Time to Walk the Walk

March 9, 2011 by / 17 Comments

This website, as you all know is about trying to live a more sustainable life.  I try to offer tips to sustain your finances by telling stories of lessons that I have learned (typically the hard way) and ways to save money.  From personal experience, I can say that once your finances are in a sustainable position, you’ll feel a lot better about the way that things are going for you.  Along with finances, I tie in tips for how to get healthy and how to go easy on the environment (if you’re into those things, if not, there’s probably a better place online for you).

When I was in school, I was able to walk everywhere, I got so used to it that I didnt even own a car for almost 6 years!  It was an awesome time, and considering that I spend almost 1/3rd of my income per month on my car, I know that part of the reason that I enjoyed those years was because I could use that money elsewhere.  When I did get a job, along with it came a 100 mile per day commute.  Then my old car died and I needed a new one.  After so much trouble with the old one, I just wanted something that wouldn’t be in the shop all the time.  I was tired of all the repairs, so I made the decision to double down on my debt and buy a new vehicle.  Even though this is against my premise of getting rid of debt, I think most of you readers understood where I was coming from, if you didn’t agree with me.

Where I really incensed readers (I think) is with my choice of vehicle .  I knew how much I drove everyday, and yet I still got a vehicle that’s not all that great when it comes to gas mileage.  Lots of people have said in comments (even my fellow blogging budddies Mr & Mrs SPF) that I should have chose something that got better gas mileage and was more sustainable.  I know that they made good points, and I knew that when I did it, it was going against the whole premise of the blog.  From reading finances blogs so often, I changed my view of money – and this was probably one of the first times where I used my coin to help advance (or work toward) my life goals.  I was glad I did it then, and I’m still glad now.

The reason that I’m going over all this is because there’s been quite a few changes in my life recently, and this plays into them quite a bit.  After countless 60+ hour weeks with me driving ~800 miles per week, it has changed.  I’ve driven almost 45,000 miles since I bought the truck in December 2009, and now I can finally walk the walk – literally.

As you know from mondays post, I have secured new employment (I start next monday) –  I’ll now be working 1 job that is in my home city.  Not only that, I can walk to work!  No more driving (except to the gym), and I can save money on gas too!  That’s an extra $400 dollars per month  I can pay towards my debt.  That’s not counting the recent price increases that we’ve seen – the $400 per month was based on gas at $2.50 – $2.60, not $3.00 – $3.15 where it’s hovering now.

I can now walk to work, and continue working on my 2011 goals – though I probably wont be making extra progress because my monthly take home will probably be the same.  Where I will really gain is the commuting time (45-50 minutes to 5-10) and in the gas savings.  I’m excited, and I know that this will help me live a more sustainable lifestyle.  Im glad that I get a chance to “walk the walk” now.

Filed Under: Environment, Finance, sustainability  / Tagged: , , ,

Prioritizing Goals?

July 14, 2010 by / 22 Comments

When I started this blog, I had intentions of writing about money, health and sustainability, trying to point out that the spot where they all intersect occurs more often than you would think.  I tried to keep to that at the beginning, but I found it to be very difficult.  When I started posting with more frequency about 2 months ago, I had been trying to keep 4 posts going up a week, with finances on Monday [typically stories from lessons I pick up at the school of hard knocks], the environment/green topics on Wednesday, and health on Fridays, with a link round-up Thursday.  I’ve had some posts on health recently, but nothing substantial.  The same thing goes with the environmental and green topics.  I have not had much time to relate any strategies to this to my life (as it is now) so it’s difficult for me to write about.  The same goes for finance [thankfully] I havent made many mistakes lately, so I cant tell you a story about how my stupidity cost me a bundle like it did here.

Well, I guess it’s time for me to come clean on all these topics, and I’ll start with the environmental side of things.  As I alluded to in the post on recently about the importance of a warranty, I drive a lot.  It’s because of my job situation and it depends on the day, but at a minimum, it’s around 100 miles.  If I go to my second job after my first job (which I do about 2-3 times during the work week, and I’m doing to pay down my debt) it’s slightly over 150 miles per day.  Along with this, I go to my second job 1 day on the weekend, which is another 100 mile commute.  All told, I typically put at least 700 miles on my car in a week, and sometimes more than that.  This is obviously not what I had envisioned when I started this blog a year ago, nor is it what I imagined my post-college lifestyle would be like.  Far from it, in fact. I had nice visions in my head of living less than 5 miles from my office no matter what city I ended up moving to and walking or biking to work.  I came extremely close to accomplishing that, but unfortunately it came apart at the seams before it could even get started.

