33 Ways to Save Money and Save the World

Most junk food that we eat is consumed due to junk food addiction or simple convenience.

Junk food is food that is nutritionally empty - packets of chips, biscuits, soft drinks, fast food, lollies, doughnuts, chocolate bars, ice cream, etc. Everything you put into your body should have some sort of beneficial purpose. Easier said than done I admit but if you're starving bang on 3pm every day, then prepare for it. Make a fruit salad at home and bring it into work with some yoghurt, pop some popcorn at work, have sushi roll, a banana, pear or some watermelon that you sliced in the morning. Think, plan ahead and prepare for when hunger strikes.

Adopting habit number one successfully isn't hard - it just takes some planning and effort and before you know it, the desire to consume junk food will no longer be there. And you'll look and feel a whole lot better for it.

Eat seasonal fruit for maximum health benefits and to help keep the cost down. Why not ask your friends or neighbors if they want to share in a box of fruit from your local market?

By switching every third piece of junk food with a piece of fruit (or something else cheap & healthy) you'll save your health, your looks and a conservative estimate of around $100 every year.

Still treat yourself but just don't eat junk food more often than an occasional treat otherwise it's not a treat anymore, it just becomes a detrimental habit.

Have an apple instead of every third muffin and coffee and pop around $2 each week into your savings jar to represent savings made from this habit. If you don't eat junk food, you're a step ahead of the rest of us, but you'll need to offset this saving shortfall with another habit.

Yearly saving from this habit - $100
Yearly saving total - $100

Shop at supermarkets less and support our struggling farmers more.

You can save around half of what you currently spend on fruit and vegetables at your supermarket by shopping at fresh food markets or farmer's markets. Plan the week's menu ahead, schedule your time and shop at your market once a week. Try and use your supermarket for grocery items and emergency purchases only. You can do it if you really want to.

After your day at the farmer's market, get a pen & paper and sit down (with that delicious, crisp, sweet organic apple you brought for yourself) and analyse the day. Did you enjoy the experience, do you feel good? Did you get some fresh air and exercise? Did you save money? Do you feel proud you took your own bags and didn't use plastic, did you notice there isn't any packaging in your rubbish bin, do you taste the difference? Weigh up the differences and decide if it's beneficial - if you think it is, make it a new habit.

Successful implementation of this habit comes back to planning your time carefully with a measure of effort thrown in.

Check your local guides to see when the next farmer's market is on near you.

If you don't have a farmer's market in your area - why not start one? Grow something, organize with your neighbors to grow something, pick a sunny day, put some signs up and start some positive activity in your community.

By regularly shopping at your local farmer's market you can halve what you would spend on fruit, vegetables, eggs and cheese at a supermarket. Over the course of one year, you'll be able to save a conservative estimate of $500. This equates to roughly $9.60 each week. Put it in your jar, shake it around and notice how it's filling up already. Cool stuff hey.

Yearly saving from this habit - $500
Yearly saving total - $600

Simply scrape the top off everything.

- Use four less sheets of toilet paper (only if you can spare it of course)
- Use a few less grains of sugar in your coffee and tea
- Put a little less butter on sandwiches, on toast, potatoes and corn
- Put a little less salt on your chips
- Use one spray less of your perfume
- Use a little less shampoo, conditioner or toothpaste
- Have 2 less cigarettes each day if you smoke
- Have one less biscuit, or two less potato crisps
- Have a smaller piece of cake
- Use a little less milk in your coffee or tea
- Have a little less cream on your apple pie
- Use one teaspoon less oil in your stir fry
- Use less oil in all your cooking (why not grill or bake it?)
- Spray a little less fly spray or a little less air freshener
- Use a little less oven cleaner and washing detergents
- Don't supersize all the time

You'll barely miss these tiny amounts and over the course of a year, these small amounts add up to large amounts saved. You'll have extra money in your savings jar simply because you've reduced your level of consumerism.

This habit can be applied to everything you do - actions at home, at work, eating out and at the drive through. Be conscious of it and pretty soon it'll be automatic. Added together over time, these tiny amounts add up - these are calculable savings not just in money spent, but in manufacturing resources, packaging and calories on the hips.

This habit's a little hard to calculate savings-wise, so I'm going to be conservative. If you apply this technique to every activity that you can - in a relaxed fashion to begin with - you'll be able to save at least $300 each year. Just scrape the top of everything - you can do without it and you probably won't even notice. The things you buy will last a little longer simply because you're using them a little less.

If one million people took up this habit, that adds up to a huge amounts saved. This simple suggestion will result in tons of rubbish that isn't created, pesticides that never get used, chemicals that aren't manufactured, transportation that isn't needed and carbon emissions that never get to exist.

Add a few dollars in your jar each week to represent the approximate amounts you're saving from consuming it down a notch - around $5.80 each week. These are Australian dollars again, remember to convert it to your own currency - you can use the currency converter here.

Also remember to take notes - identify how much you're saving with what reductions. Then try and consume it down another notch where you've got room and pop some more money in your jar. And so the pattern continues until excess is no longer your middle name.

Yearly saving from this habit - $300
Yearly saving total - $900

- TVU Network (free)
- Satellite TV for PC Elite Edition ($49.95)

Why not buy a large flat screen monitor with the money you save?

You can watch TV here at TVU - it's totally free and specialises in viewing you don't get on satellite TV and cable, predominantly in news and sports from around the world. Make sure you check it out to see if your favorite programs are listed and say goodbye to cable bills forever.

If you need more TV viewing choices, TV for PC Elite Edition continuously outshines it's competitors in independent reviews. It comes with on-hand support (if needed) and a 100% satisfaction moneyback guarantee. Over 10 million people have stopped paying their monthly cable bills and have made the switch to satellite TV.

