Global unemployment is higher than ever before, which means many folks have to make do with less. Maybe you’re still employed but you’re aware that the world can change faster than we ever thought possible and you want to jump start your savings. The good news is that simply because we can’t go to restaurants, movies, or large events, we’re already spending less. And you know what else is pretty great? One of the wonderful byproducts of sustainability is saving! Here are a few of our tips for spending less this summer.
Make your own cup of joe. We say it all the time but making your own coffee saves the average coffee drinker a LOT of dough. Let’s do some simple math. We’ll assume that most people only walk over to the coffee shop five days each week and depending on where you live and what you order, coffee can run you $1.50-$5 per beverage, which translates to $7.50-25 each week. That’s $30-100 every month or a whopping $390-1300 per year.
Thrift online. We know you aren’t going many places just yet but we think that two things are true – first, getting dressed even if you’re going nowhere feels good and second, it doesn’t hurt to have the top half of the outfit gracing the virtual screen – and new threads (even when they’re only new to you) make this fun. There are endless online platforms for picking up vintage clothing (ThredUp, Poshmark, TheRealReal, etc). We’ll miss sifting through the bins and finding the hidden gems at the bottom. But truth be told, this is much less stressful.
Thrift in reverse. Do you have clothes in your closet that are still in excellent condition that you no longer wear (or worse, have never even worn before)? Most of the online platforms for thrifting offer easy ways for you to sell your own clothing with commissions varying depending on how much work you want to do (that is, do you want to photograph, post and ship yourself or do you want someone to do that for you?).
Cut back on the AC. Sure, there are sweltering days when being indoors means the aircon must be operating. But then there are others when an open window, a fan, an iced coffee, and a cold afternoon shower make all the difference. Give yourself a threshold. Most energy companies say that 78 degrees is a truly comfortable setting and you can start using it when it hits 80 degrees outside. But one of our co-founders grew up in Taiwan, which is a tropical island, and he never had air conditioning. He says you can cool down a space by keeping the blinds shut during the day to prevent the sun from warming your space and then drawing the blinds when the sun sets. Also, place one fan facing out in one open window and in a second open window, a fan facing in, for optimal air circulation.