16 thoughts on “My wife and I are thinking about a green living lifestyle, we are concerned. How costly will it be?.?”
C'mon Get Happy
Depends how much you value your health and the health of the planet. Can you put a price on that?
someone
depends. different things can cost more or less. for example.
ceiling fans instead of AC costs less.
having a tank-less water heater is green and cuts down your bills. sealing leaks around your windows and doors saves lots of money!
using a laptop instead of a desktop cuts down your energy bill
Using a clothesline on sunny days saves energy and money
all energy savers that don’t require any extra purchases definitely
cuts down your energy bill.
cutting down on shower time, using rain barrels to collect water to use later, and changing your showerhead and toilet to low-flow saves water and money.
Changing from plastic water bottles to tap water actually saves more money! did you know that it is known to find more germs in water bottles.
Chuck
There are so many ways to go green and it not cost a fortune. I think a lot of people just want to believe it is a fortune so they can justify not caring. Changes you make should be considered investments. Your changes will lower your bills and will completely make up for the money spent. Take your AC/Heating unit for example. Replacing it with a Geothermal unit can save you 50% each month, not to mention that there are some pretty awesome tax incentives right now for switching. You can receive a 30% tax credit. To me, it is an awesome investment and a great start to becoming green! It is not as expensive as people make it out to be. Just take a look and you will see. Good luck!
Liz S
Honestly? There will be some face value costs, but going green can save you MEGA bucks.
And then there are some things that cost nothing, and save money and/or the earth! 🙂
1. CFLs- are a bit more expensive than incandescents, but can save you about $60 per bulb over it’s lifetime (which is way long!) Just be sure to dispose of them properly. ( Home Depot takes them back for recycling, check out earth911.com for places near you!)
2. Canvas bags at your local farmer’s market. Just pop a few in the trunk, or carry them with you to your local market. Save money (farmer’s markets are generally cheaper than grocery stores), save plastics bags, and eat greater tasting, local food!
3. Waste not, want not. Institute a waiting period before buying clothes, furniture, or other big ticket goods. You’ll save money, and reduce buyer remorse purchases to hopefully none! You’ll also end up with things you love.
4. Depending on how much money you are willing to spend, install solar panels. They can pay for themselves withing about 15 years or less, and add major value to a home at selling time. Also, try to install a super efficient heating/ AC system. They can cost up to $15,000, but some are cheaper, and they pay for themselves in just a few years.
5. Use organic and eco products (Burt’s Bees, Aveda, John Master’s Organics) for shampoos, conditoners, etc. You definitely do not want the parabens, triclosan, phtalates, DMDM, paraffins, and so much more hiding in your personal care products. Check out recycline.com (and sold at Whole Foods!) for everything from recycled plastic toothbrushes to recycled plastics plates and cups.
Email me for more and more tips! Good luck going green, and please, please do more than listed above! (organicdog14@yahoo.com)
Go for the green life style it look more expensive but really you save money. you have to do re-search.
For example instead of buying plastic water bottles, go green with buying a canteen that you and your wife can re-fill at your kitchen sink for under a 1$.
Next you can compost your green materials,fruits,vegetables egg shells,and brown material like,shredded paper,and cardboard, overtime they decompose and turn into natural fertilizer/soil.
Last,is to refuse any kind of plastic in your lives. One major problem is the use and waste of plastic bags. Bring your own bag when you go grocery store and it will make a difference.
Little things make a big difference,encourage other people to apply this to their lifestyle.
BeWaterWise Rep
Rather than being costly, green living lifestyle can actually save you money. Use fewer chemicals in your home, conserve energy and water, this will keep your bills down. Visit http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html for some effective tips on water conservation.
John W
Basically, if you’re independently wealthy then you could live a sustainable, green, off the grid life, otherwise you’ll have to commute, work, and partake of grocery store produce and packaged foods like the rest of us.
You can probably do a few small things here and there to make your lifestyle a little bit greener but nothing substantial.
Russ
The answer depends on you, your habits, where you live, what you’re willing to do, and a lot of other things.