For less than $50 you can eliminate your cable company bills for good, and you'll have over 3000 channels to chose from. Channels include:

Aljazeera TV (covering the Iraq war live and uncensored)
Cubavision (from Cuba)
Comedy Central
MTV Overdrive
Discovery Channel
Vintage Cartoons
Broadway Network
ESPN News
EuroSports TV
National Geographic
Euro TV
Food Network
NASA TV
Rapture TV
Movie Channels (comedy, foreign films, drama, latest blockbusters, action)

3000+ Channels from 78 countries around the world
1500+ Music Channels
also includes many HD channels

No cables, no spyware, no recurring subscription charges and no TV card required. Instantly downloadable and portable, you can watch it anywhere in the world within 10 minutes of purchase. For a one-off payment of less than $50 it makes smart saving sense. Clickbank also guarantee your purchase with a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.

I used pay $144 each month for cable (Foxtel's Platinum package, here in Australia) until I found a way to cut back on my costs without losing any viewing choices. For those who are interested in hooking this up to their large screen TV, you can do this with an s-video to scart lead.

For the purpose of our saving exercise I'm using the conservative figure of $1,000. This equates to just under $100 each month. Pop this into your savings jar (instead of paying your cable bill) and congratulate yourself again on minimising your consuming habits and maximising your savings. If you don't pay for cable bills, you will need to offset this yearly saving with another habit.

Yearly saving from this habit - $1,000
Yearly saving total - $1,900

Switch to using vinegar around the home in replacement for expensive and toxic chemicals.

Vinegar has 1001 uses and many of its uses are more effective than commercial alternatives on the market today. Did you know that vinegar can control fleas, or get rid of dandruff? You can use toxic, expensive commercial products or you can use vinegar. If a particular vinegar tip does not work for you, don't use it again, but many are very effective. Try it.

Here are some of the best vinegar uses - why not give it a go next time before you buy an expensive and toxic commercial alternative.

Deter ants - Spray vinegar around doors, window frames and other known ant trails.

Keep cats away - A spray of vinegar will deter cats from an area you don't want them to go.

Kill and manage fleas - If you put a small bowl of vinegar on your carpet before you go to bed, you'll find a bowl full of dead fleas in the morning. You can bathe your pet in a solution of half vinegar and half water and it will kill the fleas instantly. To manage flea population following their bath, just fill a spray bottle with the same solution and spray it on their coats regularly. Vinegar also works from the inside out - if you put a small amount of apple cider vinegar in your pet's water, you pet will no longer be the popular place for fleas to hangout. You dog may not like being sprayed with a solution of water and vinegar but this remedy is more effective than expensive creams and flea bombs, and it's much healthier than having poisonous chemicals absorbed through your pet's skin.

Keep car windows frost free - Coat the windows the night before in a solution of one part water to three parts vinegar.

Clean rust from tools and bolts - Soak in undiluted vinegar overnight.

Cure Athlete's foot - Soak your feet in half water, half vinegar solution or swab with straight vinegar. Don't put it on broken skin though or it will sting. After soaking, keep your feet as dry as possible.

Control Dandruff - Rinse your hair with half vinegar and half water before conditioning. Vinegar regulates acid build up, soap film and sebum oil.

Remove warts - Apply a lotion of half cider vinegar and half glycerin. Apply daily to warts until they disappear.

Clean dentures - Soak them overnight in a solution of vinegar and brush away the tartar in the morning.

Remove perspiration stains - Rub the area with distilled vinegar and wash as usual.

Unclog a drain - Pour a handful of baking soda down the drain and add half a cup of vinegar. Rinse with hot water.

Disinfect wooden chopping boards - Wipe with full strength vinegar.

If you want more suggestions for using vinegar to clean around the home, check out the top 10 uses here. They're non-toxic, inexpensive and they work.

How much you can save here depends on how many chemical products you consume and how many you will replace with vinegar. If you switch to some vinegar remedies listed above, you should be able to save at least $100 each year. If you cannot do this, make sure you offset this saving with another of our 32 habits.

Yearly saving from this habit - $100
Yearly saving total - $2,000

We don't mean every car trip - just begin by swapping one or two short car trips a month with either train, tram, bus, walking or cycling.

Public transport can be used to your advantage when you utilize this time correctly. Here are 9 positive things you can do while on a public transport journey.

1) Make your grocery list
2) Write in your diary
3) Knit a scarf
4) Daydream and look out the window (don't miss your stop)
5) Do some study or homework
6) Read a good book
7) Clear out the messages in your mobile
8) Plan your next dinner party or houseparty (how about a Jungle theme?)
9) Do a crossword

Take advantage of the fact you're not stuck behind the wheel in stress-inducing traffic and feel proud that you made the decision not to drive today.

If you mostly walk or cycle instead of drive you can save more than $400 each year on public transport tickets and/or petrol. It's the short distances that use the most energy and most people use their cars for short distances. If you cannot take up this habit, you will need to offset this $400 saving with another habit. Remember to take notes on how much you're adding to your jar each week/month vs the changes you're making to your lifestyle.

Yearly saving from this habit - $400
Yearly saving total - $2400

This year buy two pieces of vintage clothing instead of purchasing all new items.

This is what is called sustainable clothing - it already exists. Vintage clothing has personality and is generally made to a higher standard than the mass manufactured whimsical fashions of today. Vintage clothing has a story to tell and inexpensive bargains can be found.

Cultivate an interesting, original look in fashion and try not to be so dictated by what glossy fashion magazines tell you to wear. Buy a second hand vintage handbag for less than half the price of a new one. Buy a killer pair of new boots and team them with a 60's vintage baby doll dress and a strand of beads for an instant transformation into bohemian babe.

