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.