A rational approach for most people is to look at the places where greening up has little or no cost (or actual savings) first, and work from there. Waste reduction via recycling and possibly composting, water use reduction through limiting the amount of water-wasting activities in which you engage (such as watering your lawn during the heat of the day) and bringing your groceries home in reusable sacks can be done with little or no outlay. Cutting back on driving by planning shopping trips well in advance to reduce your travel distances will save on fuel and reduce emissions. Riding a bike for short-distance errands also has exercise benefits. If your climate makes it possible to live without air conditioning, you might be able to save money due to reduced power usage at the same time.
Going beyond that, there are various things like solar water heaters, solar cells for on-site electric power generation, and even (in places where zoning doesn’t interfere and there is enough wind to make it practical) wind generation…but all of these require a substantial up-front investment that may not be worthwhile unless you value the greening highly. Switching to green-source electric power from the grid will most likely cost you more than you’re paying now, but it won’t bite a big chunk out just to make the swap. Buying a hybrid car when it’s time to replace your current vehicle may make sense, but you have to weigh the costs and benefits yourself to see if it truly makes sense.
jimmybrucehiggins
Don’t waste your time going green. It will not change the outcome at this point.
Global Warming – It means that the total average temperature of the Earth as a whole GLOBE is getting hotter. However, the Global Warming reference is usually referring to the idea that Green House Gases like CO2 and Methane (CH4) are insulating the Earth against radiating the sun’s constant heating out into space.
Sort of like having a big wool jacket on in the summer. You get hot from the sun but the wool jacket insulates your body from releasing the heat so you get even hotter. As more greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere of Earth, it is like adding another layer of clothing to the wool jacket while the sun just keeps on giving you more heat.
Most scientist agree that due to the huge growth explosion of the human population, we 6.5 billion people are pouring even more CO2 into the air every day adding more layers of insulation. The result of that is the globe as a whole gets warmer and starts melting the polar ice caps and Greenland ice. If they melt, the ocean levels rise as a lot of solid frozen water drops into the liquid oceans on such a huge scale that is makes the oceans levels rise about 23 feet if either West Antarctic Ice Shelf or the Greenland ice melts completely. If they both melt then it goes up 46 feet. If all polar ice melts, then it goes up 250 feet. Also rainfall patterns shift from the good growing farmland areas to the higher mountain regions and we lose food production. Basically we are screwed.
Every scientist, whether they agree on all the details or not does agree that the Earth is CURRENTLY warm enough to melt Greenland and the Antarctic Ice. So no matter what anyone does from this point on, like riding bikes to work, turning off their AC, not buying a hummer, etc… it won’t do anything to stop Global Warming. The current level of CO2 and CH4 have enough insulating power and the sun keeps shining 24/7/365 giving the Earth more heat to eventually melt the polar and Greenland ice.
Basically, the "green" movement is a big waste of time if it is about stopping Global Warming. At this point, the Earth is warm enough to make all the worst come true eventually. Now is not the time to try and stop Global Warming. Too late for that. It is now time to plan for what is coming when the oceans rise and the rainfall shifts.
~horse l<3ver~
ok!!! your going green. its not expensve just have lots of plant love and care for them and make sure around your environment that theres not trash everywhere
Amber
actually it costs less…if you use real playtes instead of paper u cut the cost of paper plates every time u get them also if u use cloth napkins u cut the cost of buying new 1s wen they run out…if u turn off the water while washing dishes or brushing your teeth, u cut the cost of water by some and if use a clothesline instead of a dryer u cut the cost of electricty same for if u keep chargers and printers unplugged when not in use. See? by going green you can probably cut the cost more often then raising it…also carpool 2 work it cuts money for gas. please go green!!!!
Michael
Well Global Warming is bad – but luckily there are little things we can do to help without changing our daily lives or routines.
Bellzar.com, (a Google search engine that conserves energy by using a black background. It also donates its profits to charity. No loose eh?
Other things should be done too, turn off computers when not being used, unplug utilities, etc.
Truly, a green living lifestyle can be cheaper!