You are an individual so dress accordingly - dress to symbolise you, not the masses. Plan every outfit carefully so you know you look your best, but make it look casual and effortless.

And what can you do with the money you save? Take a friend out for dinner, buy an awesome journal to capture some transient thoughts, donate to your local animal shelter or even sponsor a child. You should be able to save around $200 if you swap a few new items in favour of vintage second hand items each year. If you're going to save it, make sure you drop around $17 each month into your ever-filling savings jar and remember to document your results.

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $2,600

This will probably be more fun than most Saturday nights and you can definitely save a bit of money in the process. Once or twice a year, go out for a night in your own home. Make it special. Here's what you do:

To start with, you need to choose a theme. Some examples are School Disco, 1940's Casablanca Night or a Club Med Tropical Party. Click here for 50 fabulous party themes.

Once you've selected your theme, it's time to plan the finer details. Please put some effort into the following steps:

1) Choose your music carefully - you get to be DJ for the night.

2) Browse online for some fabulous cocktail recipes and mouth watering finger food (everyone invited can bring a pre-determined bottle of liquer, champagne or spirits).

3) Go shopping for the ingredients (write your list beforehand).

4) Bring out the fairy lights (or borrow them from your neighbor) and any other required decorations.

5) Make or assemble your finger foods and cocktails - friends are always useful for some help here.

6) Invite some cool people around.

7) Party like it's 2012.

There is no limit to your imagination, and the great thing is, the cost here is negligible - it has little to do with money. It's another exercise in creativity, and combined with a dose of class it'll be a night to remember.

You'll save on taxis, the ridiculous cost of alcohol in bars, waste, door charges and post and/or pre alcohol snacks. Even if you only do this a few times a year, you should aim to save around $300. As usual I'm quoting Australian dollars, but all of these 33 habits are doable worldwide so just convert it into your currency. Pop that $300 into your ever filling jar and be proud of yourself.

Yearly saving from this habit - $300
Yearly saving total - $2900

In the UK research found that 6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away homes each year - a third of the food they buy. The cost to consumers of wasted food is £10 billion a year and I'm sure it's not much different where you live.

Since the launch of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign in 2007, research shows that 1.8 million more UK households are now taking steps to cut back on the amount of food they throw away, resulting in an overall saving of £296 million a year, stopping 137,000 tonnes of food being thrown away. This prevents 600,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted, which is the same carbon impact as taking 100,000 return flights to Australia out of the skies. Water to produce the food is also saved and pesticides and chemicals used to grow and process the food don't ever get used.

If you plan your week's meals properly before you shop and use your freezer correctly, you should be throwing out NO food. If you take up this habit, start paying extra attention to food wastage, take notes in your notebook put another $2 in your jar each week because you should be able to save around $100 each year.

Yearly saving from this habit - $100
Yearly saving total - $3,000

Save electricity, save a little water, save wear and tear on your delicates and give your arms a good workout while you're at it.

Any repetitive exercise is also great thinking time. It's an opportunity to plan tomorrow night's dinner, listen to some music or just think about what a difference your proactive actions are making.

If you have started to make a few changes in your lifestyle, chances are you'll be feeling quite proud of yourself. And rightly so.

Around once a month, pop $2 into your ever-filling savings jar. $20 per year would fairly represent the saving made from not buying a few extra pairs of socks and stockings throughout the year.

Yearly saving from this habit - $20
Yearly saving total - $3,020

In Australia where I live, we've been in a drought for ten years. It's the worst drought in living memory and honestly it's starting to get a little scary. Water is our most taken for granted and most precious resource and only now we're starting to treat it with respect. Humans are pretty good at finding solutions at the last minute. Why we wait until the last minute is another topical post I'm not going to delve into today. Quick answer? It beats me. Another quick answer? Stupidity.

It doesn't rain much in Australia anymore, and consensus suggests it's going to be a long time before the rains return. In the meantime, we need to work on getting wise and preserving what water we've got. Like all 33 habit listed here, this is for you no matter where in the world you live. It's not just for those who live in drought affected areas of the world.

11 WATER SAVING TIPS

The water saving tips below range from super simple through to suggestions requiring a little more thought and effort. The suggestions at the top of the list are so simple you have no reason not to start today. You'll save money on water bills and you'll be conserving our earth's most precious resource at the same time.

1) Turn off the tap while cleaning your teeth - you can save around five litres of water every time you do this.

2) If your bath is located over your shower, collect the water (by putting the plug in the bath) or if you don't have a bath, capture the water in a container (like a small plastic jug, ice cream container, etc) - you might have to share some feet space with your new plastic friend but it's worth it. The same goes for bath water - make sure this just doesn't go down the drain never to be used or seen again. Use it in your garden, on your indoor plants or pour it into someone else's garden.

3) Only use your dishwasher and washing machine when they're full.

4) Put the plug in the sink when washing your hands instead of holding them under running water.

5) Time your showers. Cut them down to four minutes. You can do it.

6) Keep pipes and taps in good order and fix leaks and dripping taps promptly. Did you know that just one dripping tap can waste more than 2,000 litres a month? It's easy to check if you have leaks using your water meter. Before you go to bed, write down the meter reading. Make sure no one uses water that night, then in the morning take a new reading - if the reading is higher, you have a leak that needs to be traced and fixed.

7) Wash fruit and vegetables and rinse dishes in a plugged sink or bowl instead of under running water.

8) To rinse your razor, run a little water into a plugged sink. Rinsing your razor under a running tap wastes lots of water.

