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David Bach The Automatic Millionaire

David Bach, The Automatic Millionaire

Readers Turn Green, Save Same

by David Bach

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Posted on Monday, April 7, 2008, 12:00AM

In my last column, I posted a sneak peek at my new book "Go Green, Live Rich." Thanks to everyone who took the time to email stories on ways you've gone green and saved some cash in the process. As promised, I'll be giving away signed copies of the book to the 10 best.

Your stories were really fun to read, and serve as proof that you can save money while doing the right thing for the environment. What follows is real advice from real people who are experiencing real results.

Be Energy Smart

Our homes account for more than 20 percent of the national energy demand, and produce more than 20 percent of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, according to the Alliance to Save Energy, the average home emits twice as much CO2 as the average car.

In June, I wrote an entire column on eco-friendly ways to cut home energy costs. But Mary E. from St. Cloud, Minn., wrote in with a great tip worth sharing.

Mary joined the Savers Switch program through her local energy provider. This program allows the company to cycle central air conditioning on and off at 20-minute intervals during peak hours. This preserves natural resources and keeps electricity rates low, allowing Mary to save 15 percent on cooling costs between June and September.

• Take Action: Do you know what eco-friendly, cost-saving programs your local energy company offers? Log on to their website or call them and ask. New programs like Savers Switch are sprouting up nationwide. Seek them out for a nice payoff.

Get Rid of a Car

Consider this: There are roughly two cars on the road for every household in the country. The average annual cost of just one of those cars -- including gas, insurance, maintenance, registration, and depreciation -- is $8,580. So do the math. If your household income is $50,000 and you own two cars, you're working four months out of the year just to pay for them.

Mike K. wrote in to say he's saving over $400 a year by not keeping his spare truck around. Although convenient for occasional hauling, he found it just wasn't worth what he was paying.

If every family in the United States gave up one car, it would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by around 413 billion pounds a year. And that doesn't include the decrease in other types of pollutants from car exhaust, which can cause health problems like asthma and emphysema and generally make the air worse to breathe.

• Take Action: For times when you do need a second car, sign up for a car-share program. Zipcar is a great option in 48 cities. Reserving a car for six two-hour slots and two four-hour slots each week costs only $162 a month. Or search other car-sharing programs at CarSharing.net.

Break the Bottled Water Habit

Michelle W. from Rutherford, N.J., wrote in with one of my favorite tips: "Nix the plastic water bottles." She's absolutely right. A 2007 Fast Company article by Charles Fishman reports that North Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water in 2006.

I estimate that if you buy a 20-ounce bottle of water every day for $1.39, you could save a whopping $500 a year simply by breaking the habit. Many of you are familiar with "the Latte Factor," a phrase I coined as a metaphor for all the little tings we spend money on over the course of a day without giving it much thought. Buying bottled water fits into that category. In my book I refer to this as the Litter Factor, because 9 out of 10 plastic water bottles are simply thrown away, overloading our landfills and blowing into our waterways.

Michelle uses a simple filtration system like Brita to cut back on her need to purchase bottled water. She also carries her own coffee mug, and even found that Starbucks offers a discount when filling it up!

• Take Action: The newest generation of reusable water bottles, made from lightweight aluminum, are available from SIGG.

Be an Energy Star

Caroline A. from Wilmington, N.C., shared with me her happy news that she's just getting ready to move into her new home, for which she's purchased all new appliances. "I did my homework and was a smart shopper," she writes, "I've chosen only to go with Energy Star appliances and it feels good knowing that not only will I be using less energy but I'll save money on my utility bill as well."

Caroline is 100 percent right. According to its website, in 2006 Energy Star has already helped Americans save $14 billion on utility bills. We've also saved enough energy by using Energy Star appliances to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that from 25 million cars.

• Take Action: If you're in the market for a new appliance, make sure it has the Energy Star label.

Next year, federal law will require television stations to broadcast only in digital format. As a result, many people will upgrade to flat-panel TV sets. As Jeff and Shannon M. from Apopke, Fla., point out, you'll want to think twice before breaking the bank to buy a high-definition plasma-screen model.

These can use nearly twice as much energy as their LCD-screen counterparts, and more than three times as much as the standard CRT sets. Televisions account for 4 percent of our national energy use, and with more plasma models appearing in living rooms, that number could reach 8 percent before the decade ends. So if you upgrade to flat-panel, stick with an LCD model.

Grow Your Own

I heard from quite a few readers on this topic, so I decided to include it. Our food travels an average of 1,500 to 2,500 miles to reach our plates. That's a lot of gas and fumes -- not to mention fossil fuels for pesticides, tractors, processing, storage, and packaging.