Once that happened, reality  set in.  I had (thankfully) been saving up cash to make a move to somewhere, possibly across the country.  I ended up planning to have the money for a security deposit in an expensive market and to cover moving costs.  I ended up not needing of this but I did need the money to live off of for a while.  All told, my savings came out to about 3 months worth of expenses.  Living off of that money wasn’t fun, and the account was draining fast.  I realized I needed some income in the worst way.  I tried to find employment near my home (or in my city, or state) but that didn’t happen soon enough, so I found myself accepting a position where I’d be driving at least 100 miles a day.  Reality came by and smacked my dreams of walking to work into the future. At the time, it didnt really bother me.  I needed an income, and I needed one bad, and was not really in the position to be picky when I was a few months away from eating alpo.  Now that I’m not in that position (financially) anymore, not being able to walk (or bike, or drive less than an hour) to work bothers me a bit.

Along with that, I dont really feel like I’ve been practicing being sustainable very well lately.  Sure, I’ve gotten much better at bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, but I still forget them every time I purchase something at Wal-Mart or Target.  This doesn’t really make me feel any better about bringing them to the store, save for the fact that I usually punish myself for forgetting reusable bags by making myself carry out whatever I purchase, sans bag.  I haven’t been tending to my compost pile regularly enough, but it is still not going strong as I think it could.  I think it’s got something to do with the nature of it “set it and forget it” more than any action that  I’ve  taken recently.

These are alright, but I constantly feel like I could be doing more.  More waste could get composted, I could be driving less (much less), and I could remember bags more often.  However, it seems like doing some of the things I want to do more of would short circuit progress to my other goals.  I cant drive less because I need two jobs to become debt free (for now).  I’m  using 100% of my second income to pay off debt and fund my savings account/E fund for now, and I don’t want to give that up.  Its difficult for me to remember to bring bags to go non-food shopping with because I actively try not to buy things when I’m in a store.  That, combined with my “punishment” for myself seems to do a perfectly fine job of keeping me from buying things.  As far as the compost goes, I’m not really sure why I keep forgetting to put stuff in the bin.  Much of the yard waste goes in there, but almost none of the food waste.  I had a bucket to keep in the kitchen for food waste, but the dog chewed it up.   A lot of the things in the kitchen have to do with ease right now.  It’s much easier for me to toss it in the garbage than walk it outside to the bin.

But all of this begs the question, How can I work towards my goals in a meaningful way that doesn’t compromise my other goals?  Do you readers have something like a goal priority list, where maybe your #1 goal is to be debt free, then your #2 goal is to lose 24 lbs?  I know that focusing on 1 thing can help you accomplish your goal quickly, but it’s not a race (right?).

How do you all handle your goals?

Filed Under: Environment, Finance, Health, sustainability  / Tagged: , ,

Green Washer Fluid

May 19, 2010 by / Leave a Comment

Today I was at wal-mart searching for, among other things, some new wiper fluid for my vehicle.  I typically dont give much thought to purchasing washer fluid, but something struck me when I was looking at the 5 or so different choices.

There was an eco-friendly alternative for wiper fluids.

Of course there was, why wouldn’t there be.  It seems that going eco-friendly or “green” is in vogue, and consumers will gladly pay a premium for eco-friendly products.  Such consumers typically buy and give  little thought going into whether or not the product was actually produced as they claim. (I do this on occasion)  At first thought, I figured this was just a well disguised attempt to separate me from my scarce financial resources.

Does the Earth Really Look like this from Space?

Upon further investigation, wiper fluid is typically hefty stuff, as the majority of the wiper fluids have some sort of anti-freezing agent in them.  It used to be methanol, but due to its known harmful effects (blindness, among other things) now they typically use ethanol and ethylene glycol (more commonly known as antifreeze).  So, did getting the green product really matter in this case?  The antifreeze is a key ingredient in the fluid in the winter (quick tip: if there’s frost on the windshield in the morning and you don’t have time to wait for the defroster to heat up, spray some wiper fluid on it.  It will melt the frost), and removing the things that make the wiper fluid not freeze would drastically decrease performance, and ultimately, my satisfaction with the product.