9) Installing a water saving, pressurised shower head - these will give you a great shower and save you around 10 litres of water a minute. They also save you energy costs, as you'll use less hot water.

10) Add mulch to your garden and potted plants to reduce watering needs.

11) Install a rainwater tank or ANY other collection devices.

There are another 49 smart water-saving tips located at the American Water website.

You'd be pretty accurate to pop another $50 in your ever-filling jar to represent savings made by this habit.

Yearly saving from this habit - $50
Yearly saving total - $3,070

Do you drink coffee, tea, soft drinks, milkshakes or cordial? Most of us do. Most of us would like to drink more water but we think it's too hard. With some thought, dedication and effort, do you think you could reduce your non water beverage intake by half and instead have a glass of water?

Based on my consumption - I, who am somewhat middle-of-the-road, drink (at least) two beverages each day that are not water. It's either soft drink, coffee or cordial. By cutting out every second beverage (which I've just begun to do) I can save around $365 each year. This figure is based on an overall average of the cost of coffees I buy out, soft drinks I buy out and bottles of soft drink and coffee from the supermarket. For the sake of a conservative figure I'll use the amount of $200.

In addition to adding $200 to your jar or tin every year, this exercise is instrumental in reducing waste, fighting obesity, avoiding sugar addiction and preventing type 2 diabetes which is taking the Western World by storm. Type 2 diabetes is a disease caused by too much sugar in the blood and it's largely preventable, but thanks to today's diets laden with sugar (both seen and hidden), it is reaching alarming proportions.

Here's an additional thought. In each of my two coffees per day, I have two teaspoons of sugar - I like it sweet. If I cut one of those cups out each day and have a glass of water, that's 730 less teaspoons of sugar I'm consuming each year. Over ten years, that's a one big hill of sugar. Multiply this by 1 million people across the globe who we hope will take up this exercise, and that's a massive mountain of disease causing, teeth rotting, fattening sugar that we're not eating. Imagine the yearly sugar intake of one soft drink per day with nine teaspoons of sugar per can!

5 Reasons to Drink Water

1) Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.

2) Water leads to increased energy levels. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.

3) Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease.

4) Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.

5) Water is absolutely essential to the human body's survival. A person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water.

If you think saving money, losing a few kilos and consuming less sugar isn't such a bad idea, then cement the thought in your head and psyche yourself up - possibly keep a food diary to record your progress, but get excited about it. Also prepare for weak moments. These will come, albeit with less and less frequency, Strengthen your will to say no to the voices when they arise. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Just like anything.

If you don't drink beverages other than water, you will need to offset this $200 saving with another habit.

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $3,270

When you're cooking dinner, think about making twice as much (or three times) and freezing it. Examples of what you can cook in bulk and freeze could be pasta sauces, soups, pies and pasties, burgers, breads, pizzas, spring rolls, risotto balls - almost anything.

Snacks and meals will be on-hand just to heat and eat which saves you time. It uses less energy because you don't have to cook that night, only to reheat. You save a little money because you're not buying more expensive items from the supermarket such as frozen pizza or spring rolls or bottled pasta sauce. You've planned ahead and minimised your cost.

Grab a beer or glass or wine and spend an afternoon cooking. You'll have snacks and meals to eat throughout the month.

You should be able to save at least $5 each week by making your own meals and freezing them. You'll be buying less snacks, less take out and you'll have meals already prepared. Put $5 in your jar each week and document your progress and savings.

Yearly saving from this habit - $260
Yearly saving total - $3,530

Here's another big money saver.

Purchasing your groceries in bulk is highly economical for one or more households, i.e. with friends, neighbors or relatives. Generally, the larger quantities you buy, the cheaper it will be. Just make sure you're able store it all correctly it so you don't get bitten by wastage.

Here are the steps to buying groceries in bulk:

1) The first thing you should do is find some containers in a variety of sizes to store your grocery items once they've been purchased and divided.

2) Sit down and write names of people you think this would work with (it may just be your own house), and make a shopping list of grocery items you want to purchase.

3) Check out the most suitable place to shop - it may be your local supermarket if you don't have a food warehouse or a supermarket that specialises in bulk items in your area. Remember to buy your eggs and boxes of fruit and vegetables from farmer's markets where possible. Also, make a point to shop for grocery items when they are on special. This also will save you quite a bit of money.

4) Nominate a shopper or shoppers (if possible get someone with a car - you'll probably have a lot of items).

5) Figure out how much money you need to contribute each.

6) Have fun shopping.

7) Divide the groceries.

8) Count your savings.

Make sure you calculate what is cheaper per unit and what is not - some things may not be cheaper to buy in bulk. And always make sure none of it will be going to waste. Plan smart storage tactics before you shop and don't forget to label them.

Grocery items that are cheaper to purchase in larger quantities are typically rice, pasta, rice, tins of tomatoes, tinned vegetables and fruit, boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables, toilet paper rolls, sugar, flours, eggs, tins of oil, cigarette cartons, kitty litter, pet food, tea bags, biscuits, chips, nuts and large jars of coffee. Again, buy items on sale where you can.

Buying in bulk reduces massive amounts of waste which end up in our environment - much of this waste is harmful plastic. If we don't use the waste, it doesn't get created and we don't need the massive amounts of energy required to process this waste. It simply doesn't get used.

When you're adding handfuls of unspent dollars into your savings jar, that's likely to be the moment you appreciate the full worth of this habit.

If you put some effort into this habit, you will be able to save at least $500 every year. I'm quoting Australian dollars again so be sure to convert this amount into your own currency. This equates to around $9.70 each week - make sure you pop this saving into your jar and document your results. Once they're purchased you won't be buying toilet paper and other certain ingredients for another few weeks or so.