Instead, grow your own fruits and vegetables and reap the rewards. Like Ken E. from Evansville, Wis., you'll save money, know exactly how your food was grown and what went into it, and connect with nature. Ken and his family will enjoy a summer filled with fresh fruits and vegetables that he's paid almost nothing for, since he started his garden indoors with seeds from last year's plants.

Jeff and Shannon M. from Apopka, Fla., grow five different vegetables in their yard, and are looking forward to partnering with friends in order to share produce and have even more variety.

• Take Action: Some great resources for starting your own vegetable garden can be found at BackyardGardener.com and The Garden Helper. If you live in an apartment, look into container gardening at ContainerGardeningTips.com. Lastly, find a farmer's market in your area for locally grown food at LocalHarvest.

Reconnecting to Riches

Thanks again for all the great success stories. In closing, I'd like to leave you with a comment I received from Jeff and Shannon M. that sums up the philosophy of "Go Green, Live Rich" quite nicely:

"We are very blessed to have an abundance of amenities and comforts in our everyday lives. It is our understanding that we are called to live simply so that others can simply live. Our overconsumption has consequences that affect people around the world living in poverty. When we consider others, it no longer becomes a burden to simplify, it becomes a passion.

"Conservation equals healthier living for you and for future generations, and it puts more money in your hands to sow into this great big world around us. Something happens when we disconnect from our stuff and some of the unnecessary comforts -- we reconnect with living."

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76 Comments

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  • Neil - Friday, April 11, 2008, 8:35PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    as always, these articles are informative, inspiring, interesting and just plain fun to read. I never miss a one. When's the next one coming out. I can't wait to read it

  • Matthew - Friday, April 11, 2008, 7:47PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    Says the author: "If every family in the United States gave up one car, it would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by around 413 billion pounds a year." -- Most of these auto-related arguments are not sound. If you go from two cars to one, most likely you will drive that one car twice as much, meaning no decrease in pollution or savings in gas money. Insurance rates also reflect the milage driven on each vehicle, meaning your change from 2 lower milage vehicles to 1 high mileage vehicle will not save you much insurance either. You may save money, but you won't be saving $8000. And if you are cutting pollution, it will only be because you're driving less -- which you could do anyway without getting rid of the car.

  • Mike - Friday, April 11, 2008, 9:48AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Humans cause 5% of the greenhouse gas within the world. The world itself - causes the other 95% - which we have no control over. We could all write books - have a best seller - destroy thousands of trees in the process - yada yada yada. What's next? Global Space Contamination or Save the Stars Foundation. Hypocrisy

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, April 10, 2008, 5:24PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    To add to what this user was saying, "Last time I checked (~ 1 year ago) there was no way to recycle Brita filters (in the U.S.). So, if you use a Brita pitcher, the filters go into the trash and thus the landfill. In the long run, this is not an environmentally good solution either." As compared to the amount of water bottles that are consumed on a daily basis, changing the filter is much less than the waste of drinking at least one water bottle a day. Not only is it saving you money, it's cutting back on the waste, b/c really...how many people recycle that bottle unless they're at home??? Some people prefer the Brita, b/c they want filtered water. I use the pitcher, not the filtration, b/c like you say...it's a waste in the long run. People are just weird about our water system, even though what's really in bottled water is most times just tap water. Bottled water has less FDA regulations than tap water.

  • Da Big Guy - Thursday, April 10, 2008, 4:29PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    It would be nice if the focus of all this uncontrolled rise in energy costs and its' economic fallout be placed back on the shoulders of the administration, congress and "big oil." When I hear our president impudently state "americans are addicted to oil," it makes me sick! Sure David, we can conserve, cut and reformat our lifestyles, but until we have leadership that effects our national policies who are untainted by self interest there will be new reasons to blame the consumer, throw more chiseling options and go about their collective business. I wish we ran everything on water and invested in those technologies. We're not addicted to oil, the politicians are addicted to power and profits!

