Combatting the cost of living crisis this Christmas, the environmentally conscious way
1/12/2022
Amid energy bills that make you yell “yikes” and soaring prices of just about everything else, finding ways to save money has become part of this year’s pre-Christmas prep.
Understandably, cost of living worries have many of us mulling over (excuse the festive pun…) whether to rethink our priorities. One recent survey found a third of people are more concerned with their energy bills as opposed to living sustainably.
But saving cash and saving the planet can actually go hand in hand. Yep, an environmentally conscious lifestyle can help combat some of the effects of this cost of living crisis. We’ve pulled together the tips below to show how.
As well as making this festive season greener and cheaper, some of these ideas are about giving back too. Sharing what we don’t need and looking out for each other is great to do year round, but especially during hard times like many are experiencing right now.
Save money and the planet this Christmas
Shop social
If you’re feeling disillusioned or fed up with the way things are right now, shopping with social enterprises is one way to make a difference. Because by their very nature, these brands are helping fix social and environmental problems, taking us towards a fairer, brighter future.
Plan a Secret Santa
Organising a Secret Santa is one of the easiest ways to spend less at Christmas time. Intimidating to-buy-for lists could be reduced to as little as one person. No doubt there’ll be other people in your social circle relieved by this prospect too.
A Secret Santa means you can really focus on the quality of the gift too. Whatever the price point, you can put more time and energy into finding something they’ll love. Or that they’ll find funny, if you’re going for the novelty approach. There’s far less chance of picking up last-minute “this will do” gifts – the kind that are gathering dust by mid January.
You can find some good Secret Santa gift inspo in our Secret Santa gift guide or our collection of stocking fillers.
Get savvy about energy usage
If you aren’t already, now is the time to get clued up on your home’s energy usage. It will bring both your bills and your carbon footprint down.
Even the smallest changes can have an impact. One of the best examples is switching off appliances on standby mode, which can save around £65 a year. Not a bad result from the flick of a few switches. The Energy Saving Trust has lots more quick tips for saving energy and money.
A smart meter is a handy sidekick on your energy-saving mission. The accurate, precise data it provides will help you adjust habits to reduce usage. For example, you can use it to work out peak vs off-peak times and then run your appliances, like the washing machine, during those cheaper periods.
Knowing your usage patterns, backed up by smart meter data, is also incredibly useful when you shop around for tariffs.
Get into batch cooking
The oven is an energy-hungry home appliance, so it’s worth making the most of it when you switch it on. With a little forward thinking and planning, you can batch cook a few meals in one go.
Use a meal-planning app, or good ol’ pen and paper, to lay out what you’ll cook and eat when. This also happens to be great for reducing food waste – more on that below.
Make bigger portions so you can freeze some for another time and when there’s a spare shelf in the oven, cook a different meal ready to reheat later in the week. (Using your microwave is much kinder on your energy bills, fyi!)
Another oven tip: turn it off five or 10 minutes before your food is ready. The temperature will stay the same long enough for it to keep cooking.
Community Calling by Hubbub
Have an old smartphone knocking about? If the screen isn’t cracked and it can hold charge, rehome it to reduce your e-waste while helping digitally isolated people get connected this Christmas.
Hubbub runs the Christmas Calling campaign in partnership with Virgin Media O2. All you need to do is post off your old phone. They then wipe the data and deliver it to someone in need, who also receives free data and digital skills training.
Join the food sharing economy
Food waste is a year-round problem impacting our wallets and the environment, but even more so at Christmas. To give you an idea of the scale of the problem, over four million Christmas dinners are thrown away each year.
Getting involved in the food sharing economy is one of our fave ways to stop perfectly good grub going to waste. The Too Good To Go app lets you buy “magic bags” of surplus food from shops, restaurants, cafes and bakeries, at great rates. Through Olio, you can save food from nearby people for free or give away your own, if you’re in the fortunate position of having too much.
You can also drop off or collect surplus food at Community Fridges, another initiative by our friends at Hubbub. These are spaces to eat, connect, learn new skills and reduce food waste, run by and for the local community.
Make the most of discounts for your industry
Many public sector and charity workers can save on their Christmas shopping with discount schemes like the Blue Light Card, Health Service Discounts and Charity Workers Discounts. It’s not just big brands who offer discounts through these. Lots of ethical, indie stores are included too – like us!
Use cashback sites
Likewise, you can look for sustainable brands which are signed up to cashback sites, to earn money while you Christmas shop. We’re now on Utility Warehouse.
Find a new (or temporary) home for unwanted clothes
If it’s been a while since you last had a wardrobe clearout, chances are you have at least a few pieces you no longer wear in there. Get rid of these the green way and make some cash by using resale apps and platforms. There are heaps to choose from – Depop, Vinted, Gumtree, eBay and Facebook Marketplace being some of the most popular.
Party season is also an excellent time to rent out your occasionwear, which is easy to do on apps like HURR and By Rotation. Just like reselling, all it takes is a few photos and trips to the post office.
If a so-bad-it’s-good Christmas jumper is more your style of partywear, how about organising a jumper swap with friends, family or workmates? Promoting circular fashion and an excuse for a little festive shindig – sounds great to us.
Where to next?
