Frugal living and green living go hand-in-hand. People who choose to live a frugal lifestyle are making decisions that result in eco-friendly actions. And people who choose to live in a green manner often do so in a way that reduces their spending. It is certainly true that some frugal people aren’t green and vice versa but on the whole these two ways of life are one and the same. This is due to the fact that the core beliefs of frugal living are beliefs that lie at the heart of a green lifestyle.

Here’s a look at the three core reasons that frugal living truly is green living:

1. Frugal living is about reducing waste. Frugal living involves reducing waste in order to save money. We reduce our use of gas, energy and water in order to save money on our daily expenses and utilities. We refuse to waste food. We recycle or repurpose items when we are done with them instead of throwing them away. When we stop wasting these things, we do a kindness to the earth around us. We stop taxing the earth’s resources by taking only what we need instead of taking all that we can afford. We may reduce waste to save money but the result is that we are living a greener life.
2. Frugal living is about reducing consumption. Frugal living isn’t just about reducing the waste of the things that we do buy. It’s also about reducing our total consumption. We live frugally by not spending money on consumer items that we don’t need. This is a green action. If we don’t purchase an unnecessary item, we don’t contribute to the manufacturing, processing and shipping that went into making it and that therefore does damage to the earth.
3. Frugal living is about making conscious choices. The most important thing about frugal living is that it involves making conscious choices about our actions every day. We pause and ask ourselves how we want to spend our money and our time. This habit of making conscious choices naturally aids us in making green choices. By being aware of our impact on the environment, we can pause and make choices that are both green and frugal.

People certainly make frugal choices that aren’t good for the earth. People also live green lifestyles that cost more money than they have to. However, the way of thinking that is adopted by people who live frugally is a way of thinking that naturally leads to greener behavior. Saving money saves the earth.

Kathryn is a writer for Promotionalcodes.org.uk which gives away free codes (like this Vodafone promotional code) and also publishes a save money blog.

Post from: EveryJoe

Frugal Living Can Be Green Living

And, interestingly, most of us would prefer to have the status money can buy. I came across this on Slate.com:

A more convincing answer is that we work hard because income is linked to our desire for status, which is collectively insatiable, because status is largely relative. A famous survey by economists Sara Solnick and David Hemenway found that many Harvard students (although few Harvard staff members) would rather have an income of $50,000 in a world where most people were poorer than an income of $100,000 in a world where most people were richer.

Of course, this survey is 10 years old, and it was merely confined to Harvard, and is not a true random or representative sample. But it is telling. And I do think it is somewhat applicable in our society. Aren’t we always comparing who has the bigger TV or the nicer car or the cooler laptop?

My husband, said, “Of course I’d rather have the $100,000! Who cares whether someone makes more, as long as I am comfortable with what I have?” But he also has no ambitions beyond getting a job that he likes and being able to buy what he wants when he wants it. And he wants to be able to spend the evenings and weekends doing relaxing and fun things (and sometimes doing nothing at all). I’m fairly similar. And we don’t have particularly expensive taste. So we’re already more than halfway there.

But the survey caused me to stop and ponder money as status. Do we look at what others have and judge ourselves according to whether or not we have it? Or conversely, how many of us committed to frugal living look at others and judge ourselves according to what we don’t have? Do we feel smug because we spend less money and have fewer things? It’s a sort of two-edged sword, money and status.

Do you think money and status are related? How do you feel about money?

Post from: EveryJoe

Money and Status: Do You Want More Than the Joneses?