So, what’s a green conscious consumer to do?

Well, as mentioned before, the eco-friendly wiper fluid only went down to 32 degrees.  I bought two gallons to use for the summer time, and when the winter time comes back (in 3 months) I’ll use the eco-unfriendly stuff unless I can find an alternative.  Not only did I get the eco-friendly product, it was also 50 cents or so cheaper than the regular washer fluid.

Questions:

  1. Have things gotten too “green”?  You can find green things everywhere these days, but who really cares if your wiper fluid is eco-friendly or your superman underwear contain 100% organic cotton
  2. Would you sacrifice performance to stay green?
Filed Under: sustainability  / Tagged: , , , , ,

Self Reliance in the Kitchen

September 29, 2009 by / Leave a Comment

This post takes self-reliance in a different direction than a previous post on self reliance and sustainability.  This is dealing with a few more of my favorite things, self reliance, and of course, food!

During our jaunts to the store, we have the option of buying basically whatever we could need, with varying degrees of processing done to our product.  We can buy chicken whole, or broken down into different parts, such as breasts, thighs and drumsticks.  This happens not only with chicken, but with just about everything else in the super market.  You can find goods going from a minimal amount of processing done by others, to a maximum, like salad dressing.  These goods are typically loaded with things you cant pronounce, that emulsify, disperse, preserve  Today, I’m going to talk about how you can ditch all the add-ons and preservatives left in processed goods and make the stuff yourself.  Today I will be making salad dressing.

Ingredients required:

  • Olive Oil – You can use any type of oil, but this is what I typically use.
  • Vinegar/Lemon Juice
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Added herb(s) for taste.

Salad Dressing Ingredients

Optional Ingredients

  • Shallots/Onions/Scallions
  • Dijon Mustard
  • Soy Sauce
  • Garlic -Easy on this champ, especially if you want to talk to people at dinner

I also keep an empty dressing bottle on hand for serving and storing the dressing.

This is just for your basic vinaigrette, but once you master the basics, you can start adding fruits or other spices.  Ill go over where and how to add fruit later in the post.

Now that we know what we know what we need, how do we use it? It is much easier than you imagined.

  1. Find medium sized bowl, mix in 3 parts oil and 1 part vinegar or lemon juice
  2. Add in salt, pepper, and whatever herb you pick (tarragon works great)
  3. Whisk away.

That is all you need to do to have your home-made dressing ready for dinner in no time!

If you are looking to add some optional items listed in above, add in the liquids (dijon/soy) with the oil and vinegar, and if you use onions/scallions/shallots and/or garlic, add those in the second step.  Keep in mind that you wont need much of any of the optional ingredients to bring out their flavor.

If you would like to add fruit to the mix, just take the ingredients in the blender, and toss in your choice of fruit.  Any type of berries work great, as do apricots.

Enjoy your first foray into the home-made foods world, and I hope you will come back for more!

Filed Under: Health  / Tagged: , , , , ,

Sustainable Vs Green

September 22, 2009 by / 1 Comment

Last week at the Build2Sustain blog they posed some questions that I thought were relevant and am now going to take my shot at answering.  If you want to read what other people think, you can check out the comments here.

The original post from build2sustain:

As we continue to move forward creating new industries and methods that are more environmentally and socially responsible, labels get tossed around in different situations and representing different nuances.  With this in mind, is it important that we begin to define terms more clearly?  What is the difference between “green” and “sustainable”?  Is there one?  Should there be one?

I completely agree that there needs to be some clarification for the two terms.  Typically, companies are using these words to market their products, and letting the consumer fill in the definition.  The consumers definition of  ’sustainability’ may be vastly different from the processes that were used to make the good or whatever, but because the processes dont necessarily jive with what the consumer thinks, then they just keep it to themselves.  This works out well for the company, as every person has a different mental picture of sustainability and this allows them an easy way to satisfy all the customers.

