this is published with their permission.
There are many other ways that you could save money and the environment together. What is your action plan? We would love to hear from you!