How I Saved 200 Euros per Month on Sustainability

Consider this…

The average person buys 3 plastic bottles per week totalling 8€. That’s 32€ per month and a whopping 384€ per year! Nearly 400€ spent on bottles that will be put in the trash can the very same day. What if you didn’t need to spend that 8€ each week? 

Of course, the 32€ you spend on plastic bottles is just one example. Try adding up all the money you spend on other single-use plastic and paper products. Coffee cups, takeaway boxes, bathroom products, plastic bags…

What if you were able to cut all those unnecessary expenses, yet still have the convenient items that you love to use. Something as simple as putting a sustainable coffee mug into your work bag could save you another 15-20€ per week!

Imagine, if you could save as much as 200€ per month? What could you do with that extra money?

Bump up your savings and take that vacation you’ve been waiting for... Treat your friends and family to dinner at that new restaurant in town... Donate to an environmentally-friendly organisation... Or, you could tuck this money away for a rainy day. Whatever you decide, you’re not only being more sustainable but you're also saving a significant amount of money each year.

Also Read: Not Sure About Buying A Reusable Travel Coffee Mug?

Tell me more...

Saving money each month on sustainability is really quite simple. Look at how many water bottles you use each week. Did you know that on average of one million water bottles are purchased worldwide every minute?

Are you one of the million people? 

Unfortunately, only 23% of these bottles are recycled. Instead, they end up in landfills, polluting the waterways and soil, or being scooped out of the Pacific Ocean by The Ocean Cleanup. If we truly want to make the Earth a better place then being more sustainable is the only option. 

FLASKE offers sustainable alternatives to your usual single-use items. After purchasing the FLASKE signature bottle I was able to say goodbye to plastic bottles altogether. It’s made from stainless steel which is much stronger than plastic, one bottle can last a lifetime. What more, it keeps my cold beverages cold and my hot beverages hot so I can use it all-year-round. Having a reusable bottle in my bag also encourages me to drink more water. The cost of one FLASKE bottle was about the same as my monthly plastic bottle expenses. The difference is that this bottle was a one-time purchase, not a monthly expense. Now, I am watching my savings grow instead of my trash pile.

Also Read: 8 Reasons to Give Personalized Insulated Coffee Mugs for Christmas

I then purchased a coffee mug from FLASKE and stopped buying takeaway cups for my commute to work. Before I would spend around 8€ per week on a pack of cardboard mugs. That’s another 32€ saved each month. 

Now that I don’t have those expenses, I can splurge on a soy latte and vegan lunch without worrying about paying my bills. Something that was luxury suddenly became very affordable. 

Also Read: The Best Stainless Steel Tumbler Cup

Be more sustainable at home too...

Ditching plastic bottles is an easy step towards a sustainable lifestyle. But, there are tons of other simple swaps that you can make to save money and be more environmentally-friendly. 

Here a few ideas to get you started:

Hair removal products
Instead of using a disposable plastic razor that will end up in the landfill, why not invest in a FLASKE Rose Gold Razor that lasts a lifetime? You only need to buy replacement blades. These are inexpensive and readily available from several stores. Plus, the old metal blades can be recycled. You may even find that you get a cleaner shave. 
I used to spend around 10€ a month on disposable razors. That may not seem like much but it’s an unnecessary cost that adds up.

Also Read: Why You Need A FLASKE Tumbler Cup For Your Summer Cocktails?

Coffee Cups

I enjoy drinking warm coffee on my way to work and, while disposable cups only costs 2 to 4€ each month, I was spending at least 60-80€ each month on coffee. That’s not just a lot of money, but a lot of waste too. 

Guess how many coffee cups go to landfill sites each year? The answer is… most of them. After all, plastic and cardboard cups are designed to be disposable. 

These products can easily be replaced by something more sustainable and budget-friendly. The FLASKE Stainless Steel Coffee Mug is reusable and easy to wash. You can save extra by making your coffee at home or, help the environment by taking your FLASKE coffee mug to a coffee shop instead of getting a takeaway cup. Drinking out a thermos coffee mug is much nicer than drinking from a disposable cup anyway. Plus, some coffee chains even give discounts to customers who bring their own cup.

Additionally, if you're anything like me, you’ll make a coffee at home, start doing something, loose track of time, and end up throwing out a stone-cold coffee. So, I bought a thermos coffee cup to use around the house too. I don’t know how much money and water I used to waste on undrunk coffees. 

Also Read: 7 Reasons To Buy A Reusable Coffee Mug

Shopping Bags

It’s estimated that 4 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide. While many people reuse these once or twice, they still end up in the trash. Don’t contribute to this wasteful circle. 

Instead, pick up a couple of reusable produce bags. They’re ideal for carrying your groceries home and eliminate your need for plastic bags. You can switch cellophane for reusable sandwich bags too for a zero-waste packed lunch. While the shopping bags aren’t saving me a lot of money, they're helping to minimise my carbon footprint.

Living a sustainable life is not as hard as people think. It simply requires a few changes and the determination to stick to those changes. I am now able to save around 120-200€ per month...a small saving that adds up over the year. And, it was all on things that I was buying each week and throwing out.