Green is in, and that means store shelves are lined with products claiming to be environmentally friendly. However, according to an article on Smartmoney.com, many supposedly eco-friendly products are more hype than environmentally helpful. The story reported on one study of over 1,000 products with eco-friendly claims, which found all but one containing claims that could be proven false or that could be confusing. The article offered some ideas for sorting through the marketing clutter. First, the more detailed the claim the better. For example, a paper product made from "100% post-consumer recycled content" is a better bet than one made simply from "recycled" material. Second, learn which terms are meaningful by checking out Consumer Reports' free eco-label tool
.
Matt's View
Two green decisions we've made in our household over the past year are to use compact fluorescent light bulbs and to stop using bottled water. It was this article
from Fast Company that put me over the edge with bottled water. While many earth-friendly products cost more than their not-so-earth-friendly counterparts (think laundry detergent), these are two examples where going green actually saves money as well. What changes have you made that are both eco-friendly and wallet-friendly? Please let me know
.
You're doing all that you can to save on gas these days, right? You've made sure your tires are properly inflated; you've taken all the heavy stuff out of your trunk; you've even taken to turning off your engine while waiting for a train to pass by. Ah, but there's one more step you can take. You can plan your errands in a way that enables you to make mostly right turns. The idea, as reported in the Chicago Tribune, comes from the efficiency experts at UPS. By planning its delivery routes this way, UPS says it saves on gas by minimizing the time that drivers spend idling while waiting to make left turns, and even improves safety since its drivers rarely have to turn against traffic.
Matt's View
In a related item, the last issue of Matt About Money prompted several readers to write in with comments about how they're coping with today's tough economy. Among the many notes, Lori said her husband is taking a bus to work and they're now thinking of selling one of their cars. Pam and her husband moved their family of seven, in part, to cut down on driving by being more central to their kids' activities. In good times and bad, Bruce and his wife maintain six months' worth of living expenses in an emergency fund. And Michelle bought a hybrid car, dropping her monthly fuel expenses from $200 to $90. Thanks to everyone who wrote.
With rebate checks soon to start showing up in people's mailboxes, retailers are eager to see us spend the money in their stores. For a limited time, several are offering to add 10 percent to the value of your tax rebate if you use the full amount to purchase gift cards at their stores. The financial blog FiveCentNickel
highlighted offers from Kroger
and Sears
.
The Kroger offer is good at any of its nearly 2,500 grocery stores nationwide that operate under a variety of names. See the above Kroger link for the names of all of its stores. Kmart and Lands' End, both owned by Sears Holdings, are also offering the 10 percent incentive.
Matt's View
This is a value-added twist on the more common practice of retailers offering to cash your tax refund check in the hope that you'll spend the money in their store before getting back to your car. The 10 percent bonus may be worth it if you don't already have other plans for the money (like paying down debt or building savings) and if you would spend the money in such stores anyway. But keep in mind that spending on plastic - even gift cards - tends to make us spend more than we would otherwise. So, if you're going to use your tax rebate to buy groceries at Kroger, just be sure to stick to your normal shopping practices such as using a list, using coupons (you do use a list and coupons, don't you?), and buy what you would normally buy.
Did you know that just by performing Internet searches you could help support your favorite charity? As reported in the Wall Street Journal, each search through Search Kindly
or Good Search
generates a charitable contribution of about a penny. That may not sound like a lot, but with lots of people doing lots of searches on such sites the money can add up. Search Kindly, which uses Google's search engine, takes a poll of users to determine which charity to support each month. Good Search, which uses Yahoo's search engine, allows you to designate a charity with each search you conduct.
Matt's View
I prefer Good Search since it allows you to choose a charity for each search. The organization behind Good Search also runs Good Shop
, where making a purchase from any of over 500 e-tailers generates charitable donations.