Earle W
You will save! Vegetarian is ultimate cheap, and directly provides for inexpensive wink wink nod nod entertainment because you’ll both smell better to each other. Because the thermostat is at 68, your utility bill drops, and also helps the closeness factor. Ride that bike, gasoline bill drops, health, stamina and libido go up (hubby, get the right seat or risk no up, from what I hear anyways). $0.05 returned from groceries for every reusable bag you bring, less garbage to look at in your home because you bought in bulk (also saving $$), and your fridge can have the thermostat adjusted because you didn’t buy 10 frozen pizzas.
missJMAC
it’s definitely more expensive, but better for the environment!
Kenny
Here are 10 green living tips that wont crimp your style or your wallet, but will aid in your desire to live green: (The blog I found this in is referenced in the source below.
1.Use recyclable cloth grocery bags instead of plastic. Plastic bags take eons to degrade and can be harmful to wildlife. Cloth bags only cost you $1 and some grocery stores even give you a rebate every time you use them. Not only that but they fit more groceries, can be used over and over again for anything and are easier to carry!
2.Buy reusable coffee filters you will never run out!
3.Put your kitchen scraps in a compost pile you’ll have great organic fertilizer for your garden and be making good use of your scraps.
4.Use cloth kitchen towels instead of paper towels.
5.Buy used items. Need a new sofa or TV? Try looking at your local consignment store or in the classifieds. You can get like new items for a fraction of the price and it keeps those items out of the landfill.
6.Dont print! Do you really need to print that out? Think hard before you print stuff on your computer youll save a ton on ink and paper.
7.Get your news online instead of getting a newspaper delivered to your house, just go online and read your local news. Almost every newspaper has webpage these days where you can get late breaking news.
8.Work from home if your company allows it, try to work from home 1 or 2 days a week. Youll be producing less carbon emissions and saving on gas (plus youll probably get a lot more done without your boss staring over your shoulder!)
9.Buy local flying and trucking food all over the world creates a lot of pollution so if you have a local farmers market, try to support your local farmers and buy as much food as you can there. It will be healthier for you and the environment.
10.Turn down your water heater most people have their water heater up too high turn yours down to 120 degrees and make sure you but an insulating sweater around it. This will help it run more efficiently and save you on heating your water. For even more savings, insulate the pipes coming out of the water heater.
Depends how much you value your health and the health of the planet. Can you put a price on that?
depends. different things can cost more or less. for example.
ceiling fans instead of AC costs less.
having a tank-less water heater is green and cuts down your bills. sealing leaks around your windows and doors saves lots of money!
using a laptop instead of a desktop cuts down your energy bill
Using a clothesline on sunny days saves energy and money
all energy savers that don’t require any extra purchases definitely
cuts down your energy bill.
cutting down on shower time, using rain barrels to collect water to use later, and changing your showerhead and toilet to low-flow saves water and money.
Changing from plastic water bottles to tap water actually saves more money! did you know that it is known to find more germs in water bottles.
There are so many ways to go green and it not cost a fortune. I think a lot of people just want to believe it is a fortune so they can justify not caring. Changes you make should be considered investments. Your changes will lower your bills and will completely make up for the money spent. Take your AC/Heating unit for example. Replacing it with a Geothermal unit can save you 50% each month, not to mention that there are some pretty awesome tax incentives right now for switching. You can receive a 30% tax credit. To me, it is an awesome investment and a great start to becoming green! It is not as expensive as people make it out to be. Just take a look and you will see. Good luck!
Honestly? There will be some face value costs, but going green can save you MEGA bucks.
And then there are some things that cost nothing, and save money and/or the earth! 🙂
1. CFLs- are a bit more expensive than incandescents, but can save you about $60 per bulb over it’s lifetime (which is way long!) Just be sure to dispose of them properly. ( Home Depot takes them back for recycling, check out earth911.com for places near you!)
2. Canvas bags at your local farmer’s market. Just pop a few in the trunk, or carry them with you to your local market. Save money (farmer’s markets are generally cheaper than grocery stores), save plastics bags, and eat greater tasting, local food!
3. Waste not, want not. Institute a waiting period before buying clothes, furniture, or other big ticket goods. You’ll save money, and reduce buyer remorse purchases to hopefully none! You’ll also end up with things you love.
