Earth Day 4/22

Instead of throwing out old linens and towels, donate them to a local animal shelter. Your trash might be a shelter dogs bed! They'll love you for it.. and you'll feel pretty good about it too!

So what does Earth Day have to do with not having a regular job?

A lot actually! At least for me. For starters, giving things away, recycling or free-cycling not only helps the earth, but also helps your budget!

An example is automobiles. Now I know you're probably not going to give your car away, but it is something that we do buy a lot of USED. I notice a trending news topic is how GM is paying back their government assistance loans.. our money.. ahead of schedule.. in fact they've paid back 8 BILLION dollars already. They obviously are selling plenty of cars and have saved plenty of money with all the cut backs. The other side of the spectrum is my car. It is a car I bought from an insurance company at an insurance salvage auction. It is a 1999 Volvo S70 AWD Turbo. The top of the line for that model year. I paid $575.00 for it as you see it in the picture above, and after fees, and repairing the car to road worthy I laid out a total of $1100 bucks. What is your car payment? Do you owe more than it's worth? hmmm

Less extreme examples, well, are everything else! It's 2010, everything is available in places other than retail! I love to say it... say it with me... CRAIGSLIST! My friend just laid out $6600.00 for a bedroom furniture set. I will tell you, its really nice. I have less than $100.00 in my entire bedroom. Sure, its not as nice but its FAR from unacceptable. And like the old Motel 6 commercials, what does Tom Bodett say.. our rooms look the same as theirs WITH THE LIGHT OFF. What if that 66 hundred dollars was invested for the next 20 yrs? hmmmmm.

So anyways, it's Earth Day. Being Earth concious can help you and the earth live a happier, longer life. And please, I'm not trying to tell you to live a way you're not comfortable with.. that is entirely against my true point of living the way you WANT! If you need that new car, or that new furniture, or 40 pairs a shoes, then just be earth concious when you need to make room for new. Don't contribute things to the landfill that still have use in them. Make someones day and see how it makes you feel.

Please adopt your next pet! Overpopulation is the #1 killer of dogs. Supply is met, continued breeding is not necessary and based on greed and consumerism. There are purebreed rescues for EVERY breed. They are part of our earth too.