  • Rick - Thursday, April 10, 2008, 4:02PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    Mary E in St Cloud Minnesota could save even more by going without central air conditioning. I'll bet she could survive those tropical summers up there without the central air. We took out central air years ago and went down to one car instead of two. Bet those two actions put Mary's savings inperspective.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Thursday, April 10, 2008, 10:08AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    One reason Americans are the world's biggest consumers is that many people don't like to think about the impacts of their lifestyles -- as evidenced by the hostile comments on this article. Thanks for providing practical tips that show that we can live well, save money and reduce our environmental impacts. Another important thing to do is let the makers of consumer goods know that you care about the environmental profile of the products you buy. Otherwise manufacturers will only compete on price and not look at issues like ongoing energy consumption.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 11:42PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    After reading David's articles about going green I'm very curious about his green situation. He probably lives in a mansion & owns a dozen cars & wastes more than the average person.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 7:34PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    One of the cheapest ways to save money by saving energy is to make existing products more efficient. Turn off lightbulbs, drive less, etc. Also, vacuum refrigerator coils, keep your air conditioning compressor cool by giving it some shade, and maintain your major equipment for best performance and longevity. Besides giving up bottled water, many restaurants now carbonate their own sparkling water. Home carbonation kits start around $100 and are extremely frugal and resource-efficient. Some upgrades are resource inefficient - replacing a perfectly good product to save a few cents on electricity is silly - while others are savers' champs. My new Bosch dishwasher cut my electric and water bills AND cleans better, and cleans everything I throw inside. I'll only save as much on electricity as the machine cost me because I went high-end, but I also freed myself from daily pot-washing duties without spending more - I just shifted the money from my utility bill to my dishwasher budget. Energy efficiency investments in my home take a long time to pay off, but when I retire, I'll be starting with a lower net utility bill - energy inflation will be less of a worry. Conservative isn't just a political affiliation - it's a way of life. Use dollars, taxes, employees, AND natural resources intelligently, and we can keep America the most powerful, freedomn-loving, productive nation in the world. Spend more on American solar panels, spend less on foreign oil - spend the same, but keep the money in our own economy. Encourage local family farmers - spend the same on vegetables, but more goes to local farmers (and the local economy) and less goes to foreign oil producers. Buy local - the job you save may be your own.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 7:29PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    good article with relevant advice.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 6:51PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    I strongly believe in savings, but still live in comfort (not luxury). When I lived up North, I enjoyed a cool room during summer (less than 70Deg using window mounted AC's) until I moved to the south and built a house with central AC, now my thermo is set to 82Deg during day and 78Deg during nights and with the help of efficient ceiling fans, still be comfortable; Central AC is to electrical current what an RV is to gasoline. We need two cars where we live. I do buy them used with low mileage so depression is not a big concern. My math shows about $4000/year for both cars in insurance, oil changes, tires/brakes and a major repair for the first 6 years. I do drink bottle water but my math shows about $135/year (16gal/month @ 70cents/gal for non-brand spring water). My bro-in-law bought a plasma TV and I did notice a lot of heat coming off its screen (in this case, heat is lost of useful energy), I looked at the back of the TV and it consumes about 430Watts, so I decided never to buy a plasma TV, I have HDTV's but they are projection @ about 250Watts. I don't grow my own veggies/fruits but I do my own landscaping and trimming (it's about $40/month to contract someone). I hate having things I don't use. Once in a blue moon I'll try out something new for about 3 months, if I don't use it or like it, I sell it. My wife and I are big savers, but I don't tell others in big debt and chapter7 to be more like us, because if they were, only Wal-mart, Publix and BJ's would survive, any other company would be bankrupt, and that's bad for Capitalism.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 3:05PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Good information for someone with an IQ of 80 or below. Maybe we can move out to California. There we can start a Commune where we can share our vegetables and plow the fields with an Ox. Followed of course by the Woodstock flashbacks.... Man Bear Pig!

  • Mike - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 11:10AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    David Bach is a horrible self-promoter.

  • Boo yah - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 10:38AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Want to join the latest Madison Ave fad? Go green, yeehah! Want to save the planet? Get a vasectomy or TL. Everything else is technology: a marketing game a musical chairs, distracting a breedy populace, forestalling the inevitable.

  • BradleyD - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 8:25AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Excellent Article. The previous naysayers are likely uneducated idiots.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 2:24AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    According to the boston globe (February 26, 2008 boston.com) "Compact fluorescent lamps contain small amounts of toxic mercury that can vaporize when the bulbs break, creating a potential health risk for infants, young children, and pregnant women"

