Five sustainable resolutions to save you money
Around the end of every year I set myself a couple of new year's resolutions - it's a process many roll their eyes at, but I like the mental reset it enables. I have a friend that has stated, you don't have to wait for the new year to have a resolution, so given you are reading this likely not around late December / early January maybe now is the time to set yourself a new resolution.
A new resolution for me this year was to be more sustainable and I focused the tangible results around waste reduction and recycling. I would like to improve the energy consumption of my house but as a renter I'm not able to make structural changes like improving insulation.
Instead I focused on a few small but noticeable ways to be less resource intensive as a human being and in doing so have stumbled across ideas that are naturally good for your wallet. Sustainability and cost effectiveness as a consumer naturally go hand in hand.
1. Eating less meat
In the UK meat has become increasingly expensive thanks to the input costs sharply rising. I've taken to cutting back on meat consumption; I have not cut out but optimised. The easiest way to deliver this saving is to reduction meat consumption per meal. Instead of a 250 gram steak you'll probably be happy with a 200 gram steak. Or put it this way, if you've eaten 200 grams of steak already is an extra 25% going to make you 25% happier. Probably not, so cut back.
2. Wearing the same thing
It's obvious, easy to say and sometimes harder to implement. We are all drawn to retail therapy from time to time but we all have so much clothing already, so we as a society we need to stop and wear what we have. Perhaps you are tempted to buy something new for a special occasion - my antidote would be do you really need it? People probably won't remember if you wore the same thing three months ago. Or if you want something new, perhaps buy it and go and sell it on vinted while it is still "like new".
If you are tempted by the purchase out of boredom, then you are probably stuck on your phone too much and looking at items to kill time and hence constantly tempted. Bring yourself out of the feeling that compells you to waste money and you'll be wealthier and I suspect happier.
3. Delay
Using items more often is essentially the above category, however I felt clothing was so significant as a potential cash outflow I gave it the emphasis it deserves. If you've taken that idea onboard, let's expand it, do you need to get a new phone because your contract expired. Herein lies my suggestion, don't not buy the new thing, JUST delay it. If you give yourself the green light to replace something, but you force yourself to wait 90 days, you might reach that 91st day and realise you would rather the money in your pocket. It's amazing the power of delaying.
Most technological purchases you can delay, and in doing so you are using less resources. Please when you do buy the new thing recycle it; recycling your old technology is more important than any other thing you recycle.
4. Public Transport
Intuitive and not always feasible based on where you live, but public transport is inherently cheaper than driving or ride-hailing. Enough said.
5. Pre-loved
It's amazing the savings you can muster up buy purchasing a used item. Clothing has a significant cost saving benefit from used and vintage shops are increasingly relevant prevalent. If you are renter I highly encourage buying second hand furniture. If you rent you are likely not going to reside in your place for a long term and so there is no point getting attached to expensive new pieces that might not work in your next residence, so sidestep the attack on your wallet and go on Facebook Marketplace or similar platforms and get haggling on a coffee table. Tech and gadgets is another category where meaningful savings are available via websites like Back Market.
My top 5 categories of items where you should seriously consider pre-loved:
Clothing
Gadgets
Furniture
Sports and music equipment (think of all those lockdown hobbies people are giving up)
Vehicles (don't get me started on buying a car brand new…)