Save money while going green
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: NBC
Ben Groff is saving about $10 a month after switching from disposable to rechargeable batteries. "With a three-year-old we've been going through so many batteries that were not rechargeable," Groff said.
"Rechargeable batteries are becoming more popular," said Ellen Cannon of Bankrate.com. "People used to think of them as very expensive, but no longer." About $22 will buy you a charger and some AA and AAA batteries that you can reuse hundreds of times.
What about the ubiquitous water bottle? "In 2006, there were 4 billion gallons of bottled water purchased by Americans, and 86 percent of them are not recycled," Cannon said. You can save at least $150 a year if you don't have to buy a six-pack of water each week. Invest instead in a reusable bottle and fill up at the tap. Water filters and purifiers cost as little as $15. Buy an aerator for your faucet for just a few bucks. It mixes air with the H2O, saving you water without losing pressure.
When it comes to drying your clothes, $19.99 dryer balls will slice the cycle time and save about 15 percent on power. Or you could forgo the dryer altogether like Bertha Vazquez. "Or save some energy and enjoy the smell of sun kissed sheets at night," Vazquez said. "We went to the hardware store, paid $15 for a retractable clothesline. It took us 5 to 10 minutes to put it up." Drying your laundry al fresco can save an average family at least $100 a year. "A dryer is one of the most expensive appliances to run in a household," Cannon said. "The less you can run that, the more money you're going to be saving."
