Your Turn: Reduce and Reuse to Save Money
By: Editor | June 29, 2009 | Category: Money
Our Monday blogger, Jake, has work duties that will take him away from Gov Gab until September. In his absence, we’re alternating between “Your Turn” weeks, where we’ll ask a question to spotlight your knowledge about government resources, and posts from guest bloggers across the government.
Today's Question: With tight budgets and tough economic times, what little changes have you made to save money? My family is refilling bike water bottles instead of buying bottled water. It saves money and the environment.
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I've also taken a tip from my mom (who has done this for years), and use the back of junk-mail envelopes for shopping lists, to-do lists, etc.
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Thanks for the good tips. We can learn a lot about being frugal from the older generations. There was a lot more "reusing" going on when I was growing up. We reused the brown paper grocery bags as garbage bags. Yes, yes, wet coffee grounds could be problematic : ), but for the most part the grocery bags worked just fine.
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It may seem fundamental, but we in the midwest have historically enjoyed a mostly 'unlimited' water supply for our gardening projects. Not so any more. Whether for financial or environmental reasons, planting more perennials and fewer annual flowers for a seasonal splash of color is a "green" idea.
Annual flowers can require extra watering when first planted, to establish a strong root system. They are also more vulnerable to summer heat and droughts. However, once established, perrenials require little care in the way of water or fertilizer (if selected carefully for your area). And a good bed of perennials can minimize the need for back-straining weeding, because the beds are not being disturbed each year. Put down a little mulch, and you're pretty much set to go. OK, so there's a little trimming at the end of the season, but it's still minimal.
If perennials seem too expensive, do as I do with just about everything . . . wait for a sale. And plant them in groups. It will provide more impact and make it easier to remember what their needs are in terms of maintenance (i.e. to cut or not to cut at the end of the year). I've been adding more and more over the past several years, and this year they are just spectacular!
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* Before I shop at my local stores, I comparison shop with milo.com to make sure I'm going to get the best price
* I use gasbuddy to find the lowest price on gas in my area before I go fill-up for my week of commuting
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