Five ways to care for the environment through budgeting well
With World Environment Day, Ocean Day and Refill Day all happening in June, it’s obvious there’s a big focus on caring for our planet around the world. Living an environmentally friendly life can seem expensive, especially when living on a budget, but there are actually a host of ways you can care for the planet through actively cutting costs and saving your money! We thought we’d share five eco-friendly tips on how to care for the environment through budgeting well. Let’s go.
Learn how to budget
Not only will a budget be kind to your bank account and stress levels, but it will be kind to the environment too. It can help you confront unhealthy spending habits such as buying new things when you could perhaps reuse, repurpose or fix items you already have. Learning how to budget will automatically help you create some sustainable habits that will, in turn, help you care for the environment. Take some time to sit down and go through your expenses; you’ll soon see where you’re spending your money. Use an online budget planner tool like moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning.
Don’t buy fast fashion
According to the Healthy Human blog, fashion produces a tenth of the world’s carbon emissions. Producing clothing requires enormous amounts of energy and resources, with many using chemicals and toxic fabric dyes that contaminate local communities’ water sources. Add that to fast fashion’s disposal impact and you have a great reason to resist an impulse buy. Perhaps organise a clothes swap with friends – it costs nothing and saves garments from going to landfill.
Set a timer for your shower
You may already know that a shower is supposed to be cheaper than running a bath, but who hasn’t stood under the hot faucet for longer than they intended? Help yourself save water and keep that shower short by setting a timer or perhaps use your favourite song as an alternative timekeeper.
Store food properly
Did you know that over 30% of food is wasted every day across the globe? That’s food being grown and farmed, packed and transported, put on supermarket shelves and then stored in our homes; that’s wasting a great deal of resources. Discover how to store food properly through a simple online search. Did you know that some food will fare well in airtight containers whereas others keep better in dark and well ventilated areas? See how much further you can make your pound go through learning some helpful tips.
Acknowledge you can’t do it alone
The idea of ‘saving the planet’ through our own individual efforts is overwhelming and unrealistic. We can all play our part in making a difference but we also need help. We need a united effort from across the globe, including governments and big businesses, to effectively care for our planet.
Similarly, we often need help from others if we’re struggling financially. We can’t always fix things through our own will. So, if you or someone you know is struggling with debt or other financial challenges, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) offers free practical, emotional and holistic support, including budgeting and expert debt help. Visit capuk.org to find out more or call 0800 328 0006 to find out more.
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a UK charity working with over 800 affiliated churches to deliver debt help, budgeting guidance, support to find work, life skills groups and more. Visit capuk.org to find out more.
The following two tabs change content below.
Roger Simms
Latest posts by Roger Simms (see all)
- CYTÛN POLICY BULLETIN – February 2024 – March 2024 – 05/02/2024
- CAP Column – June 2022 – 06/06/2023
- A prayer for Ukraine – 26/02/2022