Yearly saving from this habit - $500
Yearly saving total - $4,030

Having a restaurant-worthy night at home a few times a year is enough to accumulate significant savings.

If you plan this correctly, you can do the entire package better than most restaurants - the ambience, menu, decor, service, the company and music - the success of your night all comes down to the fine details.

You can save around $300 if you dine at home three or four times a year to substitute nights out at a restaurant.

If you only go out for dinner a few times a year, then this suggestion is not for you - you'll need to offset this saving with another habit.

Here's the process - have fun!

1) Pick a theme - which country's cuisine will be on the menu? Some suggestions are Italian, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Moroccan, Mexican, Greek, Lebanese, etc.

2) Dinner for two or dinner for eight? (if you're going for eight here, you might want to combine the cost with friends who want to join the dinner party - tell them what the purpose and goal is).

3) Research some recipes online or whip out some recipe books if they're suitable. If you want to try secret recipes straight from famous kitchens around the world, check out Secret Restaurant Recipes - these recipes will really impress your guests. Don't forget the smaller details like the beverages, entrees and deserts.

4) Go shopping and buy all the ingredients you need. Remember to take your own durable bags and shop locally where possible - your bakery, the deli, fruit shop, health food shop, bottle shop, coffee roaster, baglery and butcher (if you must).

5) Have a shower and deliberately wash any negativity down the drain. Feel good and get dressed - if you take steps to make yourself feel good, you'll feel confident and know that you look good. Beauty from within always radiates out.

6) Select some music. Your own selection is fine but how about sourcing some music from your chosen country for the night? Jump online and find a music station from anywhere in the world. Check out Mike's Radio World for a guide to 5000 music stations from all around the world - it's free. Be sure to find one with minimal commentary for the sake of encouraging inspiring conversation.

7) Decorate your home with fruit, flowers, candles, water bowls, beads and cushions.

8) Have a glass of wine, and spend a few hours in the kitchen whipping up something fabulous.

9) Enjoy!

You can always ask each guest to cut something out of the paper of interest to talk about - nothing like getting a good debate going over dinner.

And don't forget to pop the extra $300 into your savings jar. Just make it $10 here, $10 there but write it down and keep track. It feels good doesn't it?

Yearly saving from this habit - $300
Yearly saving total - $4,330

Did you know that you can make your own skin care range such as anti-aging formulas and face masks that are more effective than expensive commercial alternatives?

Natural skin care promotes beautiful, healthier, younger looking skin. You can make effective, natural rejuvenating treatments yourself for a fraction of what you would spend on commercial preparations.

It's important not to use beauty products that are tested on animals. This is a barbaric and unnessesary evil in today's world which many of our big name cosmetic conglomerates employ solely in the name of greed.

Please don't condone and encourage this practice by giving them your money - say a silent and powerful NO by boycotting these companies. Check out a full list of cosmetic companies that test on animals here.

To find out how to make more effective skin care and anti-ageing preparations than you can buy on the market today click here.

You can easiliy save around $200 every year by making your own face masks, exfoliants, moisturisers, anti-ageing facial wraps and under-eye treatments. Pop this $200 into your ever-filling savings jar and be very proud of yourself. Stop testing on animals for the sake of beauty - there is really nothing uglier.

Here's a quote on animal testing from RIkki Rocket: "If you don't like my opinions leave. But just remember, the animals can't leave the cages that hold them. They are captive and suffering. As you cozy into your bed tonight, try to imagine the pain and the suffering that they endure day after day and night after night. Next time you get some soap in your eyes, try to imagine that pain for 3 or 4 days at a time. Next time you have a stomach ache, try to imagine liquid plumber being poured down your throat till you puke so much blood that you bleed to death. Next time you bump your head, try to imagine being a monkey and getting a steel plate smashed into your skull at 50 miles per hour. Then, only then should you feel compelled to tell me that I'm wrong about my opinions. For all these things have happened in the name of science. They continue in abundance till this day.

Please do not support testing on animals. Make your own natural beauty products for a fraction of the cost.

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $4,530

There are many natural remedies that work better than their commercial counterparts for a fraction of the cost.

Medicines do have a place in today's world, but they should NOT be used if we have natural alternatives which will do an equal job or better. Investigate natural solutions, try them out and surprise yourself - if they don't work, don't use them - different solutions work for different people, but I guarantee you'll find at least a few natural solutions that will relieve your ailments or get rid of the problem all together.

Here are some natural alternatives to common problems:

1) Colds - Oil leaf extract. Take it when the first sign of sniffles start, and they're most likely not to go any further. If they do, symptoms will be much less severe and will not last as long. Not many people are aware of this natural product as it is not manufactured by large companies, is not advertised and is sold mainly in health food shops and some chemists.

2) Hayfever - Lemons reduce histamine which naturally occurs in the body causing runny nose, itchy throat and eyes. In spring I suffer from hayfever and use this remedy every day. Squeeze a quarter of a lemon into a glass of tap water and drink it. About half an hour later 90% of your irritating symptoms should be gone.

3) Cold Sores - The Ice Cube. No one knows exactly how ice combats herpes simplex type I but experts do know that viruses can't thrive in cold environments. Ice literally freezes the virus and prevents the blister from forming. It works as well as any over the counter remedy and as well as topical prescription drugs.

The minute you feel a cold sore coming on (often signalled by a tingling or pricking feeling), wrap an ice cube in a cloth handkerchief and hold it directly on the spot for 5 minutes in 15 second intervals (15 seconds on, 15 seconds off). Then wait 15 minutes and repeat. To avoid frostbite on such a small area, don't put the cube directly on the skin, don't press too hard, and never use it for more than five minutes at a time.

