Here in the US the news has been taken over by talk of the financial crisis, the Federal bailout proposal, our current state of recession, and the much worse recession we are told could be looming. I am not going to get into my opinions of the bailout. I will just say that I am torn between wanting to letting corporate greed die the slow death it deserves and protecting people who may lose their retirement funds in the stock market if we do allow that to happen. My parents were already hit pretty hard in that regard…I would hate to see them lose everything they worked to accumulate over the past few decades.
On a political board I frequent someone asked how we were preparing for a recession or at the very least for a financial future that is up in the air at best. I didn’t know how to answer in a general sense because I feel that green folks (myself included) will be much better equipped to deal with a recession. Green folks already have many of the answers I think. Just yesterday I was talking to an older mom who said that she was green before it was popular….back then it was called CHEAP. :) Just think about all the ways you have already gone green and saved your budget and all the ways you still can.
Reducing Your Expenditures on Energy – Even if you don’t have programmable thermostats, motion sensing lights, or LED light bulbs you can save energy and money by wrapping/insulating your hot water heater, using blankets and quilts to insulate windows, using draft stoppers to plug drafts, hanging your clothes to dry indoors and out, turning your thermostat down a couple degrees in winter and up a few in summer, turning off all power strips at night, etc.
Check out this awesome list of 21 Ways to Save Money on Home Heating Bills.
Reducing Your Expenditures on Food – Healthier and greener choices are more expensive but I truly feel that in a times of recession local foods would come down in price. Your local growers can’t survive if they don’t have customers. Now would be a great time to get to know the local food growers in your area. You can also grow your own. Each and every item you grow yourself is one more thing you don’t have to rely on other people for. Bartering is also very green…check with your local Amish (if you have any) or other food growers and see if you can reach trade agreements. I know my local farmer’s market organization was willing to barter food for web design and marketing help. Your local growers might also be willing to take on help with labor in exchange for free or discounted food. Cutting out or reducing meat consumption would also be a big boon for the budget.
Reducing Your Expenditures on “Stuff” – You just don’t need much of the stuff that corporate America says you do. Living with the principles of voluntary simplicity might be useful right about now. We don’t need paper plates, plastic baggies, dryer sheets, techno gadgets, new books, the latest music tracks, etc. Reusable items are a green person’s best friend already and they help us save so much money.
Reducing Your Expenditures Gas and Travel – There are no easy answers for this one other than to drive less by walking, biking, using mass transit or staying home. My family has recently come to a decision that we can’t live in our small city and be frugal on gas and travel because my hubby works so far away in a larger city. Yes, we love the corn fields all around us and the clean country air but we can’t justify the waste of gas and resources that commuting presents. We hope to move into the city in late spring/early summer and eventually settle into an area where we can walk or take the bus most of the time.
So what do you think? Are you worried about a recession? Do you feel good about being able to handle it if comes? My take is that even if this all works out okay we need to learn a valuable lesson here…as a country. Times like these should help us to prioritize and get our own economics in order. Now more than ever personal accountability and responsibility should be paramount.
ditto- I feel exactly the same way. I’m not nervous for myself–just anxious to see how our leaders will handle the issues.
I have to agree. My own hubby and I were talking about life skills, or what might come to be known as survival skills, and the majority who have none. Our oldest daughter, an education major, worked at a summer camp in the pocono’s over the summer. So many of the girls and their moms didn’t know how to cook and were amazed that my daughter knew how to make complex things like bread and that I know how to sew.
If you ever get the chance, throw “The End of Suburbia” documentary into your netflix cart. It’s an eye opener, even if only half of it is accurate. We live in a small town, just this side of Mayberry :) and thankfully I can walk to a grocery store. We have no buses, you have to travel 30 miles to Pgh for mass transit.
My husband and I made the decision to move back into the city (in our case Philadelphia) to cut down on our transportation costs. We now live in a nice two story house that is within walking distance of a couple corner grocery stores, two larger grocery stores, a library, home depot, post office, haircuttery etc. In that respect its great we are also only a couple miles from the more historic sections so we can easily bike to them.
The downsize is that we are surrounded by people. Our house is a row home so our house it attached on both sides. Our backyard is a 10 foot concrete pad surrounded by cinderblock walls. We are going to build shelves and platforms to maximize our growing space but we do still yearn for a real yard!
I have to say I am a little worried also. We already do so much to cut down our spending, but there is not much we can do if my husband loses his job.
Thanks for the great tips!
“I know my local farmer’s market organization was willing to barter food for web design and marketing help.”
This is one I haven’t thought of! My husband is a web designer and I will be talking to him about it tonight!
wish we could move closer to husbands work, and to my daughters ballet classes, but houses are not selling so here we sit and waiting .
So my husband takes bus and train to work.
good luck to you all!
I guess I’m conflicted. I’ve always been cheap and green, but didn’t connect the two until recently. Lots of my cheap behavior has felt like sacrifice toward the greater goal of living free of debt. Because of this, I get maybe just the littlest bit peeved wondering, “If you can get your debts erased by declaring bankruptcy and still have a trip to Jordan under your belt AND you bought a bigger house/car than you could afford and now someone is swooping in to save you, THEN what is my reward for being responsible from the get go.” The Christian in me says goodness is its own reward, but the human in me says “Hey! No fair!”
On the other hand, I no longer feel deprived because I’m living a way of life that is consistent with my beliefs. I put my laundry out to dry, I eat less meat than most, I get cute hand-me downs. When others face this for the first time, they will have culture shock in their own country.
I’m not that worried myself. However, businesses will have to learn to be more “green” in order to survive in this economic climate.
We’ve cut back on expenses so far already that we’re not too worried at the moment. We grow and store most of our own food and what meat we do eat is raised on the farm. What does worry me is any panic that may come from those less prepared. If people followed even just a few of the tips you’ve provided above, they could be on a better track to dealing with financial struggle. The bonus is going green on a small scale. Or is that the other way around? Either way they win!
Great Blog with wonderful ideas. Pack your freezer with fresh produce now then save your money today ‘cuse you might need it tomorrow.
Love the fall family photos, they remind me of outings with our grandkids.
Thanks for the link to my Energy Boomer Blog