4. Depending on how much money you are willing to spend, install solar panels. They can pay for themselves withing about 15 years or less, and add major value to a home at selling time. Also, try to install a super efficient heating/ AC system. They can cost up to $15,000, but some are cheaper, and they pay for themselves in just a few years.
5. Use organic and eco products (Burt’s Bees, Aveda, John Master’s Organics) for shampoos, conditoners, etc. You definitely do not want the parabens, triclosan, phtalates, DMDM, paraffins, and so much more hiding in your personal care products. Check out recycline.com (and sold at Whole Foods!) for everything from recycled plastic toothbrushes to recycled plastics plates and cups.
Email me for more and more tips! Good luck going green, and please, please do more than listed above! (organicdog14@yahoo.com)
hope this helps!
Green living does not have to be expensive. My family works to live green every day. You can learn more about green living at
http://www.youtube.com/london1817
or
http://www.produceyourgreenpower.com
Thanks,
Christina
Go for the green life style it look more expensive but really you save money. you have to do re-search.
For example instead of buying plastic water bottles, go green with buying a canteen that you and your wife can re-fill at your kitchen sink for under a 1$.
Next you can compost your green materials,fruits,vegetables egg shells,and brown material like,shredded paper,and cardboard, overtime they decompose and turn into natural fertilizer/soil.
Last,is to refuse any kind of plastic in your lives. One major problem is the use and waste of plastic bags. Bring your own bag when you go grocery store and it will make a difference.
Little things make a big difference,encourage other people to apply this to their lifestyle.
Rather than being costly, green living lifestyle can actually save you money. Use fewer chemicals in your home, conserve energy and water, this will keep your bills down. Visit http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html for some effective tips on water conservation.
Basically, if you’re independently wealthy then you could live a sustainable, green, off the grid life, otherwise you’ll have to commute, work, and partake of grocery store produce and packaged foods like the rest of us.
You can probably do a few small things here and there to make your lifestyle a little bit greener but nothing substantial.
The answer depends on you, your habits, where you live, what you’re willing to do, and a lot of other things.
A rational approach for most people is to look at the places where greening up has little or no cost (or actual savings) first, and work from there. Waste reduction via recycling and possibly composting, water use reduction through limiting the amount of water-wasting activities in which you engage (such as watering your lawn during the heat of the day) and bringing your groceries home in reusable sacks can be done with little or no outlay. Cutting back on driving by planning shopping trips well in advance to reduce your travel distances will save on fuel and reduce emissions. Riding a bike for short-distance errands also has exercise benefits. If your climate makes it possible to live without air conditioning, you might be able to save money due to reduced power usage at the same time.
Going beyond that, there are various things like solar water heaters, solar cells for on-site electric power generation, and even (in places where zoning doesn’t interfere and there is enough wind to make it practical) wind generation…but all of these require a substantial up-front investment that may not be worthwhile unless you value the greening highly. Switching to green-source electric power from the grid will most likely cost you more than you’re paying now, but it won’t bite a big chunk out just to make the swap. Buying a hybrid car when it’s time to replace your current vehicle may make sense, but you have to weigh the costs and benefits yourself to see if it truly makes sense.
Don’t waste your time going green. It will not change the outcome at this point.
Global Warming – It means that the total average temperature of the Earth as a whole GLOBE is getting hotter. However, the Global Warming reference is usually referring to the idea that Green House Gases like CO2 and Methane (CH4) are insulating the Earth against radiating the sun’s constant heating out into space.
Sort of like having a big wool jacket on in the summer. You get hot from the sun but the wool jacket insulates your body from releasing the heat so you get even hotter. As more greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere of Earth, it is like adding another layer of clothing to the wool jacket while the sun just keeps on giving you more heat.
Most scientist agree that due to the huge growth explosion of the human population, we 6.5 billion people are pouring even more CO2 into the air every day adding more layers of insulation. The result of that is the globe as a whole gets warmer and starts melting the polar ice caps and Greenland ice. If they melt, the ocean levels rise as a lot of solid frozen water drops into the liquid oceans on such a huge scale that is makes the oceans levels rise about 23 feet if either West Antarctic Ice Shelf or the Greenland ice melts completely. If they both melt then it goes up 46 feet. If all polar ice melts, then it goes up 250 feet. Also rainfall patterns shift from the good growing farmland areas to the higher mountain regions and we lose food production. Basically we are screwed.