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 10:06PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    When I think of a financial expert I think of a Buffet, Soros, Pickens, or somebody who knows what they are talking about. Yahoo finance is full of writers with no formal business education like that Penelope that got fired. These yahoo experts only claim to fame is that they wrote a book about how to save money. BACH talks over and over on stupid little ways to be CHEAP and save money............. Hey readers, just do this simple little thing to save 20 bucks per year and invest that money into a low cost mutual fund and in 40 years that 20 bucks will be worth 460 dollars! ........... Nobody is getting rich off of Bachs ideas, and saying green equals rich is deceptive. Trading in your lightbulbs won't bring you financial independance. Bach really sold himself out with comparing a house that you and family/roomates live in for at least 12 hours per day vs a car that you MIGHT drive at a max of 2 hours per day. He also misleads with his idea that getting rid of a car means that you will drive less. You might just use that primary car twice as much. That is misleading as many already pointed out. While I don't expect Yahoo to have Warren Buffet writing articles, they can easily get rid of Bach, Orzman, Kawosaki, and that blogger. Ben Stein, Siegal, Rowney and Charles Wheelan are the only ones worth reading at this point.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 9:00PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    His math is wrong about getting rid of a car. In theory, having two cars means that you are splitting the total driving among the both of them, so getting rid of the car will only save you the insurance and registration on that car, as the gas and maintenance would have to be paid on a per mile basis no matter how many cars you have! For example, if you drive 12,000 miles per year and take your car in for service every 3,000 miles, for one car you spend the money for 12,000 miles worth of gas and 4 service visits, on 2 cars you spend the money for 6,000 miles worth of gas per car, and 2 service visits per each car, thus the totals are the same.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 8:55PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    David has certainly created a lively discussion with this article. I would urge people to overlook the "Go Green" stuff and focus on the "Save Green" part. We need to find ways to reduce our dependance on foreign oil and hopefully save some money in the process. So the cost and return on investment for energy saving projects is most important to me. I have had a grid mounted solar system working for the last 4 years. The cost was $22K after $22K in rebates and tax savings (in California). My return on investment was 8.1% in the first year and gets better each year as electricity costs escelate. Many people ask "How many years till the system is paid for?". The answer is about 8 to 9 years but I prefer to use "return on investment". For me this investment is like buying tax free municipal bonds. Solar needs to be set up in climates with lots of sun and no obstructions such as shade from trees. So because of cost and location Solar is not an option for many people. If you live in colder climates it may be more cost effective to install triple pane windows and add more insulation. There are lots of other things people can do to save energy such as replacing incandescent light bulbs with CFL's. So don't wory about "Going Green" just focus on "Saving $ Green". My thanks to the person who mentioned the "Kill a watt".

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 5:55PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    He fiddles! He fiddles as Rome burns!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 3:46PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Hopefully when the media gets off the "CO2 is going to kill us all" lie we can all go back to personal conservation without fear. And nimrods will stop writing books about the ultimate destruction of the world.

  • James - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 3:46PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Why not take it to the next level and start getting rid of people we deem not worthy to live? That will cut a lot of carbon... what a worthless article.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 3:38PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    So everyone is finally figuring out the predicament. The economy depends upon people buying useless junk which is contrarian to promoting conservation. Those stimulus checks alone will probably wipe out at least one rain forest.

  • itisme - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 3:24PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    my property taxes are going green....every year they are more and more green

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 3:24PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    The best green/economic action I took was to get a vasectomy--best $10 (co-pay) I ever spent! I wonder how many tons of disposable diapers I kept our of the landfill; how many additional cars, houses, shoes, pants, computers, TVs, etc. my non-children won't need. This is also how I socked away more than $300,000 for my retirement and stayed out of debt. Not bad for a useless liberal arts major, right? But of course this is a taboo topic. If you want to learn more, visit vhemt.org. Happy flaming!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 2:49PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    I think the bottomline is that, over here people should start cutting down using things they don't need. In many circumstances, waste generated is because of an unwanted luxury. I have lived in Europe and in Asia ... and have seen many, many, many people appreciate and care for natural resources ... be it water, oil, gas etc.

  • rd olivaw - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 2:36PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    I'd expect your readers to exercise the same diligence in going green as they do for savings or for investments. It is important to plan for the long term and to consider how costs my change over time. My heating oil use is down over 35%, but it has taken seven years to get this far. This year I hope to hit -46% with an overall payback time of 3.4 years. Name any other investment with a return like that year after year!

  • Ice - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 2:18PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 2/5

    For 11:28am............ Thank God we are not like Europe........ Living on top of one another in tiny spaces, driving glorified go-carts, government intervention at every turn. Where has it gotten all those intellectually superior Europeans????? $6-$8.00/gallon gas, tax rates that are oppressively high, regulatory environments that discourage business and innovation, and a citizenry that can't improve their standard of living from generation to generation. Yeah..... that sounds like paradise. Give me a break.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 2:16PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    goood advise. I wish all of the prejudiced inconsiderate and overbought along with credit card indebtors would consider a few of these helpful hints to help save this planet that we all live in.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 2:10PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    If you want to save money and help the evironment stop buying Sh*t you don't need.

Showing comments 6-35 of 76<< PreviousNext >>

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