4) Insect repellent - Take a daily B-complex vitamin. Mosquitoes find it distasteful. Alternatively, essential oils known for repelling insects are citronella, lemongrass, lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, thyme, geranium, spearmint and rosemary. Dilute the oil in water or carrier oils like almond or olive and spritz it all over yourself.

5) Dull Hair - This recipe is from Robert Hallowell, who styles celebrities' hair in South Pasadena, CA. In a small bowl, mash ½ an avocado, with 2 tablespoons vodka and 2 tablespoons of honey and an egg yolk to form a creamy mixture. Apply to freshly shampooed, towel-blotted hair. Leave on for 30 minutes and rinse well in warm water, shampoo again and style as usual.

6) Panic Attacks - You don't have to suffer from panic attacks. There is a natural technique you can learn to master panic attacks. It's very effective (I know two people who have tried this successfully) and you'll never need prescription drugs to bandaid the problem again. This technique will teach you how to address the cause, not to cover up its symptoms. Click here for more information. Comes with a 100% cure or moneyback guarantee.

7) Warts - Get a small cotton ball and soak it in aloe vera for about one to two minutes. After the cotton ball is completely soaked, apply it directly onto the affected area and make sure it doesn't come off. After every few hours, soak the cotton ball again with the aloe vera solution. Change the cotton ball everyday and after a week, you will see that the wart will disappear.

8) Hangover Cure - Click here for some remedies to help with the morning-after-the-big-night pain.

9) Dandruff - Water & vinegar rinse (half and half) works better for most people than purchased dandruff products. Vinegar makes the environment unfriendly to yeast which encourages dandruff.

10) Yeast Infections - Find out what causes yeast infections and cure them once and for all with a 12 Hour Cure for Yeast Infections. Comes with a 100% cure or moneyback guarantee.

11) Hemorrhoids - Don't suffer, eliminate them once and for all with a natural remedy. Hemorrhoid Miracle is widely endorsed and comes with a 100% moneyback guarantee because it works.

We spend billions of dollars each year on products designed to relieve symptoms - doesn't it make more sense to cure the cause of the problem itself using natural products? Whatever your ailment is, do some research and seek out natural solutions. The Home Remedies for You website has useful information on addressing hundreds of ailments.

If you switch to some of the natural remedies listed above, you should be able to save around $200 each year. If you cannot do this, make sure you offset this saving with another of our 32 habits.

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $4,730

Most dry cleaners use dangerous and toxic chemicals such as perchloroethylene to clean your clothes.

This chemical is known to damage the central nervous system and contaminate human breast milk. According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, it can also lead to headaches, nausea, dizziness, and memory problems. The International Agency for Research in Cancer classifies perchloroethylene as a "probable human carcinogen." It is already known to cause cancer in animals, and several studies indicate that exposure in humans increases the risk of esophagus, lung, kidney, and liver cancers.

When it is released into the air, perchloroethylene harms the health of dry cleaning workers and of people who live near dry cleaners. In Manhattan, almost 88,000 residents live within 20 meters of a dry cleaner. According to Greenpeace, more than 95,000 tons of this solvent is used annually by 35,000 cleaners across the United States and Canada.

A small amount of the chemical also remains in dry-cleaned clothing. You wear these clothes and the dry cleaning residue that is on your clothes gets absorbed by the skin. In minute quantities (like most things) this is probably fine, but when exposed to toxic chemicals repeatedly over time, logic suggests this will damage your health to some degree. It's best to err on the side of health and not to find out what.

Dry cleaning chemicals pollute the water and the air and tons of plastic used in the dry cleaning business (as the clothing protector) ends up in landfills.

Next time you're shopping for clothes, just take a look at the washing instructions on the tag and try not to buy clothing that requires dry cleaning. It's ok to dry clean sometimes (if you have to), but make an effort to do it less.

If you dry clean one item of clothing per month, make an effort to halve it so you're only dry cleaning six items per year. You'll save yourself around $100 each year, you'll save your health and you'll save the environment. Then next year, make it three items.

You can find out more on the damaging process of dry cleaning here.

Remember to pop that $100 into your ever-filling savings jar. If you don't dry clean any clothes, you will need to offset this saving with another habit.

Yearly saving from this habit - $100
Yearly saving total - $4,830

You can extend your dog's lifespan by years if you make your own pet food and you'll save a whole lot of money in the process.

Did you know there are euthanised pets (including their plastic collars, bags and tags) in pet food on the supermarket shelves today?

For more information on this disgusting practice and for some money-saving alternatives, click here.

If you love your dog, you should start thinking about making his pet food for him - he doesn't deserve to eat what they put in dog food.

You can save around $200 each year by making healthy food for your dog. If you don't have a dog - you'll need to offset this saving with another habit. Or maybe consider rescuing one from your local pound?

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $5,030

We make a point not to nag around here. We just aim to gently show you the benefits of cutting down. For the purpose of this exercise we're going to focus on the monetary aspect.

Most smokers smoke around 15 cigarettes a day. Here in Australia, it costs about $12 for a packet of 30 cigarettes. So 15 cigarettes a day equates to a $6 dollar habit. If you smoke 6 less cigarettes each day, you will save $2.40 each day.

Over one year this totals $876 each year. For the sake of this saving exercise we'll round it down to $870.

Pop this $870 into your jar and be very proud of yourself. Then think about cutting down even further - you'll get plenty of reward for it - monetary benefits, health benefits and personal empowerment. Remember to keep notes detailing how many you cigarettes you've cut down vs the savings your popping into your savings jar. And remember to convert these dollars into your own currency.