Every scientist, whether they agree on all the details or not does agree that the Earth is CURRENTLY warm enough to melt Greenland and the Antarctic Ice. So no matter what anyone does from this point on, like riding bikes to work, turning off their AC, not buying a hummer, etc… it won’t do anything to stop Global Warming. The current level of CO2 and CH4 have enough insulating power and the sun keeps shining 24/7/365 giving the Earth more heat to eventually melt the polar and Greenland ice.
Basically, the "green" movement is a big waste of time if it is about stopping Global Warming. At this point, the Earth is warm enough to make all the worst come true eventually. Now is not the time to try and stop Global Warming. Too late for that. It is now time to plan for what is coming when the oceans rise and the rainfall shifts.
ok!!! your going green. its not expensve just have lots of plant love and care for them and make sure around your environment that theres not trash everywhere
actually it costs less…if you use real playtes instead of paper u cut the cost of paper plates every time u get them also if u use cloth napkins u cut the cost of buying new 1s wen they run out…if u turn off the water while washing dishes or brushing your teeth, u cut the cost of water by some and if use a clothesline instead of a dryer u cut the cost of electricty same for if u keep chargers and printers unplugged when not in use. See? by going green you can probably cut the cost more often then raising it…also carpool 2 work it cuts money for gas. please go green!!!!
Well Global Warming is bad – but luckily there are little things we can do to help without changing our daily lives or routines.
Bellzar.com, (a Google search engine that conserves energy by using a black background. It also donates its profits to charity. No loose eh?
Other things should be done too, turn off computers when not being used, unplug utilities, etc.
Truly, a green living lifestyle can be cheaper!
You will save! Vegetarian is ultimate cheap, and directly provides for inexpensive wink wink nod nod entertainment because you’ll both smell better to each other. Because the thermostat is at 68, your utility bill drops, and also helps the closeness factor. Ride that bike, gasoline bill drops, health, stamina and libido go up (hubby, get the right seat or risk no up, from what I hear anyways). $0.05 returned from groceries for every reusable bag you bring, less garbage to look at in your home because you bought in bulk (also saving $$), and your fridge can have the thermostat adjusted because you didn’t buy 10 frozen pizzas.
it’s definitely more expensive, but better for the environment!
Here are 10 green living tips that wont crimp your style or your wallet, but will aid in your desire to live green: (The blog I found this in is referenced in the source below.
1.Use recyclable cloth grocery bags instead of plastic. Plastic bags take eons to degrade and can be harmful to wildlife. Cloth bags only cost you $1 and some grocery stores even give you a rebate every time you use them. Not only that but they fit more groceries, can be used over and over again for anything and are easier to carry!
2.Buy reusable coffee filters you will never run out!
3.Put your kitchen scraps in a compost pile you’ll have great organic fertilizer for your garden and be making good use of your scraps.
4.Use cloth kitchen towels instead of paper towels.
5.Buy used items. Need a new sofa or TV? Try looking at your local consignment store or in the classifieds. You can get like new items for a fraction of the price and it keeps those items out of the landfill.
6.Dont print! Do you really need to print that out? Think hard before you print stuff on your computer youll save a ton on ink and paper.
7.Get your news online instead of getting a newspaper delivered to your house, just go online and read your local news. Almost every newspaper has webpage these days where you can get late breaking news.
8.Work from home if your company allows it, try to work from home 1 or 2 days a week. Youll be producing less carbon emissions and saving on gas (plus youll probably get a lot more done without your boss staring over your shoulder!)
9.Buy local flying and trucking food all over the world creates a lot of pollution so if you have a local farmers market, try to support your local farmers and buy as much food as you can there. It will be healthier for you and the environment.
10.Turn down your water heater most people have their water heater up too high turn yours down to 120 degrees and make sure you but an insulating sweater around it. This will help it run more efficiently and save you on heating your water. For even more savings, insulate the pipes coming out of the water heater.