Save the Earth, Save Your Wallet....

OK – so this article seems to be a little off from my usual topic, but bear with me and hear me out. On Sunday, April 22 we will once again celebrate Earth Day. This began way back when I was a junior in High School, but we are still here, still trying to save the planet and, in this case, save some money too. Guess how I am going to suggest you use this “found” money? By making additional payments on your student loans, of course! Yes, you can help the planet and yourself too! You may be surprised by the amount you can save by simply switching to CFL (Compact Florescent Lights) or LED.

When you visit the lighting department of your favorite store, if you are like me, the first thing you will notice will be the price difference. These bulbs are more expensive than the incandescent bulb. They can range in price from slightly more expensive to outrageously more pricey. The good news is that the average CFL will pay for itself in energy savings within 6 months of use. Over the lifetime of a CFL bulb, you can save about $40, even more if you use the bulb in your high usage light fixtures. To see exactly how much you can save visit:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls_savings, click on the “calculate your savings “ link.

Newer and Better!  CFL bulbs have been improved over the past few years and are now available in dimmable versions, both for use with special “dimming” light fixtures, as well as bulbs that will “dim” in a standard light fixture (no expensive fixture replacements needed!).

Regardless of whether you switch to CFL or LED bulbs, our savings can really add up – up to $262 over 50,000 hour life span. (http://eartheasy.com/live_led_bulbs_comparison.html ).

Final thoughts: I am going to give you a break and I am not going to repeat how making additional payments to your student loan can help you save money and clear your debt faster (you can look at previous Blogs on this page). However, I would like to ask you to do one more thing.

Show Your Commitment: You can show your commitment to Earth Day and join a billion other people around the world. Click on the link below and select Change-Out My Light Bulbs.

http://act.earthday.org/ You may even find a few more Earth Saving ideas you’d like to join!