If you don't smoke, you will need to offset this saving with another habit.

Yearly saving from this habit - $870
Yearly saving total - $5,900

There are numerous ways to cut down on your electricity usage - we'll point you in the right direction but we can't turn your appliances off for you.

It's up to you to make an effort to remember to turn things off until it's an integrated habit. The good news is, once it's become a habit you'll be doing it automatically. Click here for some smart energy-saving suggestions.

Make sure you note what changes you're making (big or small) so you can adjust and offset any savings shorfalls accordingly. If you pay real attention to this you should be able to save around $200 each year.

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $6,100

If you like cooking, this one's a great moneysaving tip. Grow pots of chives, parsley, basil, sage or even a bush of rosemary in the garden. Or if you've got a sunny spot in the kitchen, plant some herbs in pots. Herbs look and smell fabulous.

You should be able to save around $80 each year if you grow, instead of buy your herbs. This saving equates to approximately one bunch of herbs purchased each week.

If you don't cook you'll have to offset this monetary saving with another relevant habit such buying a little less fast food or junk food.

Yearly saving from this habit - $80
Yearly saving total - $6,180

Boring but true.

There are some simple things you can do for your car which will save on fuel consumption and emissons, your tires will need to be changed less often and you'll extend the overall life of your car.

For example, check your tire pressure once a month. This simple maintenance check will translate to savings at the gas pump. Check out 18 money saving and car saving tips here.

By getting the most mileage out of your fuel tank and preventing repairs and replacements, you'll be able to save around $200 each year. If you don't have a car, you'll need to offset this saving with another habit. Make sure you drop a few coins in your jar each week to represent these savings, and keep a record of what changes you're making and much you're saving.

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $6,380

Not all of them - just some.

We know how relaxing it is to kick back on the couch with your pjs on and read the paper.

How about reading every third paper online?

If you don't have the internet at home, why not organize with a newspaper-reading neighbor to buy the paper on alternate days, reading it then passing it over the fence? All in the name of recycling and saving of course. It's a worthy reason to go knock on their door.

Make a goal to save $50 this year on papers by using alternatives. This $50 will look quite good in your savings jar and you'll still get your news. Here in Australia, $50 equates to around 30 daily newspapers. Remember to convert this into your own currency, keep notes and watch your savings grow. If you buy newspapers infrequently, you'll need to offset this saving with another habit.

Yearly saving from this habit - $50
Yearly saving total - $6,430

Plastic bags. What a terrible invention.

If you don't have a plastic bag surcharge in your country you soon will. Not that they're free as it is - the cost ends up borne by us as it's factored into grocery prices.

Plastic bags are a massive problem in our environment - both the process used to make the plastic and the trillions of plastic bags that end up in our landfills and oceans as waste.

And the stupid part is, when you think about it, they're not neccessary. We just need to take our own - hemp bags, cotton bags - ANY bags other than plastic is a great solution here.

If you mainly use them to line your bin (like I did) just wash and disinfect your bin regularly and wrap food scraps in newspaper that you've put aside for the purpose. It works.

You can save around $50 each year by not using plastic bags for shopping, or buying plastic bags to line your rubbish bin. You don't need them.

Yearly saving from this habit - $50
Yearly saving total - $6,480

Whether you attend they gym to lose weight, bulk up or just tone up, we'll show you some viable alternatives to your local gym.

You can be fit, healthy, toned or muscley without having to pay for exorbitant gym memerships. Firstly decide what body result you're after, such as do you want to lose weight, or do you want to tone up etc. Then educate yourself - buy a book or research on the internet what foods to eat and what areas of the body to work on and exercise!

Buy a bike and start riding, go for a walk around your neighbourhood three times a week and pick some flowers along the way, walk someone else's dog, join the local indoor soccer club or start swimming or join yoga classes, Finding a regular activity or hobby that can be incorporated with exercise for little or no cost is the aim. You can do it.

To burn fat, bulk up muscle mass or to strengthen the weakest parts of your body, then check out this series of ebooks on Training Information. What's your goal?

If you want to get rid of your belly fat and replace it with a six-pack check out The Truth about Abs. And remember to request your free report.

Both of these solutions cost a fraction of the price of a gym membership, and if they don't work for you, they come with a $100% satisfaction moneyback guarantee. Gymnasiums are expensive and they're not necessesary.

Stop your gym membership and save at least $200 each year. Pop this $200 into your savings jar and buy yourself something nice as a reward.

Yearly saving from this habit - $200
Yearly saving total - $6,680

Excess waste and packaging is unnecessary.

It takes many resources to make surplus packaging and it ends up in our landfills.

Most of us are actually encouraging this practice by paying for it.

Buy refills for detergents, pens, laser cartridges and handwashes. Buy concentrated products like detergents, tomato pastes and stock. Aim to cut down on packaging, it will cost you less and impact on the world around us less.

If one million people all took up this habit, that's immense amounts of plastic and packaging that isn't going to waste. Support what you believe in and think about the consequences your small actions are making. When multiplied by millions of consumers around the globe, small actions become huge actions.

You can save around $50 each year if you make a conscious effort to purchase products with less packaging.

Yearly saving from this habit - $50
Yearly saving total - $6,730

Plastic water bottles account for an enormous amount of waste.

Why do we spend so much money on bottled water when we have cheaper or free alternatives such as drinking filtered water?

There are no regulations as to what's in bottled water and it's probably not the glacierial ice dripping down from some untouched pristine mountaintop even if the label says so.

If you're smart enough not to drink bottled water you'll need to offset this monetary saving with another habit.

