Living a greener life — being more eco-friendly and sustainable — doesn’t have to be a matter of saving the rain forest. Instead, you might want to consider going green as a matter of saving some money. One of the big emphasis of a sustainable lifestyle is using a little less, whether you’re using less energy or fewer resources. As our energy prices rise, energy conservation makes sense on a financial level as well as an environmental level. If you want to pay less at the pump, you have to figure out a way to drive less. If you want to bring down your electricity bill, using less electricity is the way to go.

In general, one mantra works for both saving the environment and saving money: “Use less stuff.” There are some small steps you can take to implement that mantra in your life.

Energy Star Appliances

Energy Star appliances are government-rated appliances proven to be more energy efficient than other options. The initial price for many Energy Star appliances are a little higher than you might be used to, but in the long run, they’ll save you money by dropping your electricity bill.

It used to be that the Energy Star system only covered major appliances, like washers and dryers. The Energy Star site now lists a whole array of electronics, though, from lighting to televisions to battery charging systems.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Want an easy fix for your electricity bill? Swap out your incandescent light bulbs for CFLs. For each bulb you change out, you’ll save at least $30 in electricity costs over the life of the bulb — and that’s taking into account the fact that CFLs have a slightly higher purchase price.

Public Transportation & Carpooling

Looking for ways to cut that gas bill? Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may be able to make use of public transportation. Even in some of the Midwest cities notorious for less-than-adequate municipal bus systems, you may be able to get a cheap ride to the mall or other city hubs.

For those trips that public transportation just won’t help with, consider carpooling. Rather than offering to meet up with your friends, see if someone will swing by and pick you up. Same goes if anyone needs to run the same errands you do.

Shop Locally

Minimizing the trips you take outside your neighborhood may limit your selection a bit, but even if your nearest grocery store is a little pricier than some of the others in town you can still save by not using so much gas.

There’s another facet to shopping locally that can bring the price down even more: if you buy locally grown produce and other food from farmers’ markets and similar local suppliers, you can often spend significantly less to buy your food. A farmer who operates just outside of the city limits doesn’t have to factor in the fuel costs that grocery stores who bring produce in from two states away must.

Wall Street is buzzing these days with talk about environmentally responsible companies and alternative sources of energy. Investment companies are starting to realize that the old adage “you can save your money or you can save a tree” doesn’t apply anymore. These new Green companies are working on ways to produce clean energy and products, and are turning a very nice profit doing it. But some investors are weary. Will these “Greenchip” stocks be the next Dot Com boom?

Green Isn’t Just For Hippies Anymore
With the oil crisis in full swing and the well being of the environment finally in the public eye, Green companies are finding it easier than ever to find support from investors. However, more than just investment brokers looking for a buck are buying. Through easy access to online trading, individuals are putting their money into companies that have the same environmental concerns as they do. People who have long said that Green technology and energy are the future are now able to put their money where their mouths are.

Get In On The Ground Floor
Often these companies are still in the startup phases, and their initial offering prices are very affordable. This makes them very attractive to investors who may not have the capitol to buy larger stocks. Despite being cheap, these stocks have very bright projections from analysts. Solar power in particular is a field that is seeing massive growth, and solid return projections. It is estimated that in the next few years, almost 10% of the total power produced in the world will be solar. In addition, the technology behind solar power is well established, having decades of well funded research behind it. Now we’re seeing less and less experimental solar power applications, and more and more practical solar applications. Research in this field has turned from “how can we get it to work” to “how can we make it work better.”

Another Dot Com Fiasco?
Like the Dot Com boom in the late nineties, there are many small startup companies with a lot of potential to choose from. The question is, of course, which one to choose? A form of natural selection occurred in the Dot Com era, where some companies became stronger and put the smaller, weaker companies out of business quickly. Nervous traders, eager to make a quick buck, also added to the problem. If a company was having difficulties, the investor money would dry up, plunging the stock price and sending the business under. Eventually only the very large companies, Google, Yahoo, and eBay to name a few, were left standing. So what’s to stop that from happening in the upcoming Green boom?

Stability In The Long Run
The one thing that calms most investors about Green stocks is that this field, while new in its approach, is old in its function. The main focus of the environmentally responsible energy producers is simply to produce electricity, a utility that we all use. Green product manufacturers are using cheap, recyclable materials to make commodities that we use every day, like hairbrushes or TVs. While the approach to producing these things is new, the things they are actually producing are the things we have been using and will continue to use in the future. With a solid base of consumers to back these Green companies, the value of their shares will continue to rise, and one day be as powerful as big oil is today.