According to scientists in 1987 at the UN Conference, sustainable developments are available to: meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs“(WECD, 1987). There have been other definitions and they are below:

  1. “Sustainable means using methods, systems and materials that won’t deplete resources or harm natural cycles” (Rosenbaum, 1993).
  2. Sustainability “identifies a concept and attitude in development that looks at a site’s natural land, water, and energy resources as integral aspects of the development” (Vieira,1993)
  3. “Sustainability integrates natural systems with human patterns and celebrates continuity, uniqueness and placemaking” (Early, 1993)

So there are some pretty solid definitions up there, and they all are looking to integrate the natural system with human interaction.  This has been a change from the past, where human will was/is imposed on nature, as opposed to attempting to find synergies and harmonize with nature.  A perfect example of this exists on the engineering building at the University of Wyoming.  It reads: “Strive on, the control over nature is won, not given”.  This slaps of imposing our will on nature, and treating it as something that will be there, unchanged, for eternity.   Sustainability needs to have respect for nature, and take advantage of the value that nature adds to some products (such as natural water filtration).  Ignoring these would be at our own peril, and honestly, a waste of financial resources that could make more difference elsewhere.   So…what definition for sustainability did I finally settle on?

Sustainability is the practice in which your use does not degrade future use.

I think that green falls along the same lines as sustainable, but not quite as built for the future, although it somewhat will be.  Household cleaners and other things that are produced in a green way still contain chemicals and still will do damage to the environment at some process on the supply chain.  While the product can still be produced in an environmentally friendly way, making it ‘green’ there’s no way to know if the process is sustainable right away.  I think green has just been a label attached to many products to signify some sort of environmental action.  Sustainability makes you look at the system as a whole, as opposed to just a single piece, like green does.

So, green is attaching some sort of environmental meaning to a single product.

Sustainability is about the process, and, In my mind, a better way of viewing things.  Chain reactions are often caused, and taking a more big picture view of things is the way to go!  Just like this blog, nothing is completely seperate from another task.

Ways to get more from the Sustainable Life Blog

  1. Subscribe Via RSS – Click on the orange icon under the top posts on the side bar.  Aren’t familiar with RSS? Its like a news service.  Whenever the blog updates, it will take it to your feed reader (I use google reader) and you can view the article there.
  2. Email me at info [at] sustainablelifeblog.com
  3. Follow me on twitter @sustainlifeblog
  4. Have a Comment Party – I would love to hear your comments on my articles, and the things I talk about.
  5. Email an article to a friend, then ask them to join in the comment party.  The more the merrier
Filed Under: Environment, sustainability  / Tagged: , ,

Weekly Link Roundup

September 11, 2009 by / Leave a Comment

This weekend the link is titled round-up because my beloved wyoming cowbows are going to try to corral and rope the texas longhorns.  The Moutain west has had good luck against the big 12 so far this season, maybe wyoming can keep it up!!! Enjoy the links

Financial Sustainability:

  1. While the article doesnt specifically mention financial sustainability, the 3 things the Debt Ninja mentions are unsustainable habits for your pocketbook.  He calls them “Debt Douchisms“.
  2. Great post on how to simplify your financial life @ man vs debt.  Remember, typically the most simple thing is also the most sustainable.  Props to him for mentioning online bill pay, direct deposit, eliminating junk mail & useless free subscriptions and Do-it-yourself projects.

Conservation/ Preservation :

  1. Article on the Wilderness Conservation Act @ the daily green.  I am a fan of this article and this act, and enjoy conservation to it’s fullest.  Think of what would have happened if the people who lived in your area before you destroyed something that you hold dear that is protected by government in some form.  Yellowstone, Yosemite Parks would not exist in their current form if not for conservation.
  2. European Union starts the ban on incandescent bulbs at the beginning of September.  Do you think it will have the intended effect?

