Friday 22^nd April is Earth Day and this year the theme is Trees for the Earth. The Earth Day Network has recently set one of its most ambitious goals; to plant 7.8 billion trees over the next 5 years. We’re guessing you’re thinking “why trees?” right about now! Well, they help combat climate change, they help us breathe clean air and they also help communities achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability, as well as providing food, energy and income.

The Trees for Earth initiative will make a significant and measurable impact on the Earth and will serve as the foundation of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet for everyone. There are plenty of things we can be doing on daily basis to help the environment and make ourselves more ‘green’. The funny thing is, the more ‘green’ you are, the more money you’ll save – being environmentally friendly is great for the earth but it’s also a great way to help you save money.

Take a look at these ideas, that as well as being environmentally friendly, could save us all some cash at the same time…

• Reducing our energy consumption – do a home-energy audit to ensure you’re not wasting energy at home without realising. A large amount of greenhouse gas emissions come from the energy used to power our homes so we don’t want to be causing more by over-powering and then wasting energy!

• Reuse and recycle – many of us are already doing this just out of habit which is great. Reusing the resources that we have saves us money as we won’t need to be buying new things all the time, and recycling is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help the environment.

• Build a rain barrel – think how much water we waste when watering our garden and how much it adds to our water bills every month. By building (or buying) a rain barrel you can water your garden using the rain water that runs from your roof – that way no water has been wasted and you’ll be saving money on bills as well.

• Start composting – a massive amount of food is wasted and thrown away every year so we can help make a difference by turning our food waste in to soil; so you won’t be wasting food and you’ll also save money by not having to buy soil for your garden.

• Bring your own mug – taking a stainless steel coffee mug with you when you’re on the go can prevent a lot of waste; the polystyrene cups that coffee shops give you don’t get recycled. Some shops like Starbucks will give you a discount on your coffee if you bring your own mug.

Other ideas such as buying local produce, not using as much disposable plastic and switching off your electricity sockets when they aren’t being used will all help as well – and again, they’re also great ways to save money!

Do you have any tips on how to help the environment at the same time as saving money? Leave a comment below.