go green and save money in 2011 by esta hammond from easy ways to save money

2
A re you one of the many people who will find themselves starting the new year with empty wallets, credit card hangovers and holiday regrets? Do your financial resolutions require you to cut down, cut back or cut out completely? If you answered ‘yes’ then take heart, because getting back in control of your money is not as difficult as you might imagine. You do not need to settle for poor quality or deprive yourself of things that are important to you. ere are thousands of dollars to be saved on everyday things, which will enable you to have your cake and eat it too! I mean what is the point of having cake and not being able to eat it anyway, right? e best part is that saving money is not just great for your wallet; it can be just as beneficial to your health and the environment. Here are six easy ways to save money right now and get you on your way: Choose Your Battles Identify all those expenses that are not essential to your quality of life and can be reduced or eliminated with five extra minutes of careful thought and choice about what you are paying for. As an example, do you care if you have Home Brand sugar in your morning coffee? Do you care what insurance provider you are with if it saves you hundreds of dollars each year, just by spending half an hour on the phone? Do you care if you have your friends over for a fun night of board games and a potluck dinner instead of a night out at the pub? Do you care if you have a home phone if every person in the house has a mobile anyway? e list is endless, but the savings add up to thousands! Remember: it is not important what you earn, but rather what you do with it! Green Your Cleaning Besides cleaning products being extremely expensive, they can also be environmentally unfriendly and full of chemicals and toxic ingredients that you are exposing to your family. Here are three cheap and effective products that should see you through to a cleaner greener home. Sodium Bi-Carbonate: is is a mild abrasive cleaner, and an excellent odour absorber. Simply sprinkle it on the area you want to clean and rub in a circular motion with a damp cloth. White and Apple Cider Vinegar: is product has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and mild disinfectant properties. Use it at full or half strength in a spray bottle and it will give you one of the cheapest and most powerful multi-purpose cleaners that can be used in every area of your home. Methylated Spirits: is product has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antiseptic and anti-viral properties. Again, just add to a spray bottle for a multipurpose cleaner and disinfectant. Shop Smarter Most of us shop at the same stores without giving it a second thought, but there are many alternatives that could be saving you thousands of dollars every single year. Fruit & Vegetables: Farmer’s markets provide some of the freshest produce, and without the middleman they can also be a lot cheaper. If you go close to closing time you may also be able to negotiate a good price to purchase leſtover produce in bulk. Meat: Buying meat direct from the farms can save you a fortune and you have peace of mind knowing exactly where your meat has come from. Generally you need to buy in bulk, but you can always split it with friends. Farmer direct can sell top quality meat for around $8kg, and you can even buy certified organic starting for around $13kg from farms like Graham’s Meats in Killarney. Clothes: It is hard staying fashionable on a budget, but most of us only wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time. Get reacquainted with ‘the others’ in your closet and see if you can put together any new outfits. You can also swap the clothes you no longer like or wear for a cheap new wardrobe at clothing exchange events held throughout the country. Finally, instead of buying new outfits, look at accessories that will give you a whole new look and be far less expensive, like a new belt, scarf or costume jewellery. Furniture and Other Household Items: By shopping around, you could easily save yourself up to 50% on furniture and other items that are new or barely used. ere are many places available to search and find great bargains like your local paper, eBay, garage sales, markets, secondhand stores and recycling centres. Plan More, Waste Less Grocery shopping is one of the biggest household expenses, yet it is also one of the worst managed. According to e Australia Institute, Australians throw away about $5.2 billion worth of food every year, including $1.1 billion of fruit and vegetables. ey estimate the average Australian household throws away $616 of food each year! To save money and stop wastage, write up a menu plan each week based on what fruit and vegetables are on special, and what items in your pantry are close to expiring. en write up your shopping list based on your menu plan, and stick to it! Be Beautiful, Naturally We spend a fortune on beauty products that contain natural ingredients like fruit, milk and honey, but why do we not just use these products straight from our pantry? ey are bursting with vitamins, antioxidants, alpha hydroxy acids, retinol, selenium, vitamins, minerals and any other fancy named ingredient you will find on the labels of the best selling beauty products. • Make your own cleansers and exfoliates with ingredients like sugar, salt, polenta and oatmeal • Make your own toners with ingredients like cucumber juice, infused rosemary water and green tea • Make your own moisturisers with avocado, apricot and coconut oil • Make your own facemasks with pureed fruit, yoghurt, honey and powdered milk, even coffee! v By Esta Hammond Go Green & Save Money In 2011 Holistic Home • Insight Regular 36 JANUARY 2011 www.InsightMagazine.com.au

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Page 1: Go Green and Save Money in 2011 by Esta Hammond from Easy Ways to Save Money

Are you one of the many people who will find themselves starting the new year with empty wallets, credit card hangovers and holiday regrets? Do your financial resolutions require you to cut

down, cut back or cut out completely? If you answered ‘yes’ then take heart, because getting back in control of your money is not as difficult as you might imagine. You do not need to settle for poor quality or deprive yourself of things that are important to you. There are thousands of dollars to be saved on everyday things, which will enable you to have your cake and eat it too! I mean what is the point of having cake and not being able to eat it anyway, right? The best part is that saving money is not just great for your wallet; it can be just as beneficial to your health and the environment.