Sustainability:

  1. A great debate @ build2sustain on the difference between Green and sustainability I had been considering doing this, and I think i’ll work on a post like this for the future.  There is some great stuff in the comments.
  2. St Croix Falls, WI on trails and sustainability.   The city has realized that their surroundings from the essence of the community.   This is the first i’ve heard of the ice-age trail.  I’d love to give it a go.
Filed Under: links  / Tagged: , ,

Paying Down Credit With Savings

August 26, 2009 by / 2 Comments

Im going to talk about a decision I recently made dealing with paying down my credit card with money from my savings account.  It’s a tough decision for multiple reasons.  Here are a few:

  • You should pay down your credit card with money from savings if your interest rate on the credit card is higher.  With most banks paying approximately 1% on interest in money, you’d definitely get a better deal paying down credit cards, which can charge up to 30% interest.  If you paid down your credit card, you’d get an immediate return of the credit card interest minus the savings interest.  That’s much better than you could do in the stock market
  • If you burn through most of your savings paying off the credit card, you could be forced to turn to your credit cards in the event of an emergency.  This would surely put you between a rock and a hard place if it did come up.

Those are basically your two arguments when it comes to paying off credit card debt.  I was personally in the situation where I would need to decrease my savings by about half to pay off the credit card, and found that I could not pass up the deal.  I know that my savings now is a bit smaller, but I’ll no longer be paying interest on former purchases.  Paying down my credit card freed up more money to increase my monthly payments to my other cards, thus allowing me to pay down my debt faster.

This will put me on the road to financial sustainability.  By getting myself out of the clutches of past spending, I can concentrate on making my finances sustainable for the future.  Being able to pay for things as you go, as opposed as when you want to, is a hallmark of financial sustainability.  I look forward to doing this from now on.

Questions? email me at info@sustainablelifeblog.com

Follow me on twitter @sustainlifeblog


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Friday Links

August 21, 2009 by / Leave a Comment

Below are the articles i’ve found most relevant to sustainable living this week.  Ill break them down into categories, and get 5 or so of the best articles from each category.

Financial Sustainability

  1. Plan Ahead When you Spend – The Simple dollar has boiled down some rules for personal finance.  This is number 10.
  2. Top Ten Most hated Saving money tips At free money finance.  This is saving money tips, but has a great deal of healthcare tips.
  3. Are you Insured at Punch Debt in the Face.  Great post on insurance

Environmental Sustainability

  1. Throwing out the Throw Away Economy -@sustainablog.org  This is a great article about the amount of garbage generated by our current economy.
  2. Sustainability is About Permanance – Also from sustainblog.org  Talks about the high cost of multiple moves, and higher divorce rates.
  3. Travel Matters: Sustainable tourism and Paid Vacation Law Great article, plus, who cant use a vacation.  from worldchanging.org
  4. Boston Mayor Envisions World Class Cycling City Article on the new bike-sharing system in Boston, MA also from worldchanging.org
  5. Cap and Trade: Lessons from History This article talks about the cap and trade program created for Acid rain in the early 90s

Enjoy your weekend.

Questions? email me at info@sustainablelifeblog.com

Follow me on twitter @sustainlifeblog


Filed Under: Finance, Health, sustainability  / Tagged: , , , ,

Green Roofs

August 20, 2009 by / 1 Comment

While at the American Planning Associations 2009 National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I was able to attend a conference session on green roofs in urban areas, and this post has been created with information from that session, as well as more sources.

Green roofs are a simple concept, and they date back to the time when humans were first learning to farm.  Green roofs are simply roofs planted with some type of vegetation, or a growing medium.  They are meant to replace the vegetation that was (or will be) displaced by the footprint of the house.  They are also called “living roofs” and I will discuss the benefits of the roofs below.

Many people see the urban rooftop as a missed opportunity to grow things, increase solar reflectivity, fight the urban “heat island” effect and absorb (or in some cases, clean) rainwater.  There are two types of green roofs, extensive and intensive.  Along with this, there are benefits beyond the strictly environmental.  Green roofs have a longer life span, and can reduce heating and cooling costs of the building.    The extensive roofs are much heavier and can support a wider variety of vegetation than the intensive counterpart.

There have been many people calling for increasing green roofs, and there are a few great examples out there.  Ford Motors has taken an interest in the green roofs, recently covering its truck assembly plant in Dearborn, MI with a green roof.  Below is a section of the plant roof, obtained from greenroofs.org

The City of Chicago, IL is also becoming a leader in green roofs in the US.  Many corporations are beginning to give green roofs a serious look due to their low maintenance costs and longer life span which is estimated to last ~ 2 times as long as a traditional roof.

