Seasonal Sales Let You Buy Green
“But Green is expensive” is a common cry from people I meet, when I explain what I do for a living. And it’s true, certain aspects of a green and eco-friendly lifestyle can be expensive. But often, there are offsets – for example, although ‘green’ light bulbs are more expensive to buy, they save you money over their lifetime.
And it’s my job to show you not just ways to be green and reduce your impact on the environment, but also to find ways which will save you money too.
So today’s blog is the first in a short series which highlights items you can buy now at a really good price.
“But surely we’re supposed to “reduce” not buy new stuff?” I hear you say.
Quite right!
But there will be times when you need things. If you need to buy, then it’s always best to buy used items (and much cheaper too).
If you need to buy new, then do a little planning and buy at the right time – you can save a great deal of money. And by eliminating wasteful spending, you can spend extra on quality, sustainable items and still be green AND save money!
OK, so what’s good to buy now?
You can get bargains on lots of things right now.
Back to School – it’s a great time to stock up on stationery. Paper (recycled of course!), pens, pencils, back-packs etc. are on sale at many outlets at this time of year.
(And of course, if you need school or university textbooks, read how to save even more money).
Fall or autumn is a good time to find the best prices on locally grown fresh foods, because harvest time means lots of farmers have lots of produce they’re trying to sell at the same time – often you can get great bargains.
To save even more, take a tip from www.openlybalanced.com, which suggests increasing the affordability of organic produce by buying in bulk. If you can’t take a whole pile yourself, then get together with some friends and/or neighbours, and negotiate with the stall holder to buy a large proportion of their produce. Then freeze what you don’t immediately eat, and enjoy it later, knowing you’ve got organic, healthy food at a great price!
Tomorrow’s blog has more great ideas on saving money – this time on big-ticket items.
Photo credit: microsoft / istockphoto
Having worked at Farmers Market’s myself, I know that a lot of bargains abound at the end of the season and also at the end of the day….they don’t want to take all that stuff home! So they are in a good bargaining mood if you make a reasonable offer. Vendors like their customers and are in their businesses for the long haul….buy a few baskets of cucumbers and pickle them one week….bring the vendor a jar of your pickles when you come back the next week to bargain for more…it will go a long way in promoting the “family feel” of the market place. Many of these markets have vendor/customer relationships that are decades long.
Sonya Lenzo
Great idea to stock up on stationary supplies this time of year. Clothing is also a little cheaper because of back-to-school bargains.
I absolutely employ this mindset. I figure I can save over $100 a month with this.
Buying in bulk? Another tip that I can make the most of and had bnever considered. Thanks.
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