Many consumers purchase 3 bottles of water each week which equates to over 150 bottles each year. If you can reduce the bottles of water you buy by 50 bottles, you'll save around $100 each year. Drink filtered or tap water instead, be just as healthy and accumulate the savings. Don't forget to document your progress and your savings.

Yearly saving from this habit - $100
Yearly saving total - $6,830

Serviettes, cutlery, plates, razors, cameras, batteries, nappies, tissues, the list goes on.

Sometimes disposable products are very convenient for example, a picnic - in this instance, sure go ahead and use them.

Often however, it makes better sense to buy permanent equivalents like serviettes. Instead of buying throwaway disposable serviettes, add a touch of class by buying linen napkins and washing them after each use. You won't ever have to spend money on them again!

If you have taken up this habit and no longer use disposables, then go ahead and pop at least $100 in your ever-filling savings jar.

Make the switch from throwaway to permanent today.

Yearly saving from this habit - $100
Yearly saving total - $6,930

There are many natural and cheaper alternatives to commercial pesticides.

Here's an example - snail and slug pellets. These pellets are highly toxic and yes they kill the snails and slugs, but they also kill many family pets each year. You and your family also eat these toxins which leech into the soil that our vegetables grow in.

An alternative? Sprinkle some crushed eggshells in the area you want to protect. Snails and slugs don't like grit and will not cross the eggshell line.

There a numerous ideas which will keep the pests away whilst treading lightly on our earth. You'll also save at least $30 by using natural alternatives.

Click here for some great natural, inexpensive recipes for pest control in your garden. Pesticides are toxic and there are healthier and cheaper alternatives.

Yearly saving from this habit - $30
Yearly saving total - $6,960

This isn't hard and can save you a fortune. It takes some planning and effort to get up a little earlier and assemble some delicious lunchbox meals for work. If you buy your lunch 4 or more times each week, this habit can save you hundreds of dollars each year.

Click here for heaps of yummy lunchbox ideas that you can take to school or work. Plan this week's lunch menu, shop for it and save.

If you put in the effort to take up this habit at least two or three times each week you'll be able to save around $500 every year. Your lunches will probably be a lot tastier too and you'll be preventing wastage of rubbish that take away food is generally packed in. Multiplied by one million people, this adds up to a huge mountain of waste that is not being consumed.

Yearly saving from this habit - $500
Yearly saving total - $7,460

By taking up this habit, you'll save money, you'll reduce your carbon footprint and you'll be supporting farmers, suppliers and manufacturers in your state or country.

Everything tends to work out cheaper because there are less transportation costs involved in the overall price.

Longhaul transporation accounts for a huge quantity of carbon emissions released into the air that we in turn breathe. It doesn't need to be this way.

Look for locally made goods and make a point to buy them over imported goods. You should be able to save around $50 this year.

Yearly saving from this habit - $50
Yearly saving total - $7,510

We've mentioned it before and we make a point not to nag around here but we will always present the facts.

Many health and environmental organisations now advocate cutting down on meat for a number of reasons which we'll delve into on an upcoming lens.

A vegetarian lifestyle is far from a bland and boring - it in fact makes life richer and you'll have a lot more money in your pocket. Cutting out meat from your diet does not reduce the number of ingredients or recipes that you can cook with or eat - on the contrary - when you give yourself a new set of ethical rules to work within, you experiment widely and enthusiastically within that family of foods that is not meat. You'll find you'll try new foods, new dishes and new restaurants.

You will save at least $850 each year by making the switch to a vegetarian lifestyle. I'll be writing more about this topic very soon. In the meantime, check out some helpful steps here.

If you don't like it, stop - but do some research and think about giving it a go.

Yearly saving from this habit - $800
Yearly saving total - $8,310

What can you do with all the money you save? That's entirely up to you, but here's a suggestion.

Put $10 in a seperate jar every day - just take it out of your $8,000 main savings jar.

This practice will leave $4,350 in your main savings jar and $3,650 in your smaller savings jar.

At the end of one year, invest your $3,650 into a high-interest savings account.

We will assume that you receive a 5% annual return on your money invested (a very conservative growth rate).

Here's the impact that investing $10 per day has on your money:

1 year = $3,830.25 ($3,650 invested)
5 years = $20,117.70 ($10,825 invested)
10 years = $40,820.48 ($30,650 invested)
15 years = $80,269.98 ($50,475 invested)
25 years = $180,291.41 ($90,125 invested)
50 years = $460,296.51 ($180,250 invested)

If you make a habit to set aside ten dollars per day, in 50 years you'll have almost half a million dollars to play with. That's a nice reward for your planet saving efforts.

NB That's not including the additional $217,500 that you've saved ontop of that in your main savings jar. Again, I quote in Australian dollars - for accuracy purposes please make sure you convert these amounts into your own currency.

If you are in a position to promote this lifestyle to your school, workplace or children then please do. Don't wait for your country's leaders to tell us to change - you are each leaders in your own right and you can each take this power into your own hands. We don't need to look to someone else for guidance, we can change our world ourselves.

These are sustainable practices which will look after our earth, and they will look after our wallets and they will look after our children's children.

Throughout 2009 many of us will be forced to look at ways to cut back on expenses. Most thinkers suggest this recession going to get worse before it gets better. We can minimize the impact of the recession while increasing our quality of life at the same time if we make a few changes today.

We need to begin changing some habits if we are ever going to respect ourselves as a race. We need to make changes which will synch us with our planet and with our neighbors. These habits will set off a chain reaction of smart thought and smart decisions which translate to intelligent and wise actions. Then will we be truly worthy of a bright, prosperous and happy future. Think about taking a step in the right direction today.

If you want to change the world for the better, please leave a comment. The more of us there are that make positive changes, the more powerful we become and the bigger picture changes for the better.