Here are six easy ways to save money right now and get you on your way:

Choose Your Battles Identify all those expenses that are not essential to your quality of life and

can be reduced or eliminated with five extra minutes of careful thought and choice about what you are paying for. As an example, do you care if you have Home Brand sugar in your morning coffee? Do you care what insurance provider you are with if it saves you hundreds of dollars each year, just by spending half an hour on the phone? Do you care if you have your friends over for a fun night of board games and a potluck dinner instead of a night out at the pub? Do you care if you have a home phone if every person in the house has a mobile anyway? The list is endless, but the savings add up to thousands! Remember: it is not important what you earn, but rather what you do with it!

Green Your Cleaning Besides cleaning products being extremely expensive, they can

also be environmentally unfriendly and full of chemicals and toxic ingredients that you are exposing to your family. Here are three cheap and effective products that should see you through to a cleaner greener home.

Sodium Bi-Carbonate: This is a mild abrasive cleaner, and an excellent odour absorber. Simply sprinkle it on the area you want to clean and rub in a circular motion with a damp cloth.

White and Apple Cider Vinegar: This product has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and mild disinfectant properties. Use it at full or half strength in a spray bottle and it will give you one of the cheapest and most powerful multi-purpose cleaners that can be used in every area of your home.

Methylated Spirits: This product has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antiseptic and anti-viral properties. Again, just add to a spray bottle for a multipurpose cleaner and disinfectant.

Shop SmarterMost of us shop at the same stores without giving it a second thought,

but there are many alternatives that could be saving you thousands of dollars every single year.

Fruit & Vegetables: Farmer’s markets provide some of the freshest produce, and without the middleman they can also be a lot cheaper. If you go close to closing time you may also be able to negotiate a good price to purchase leftover produce in bulk.

Meat: Buying meat direct from the farms can save you a fortune and you have peace of mind knowing exactly where your meat has come from. Generally you need to buy in bulk, but you can always split it with friends. Farmer direct can sell top quality meat for around $8kg, and you can even buy certified organic starting for around $13kg from farms like Graham’s Meats in Killarney.

Clothes: It is hard staying fashionable on a budget, but most of us only wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time. Get reacquainted with ‘the others’ in your closet and see if you can put together any new outfits. You can also swap the clothes you no longer like or wear for a cheap new wardrobe at clothing exchange events held throughout the country. Finally, instead of buying new outfits, look at accessories that will give you a whole new look and be far less expensive, like a new belt, scarf or costume jewellery.

Furniture and Other Household Items: By shopping around, you could easily save yourself up to 50% on furniture and other items that are new or barely used. There are many places available to search and find great bargains like your local paper, eBay, garage sales, markets, secondhand stores and recycling centres.

Plan More, Waste LessGrocery shopping is one of the biggest household expenses, yet it is also

one of the worst managed. According to The Australia Institute, Australians throw away about $5.2 billion worth of food every year, including $1.1 billion of fruit and vegetables. They estimate the average Australian household throws away $616 of food each year! To save money and stop wastage, write up a menu plan each week based on what fruit and vegetables are on special, and what items in your pantry are close to expiring. Then write up your shopping list based on your menu plan, and stick to it!

Be Beautiful, Naturally We spend a fortune on beauty products that contain natural ingredients

like fruit, milk and honey, but why do we not just use these products straight from our pantry? They are bursting with vitamins, antioxidants, alpha hydroxy acids, retinol, selenium, vitamins, minerals and any other fancy named ingredient you will find on the labels of the best selling beauty products.

• Make your own cleansers and exfoliates with ingredients like sugar, salt, polenta and oatmeal

• Make your own toners with ingredients like cucumber juice, infused rosemary water and green tea

• Make your own moisturisers with avocado, apricot and coconut oil

• Make your own facemasks with pureed fruit, yoghurt, honey and powdered milk, even coffee! v

By Esta Hammond

Go Green & Save Money In 2011

Holistic Home • Insight Regular

36 JANUARY 2011 www.InsightMagazine.com.au

Page 2: Go Green and Save Money in 2011 by Esta Hammond from Easy Ways to Save Money

Insight Regular • Holistic Home

37 www.InsightMagazine.com.au JANUARY 2011

Tips to Save Money on Petrol1. When you need to fill up, check with a fuel-watch website such as ‘Motor Mouth’ to find the cheapest petrol in your area. 2. Re-fuel your car when petrol is cheap, not when the fuel gauge is on empty. 3. When buying petrol, go early in the morning or late in the evening when the petrol is at its densest and you will get more volume for your money.

4. Resist the temptation to top up your tank after the nozzle first clicks because this extra fuel will either slosh out as you drive and/or evaporate. 5. If you are doing 100 kilometres or more on a highway, wind your windows up to stop drag and to make your car more aerodynamic. Do the opposite for city driving.

6. Regularly check the air pressure in your tyres. Under-inflated tyres create more resistance, meaning your car works harder and uses more fuel.

7. Work out all the necessary trips you need to make at the start of each week and then plan errands along the way to avoid any unnecessary outings.

Esta Hammond is the author of Save It: Easy Ways to Save Money. She is passionate about education, so we can enjoy the rewards of making

informed choices before spending our hard-earned money!! www.easywaystosavemoney.com.au

HOLISTIC HOME

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• Eucalyptus or essential oils for fragrance if desired

Fill half a bucket with hot water and add in the soap flakes, washing

soda and eucalyptus or essential oils if desired. Put the lid on

your bucket and gently agitate for 30 seconds to help dissolve the

ingredients. Then fill the rest of the bucket with cold water and put

the lid back on and let it set until it forms into a gel. For front loaders

use two cups and for top loaders use 3 cups.

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