Lets do a cost comparison between a green roof and a traditional (asphalt) roof for a 2,000 sq ft house.

Estimates put the cost of a green roof at $5-10 per square foot, and according to improvenet‘s calculator, a roof in the zip code 82070 will cost ~$3,000-4,000 dollars, and has a lifetime of approximate life span of 20 years.  Clearly, a green roof is more expensive, costing ~$10,000 for the same size roof.  However, we need to take in the replacement cost, as one wouldn’t replace the roof on a house they were not planning on living in for a while.  So, in 20 years when your asphalt needs to be replaced, your green roof will still be going strong.

If you are of the unfortunate case that you need to replace a roof when you buy the house and plan to stay in the house for a while, you could easily replace the asphalt roof 2 or even 3 times during your tenure in the house (although I hope you are not that unlucky).  The replacement cost of the asphalt comes close after the second, and will eclipse after the third ($12,000 v $10, 000).  Or, using the lower estimates, would put it at a measly $1,000 difference.  Factor in the heating and cooling savings you’ll get, and your payback period will get even shorter.  If you’re ambitious enough to garden up on the roof, then you can recoup faster with food savings.

After reading about green roofs, you may think “well, if the last so much longer and the cost is comparable, then why aren’t more people (like you) doing it?”

Well, that’s a question I cant answer, but maybe you can, in the comment section.

Thanks for reading!

For more information, see www.greenroofs.org

Questions? email me at info@sustainablelifeblog.com

Follow me on twitter @sustainlifeblog

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Speeding and Sustainability

August 19, 2009 by / 1 Comment

I have a confession to make: My work commute is approximately 50 miles EACH WAY! Believe me, I dont really like it, but due to circumstances currently outside my control, it’s what I do.   Every morning.  So as I was returning home recently, I was trying to figure out  how I can save on my monthly gas bill (which has gone from buying ~2 tanks of gas per month ($40) to buying 5 tanks per month.  This represents an approximate increase in monthly cost of $160!  I wish this was not the case, but it is.

After reading the speeding post on the simple dollar (here), I got to thinking about it more.  He comes to some conclusions at the end of the article, with one being that each mile is more expensive than the one before it.  For instance, going 77 is more expensive than going 76.  Along with this, speeding doesnt really get you there that much faster.  If you are taking a longer trip, there may be some time savings, but those can be quickly erased by stopping at interesting way points along the way (such as the center of the nation).  If you want to make it to your road-trip destination significantly faster, you’ve got to go a good amount over the speed-limit for a prolonged limit of time.  Pit StopAlong with the increased cost of speeding through uneconomical use of fuel (government estimates you lose 1% of fuel efficency for every mile over 65), there’s the risk of speeding tickets, increased maintenence costs caused by hard wear on the engine, as well as other costs assoicated with your pocketbook.  However, as I like to point out in the blog, speeding wont only cause harm to your pocket book.  It can also harm the environment.

According to fleetnews out of the UK sppeding has a high environmental cost as well, and is partially attributed to increasing fuel costs, and they estimate you can save 2.1 tons of GHG emissions by simply observing the speed limit.  Germany, long known for the speedlimitless autobahn, has begun regulating the limit on the autobahn to lower greenhouse gases emitted.  This first happened in april of 2008, in one city with 37 miles of autobahn and the speed is fixed at 120 kph or 75 mph.  The chancellor has said “no” to imposed speedlimits on the highway by the european union.

This may be a cheap way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (posted signs and additional officers are basically all that is needed), but is it the best?  Autos dont admit nearly the pollution that industry does, and are “moving targets”, as opposed to factories.  However, on the other hand, factories are constantly being targeted for thier polluting ways, and can make a legitimate case when saying that automobile fuel efficiency could be raised (it had not been raised since the first CAFE in the 70s, but average fuel economy was recently increased, and will take effect in 2016.

Questions to the readers

  1. Do you speed?  Are you just worried about getting to your destination faster, or is there another reason
  2. Did you consider your actions impact on the environment (I have, but have not really acted on it yet)
  3. What do you think about possible GHG regulation?  How should it happen (there was a vote in the US House already.  The bill will never pass the senate, but it’s worth a look.  You can find it here

Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Finance  / Tagged: , , , , , ,
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