How Your Everyday Habits DESTROY the Planet
Hi everyone,
Can you believe there once was a time when there was no Amazon, Shein, or anything like that. If you wanted to buy clothes, you had to get up, get dressed, take public transportation, walk, drive, or ride to the mall or department store to buy your clothing. Now, you can buy clothes in just one tap, all from the comfort of your bed. Isn't that so convenient?!
If you read my previous newsletter, I said that the environment and finances are connected and provided examples. In this newsletter, I will go into more detail by giving examples of every day or almost everyday conveniences that we use or do that affect not only your finances but also the environment. Let's start by talking about your finances, aka your wallet.
YOUR WALLET:
We're all guilty of splurging on ourselves once in a while. But when that splurging becomes a habit, we put ourselves in danger of regret. It all starts with an extra 10% here and 20% there. Over some time, you begin to spend the additional 20% more often. And before you know it, it has escalated to an extra 20% as the norm.
Then, 5 to 8 years later, when you decide to make a big life purchase such as a home or car, you realize that the convenience costs you an extra, let's say, $40,000 over the 5 years for Amazon Prime and DoorDash.
Would you have still opted for the delivery convenience if you had known this cost upfront?
I know I wouldn't!
Here are some common conveniences that many of us happily pay for today. [Editor's Note: all my sources are at the end of this newsletter, which I highly recommend you check out!]
Food Delivery:
Cooking 4 days a week for 12 months saves you approximately $4,700. That’s a savings of approximentely $14,000 over 3 years.
Getting dinner delivered 4 days a week for 12 months is 4 times more expensive than cooking 4 days a week the same period — *Forbes found delivery to be almost 5 times more expensive on average.*
Getting dinner delivered just once a week for 12 months is equivalent to the cost for cooking 4 days a week for the same period
Uber:
Walking to and from work everyday for a year saves you $2,080 to $6,760
Riding a bike instead of public transportation to and from work for a year saves you $1,930
Getting an Uber to and from work for a year is over 3 times more expensive than public transportation and $6,760 more expensive than walking
Taking an Uber once a week to and from work for a year is equivalent to about 8 months of taking public transportation five times a week.
Instacart:
Driving to and from the grocery store costs $1.87 in gas compared to $12 for delivery; over one year, delivery costs about $527 more than gas to go to/from the store.
A typical single person’s grocery shop at the supermarkets costs approximately 36% more than at the local markets — comparing only the items that can be purchased at both locations. Over one year, shopping at the supermarket costs about $1,100 more.
A typical single person’s grocery shop online costs about 56% more than at the local markets — *comparing only the items that can be purchased at both locations. *****Over one year, shopping online costs about $1,600 more.
THE PLANET:
I've already explained climate change's impact on our planet in a YouTube video, so I'll link it if you want to check it out later. But, so many of the modern conveniences we rely on daily are contaminating waterways, polluting the air, and damaging the land. Even for people who care about the environment, like myself, it's hard to cut some of these things out of our lives because they're so convenient.
Let me give you some examples and explain how they destroy the planet
Plastic Utensils:
Plastic utensils are a life-saver if you have a big family or host parties. All they have to do is throw the utensils away, which helps you because you won't spend a long time washing dishes. However, unlike other plastic dishware (e.g., cups and plates), plastic utensils usually can't be recycled, so they have nowhere to go but the landfill. That, combined with the vast amount of energy and materials that go into producing the utensils, makes them a bad option for anyone trying to live more sustainably.
Here are 3 alternatives:
1.) Use silverware
2.) Have your guests bring their own silverware
3.) Use compostable cutlery
Plastic Bags:
Let me know if you've experienced this. You drive to the grocery store, park your car, grab a cart, and get halfway through your shopping before realizing you've left your reusable bags inside the car. You think of walking back outside to grab them, but you don't feel like going through the trouble. You decide to not worry about it and continue with your shopping. When you get home, you realize you've used dozens of plastic bags. Personally, I've experienced this.
Every year, people around the world use over 1 trillion plastic bags. Unfortunately, most of these don't get recycled because most city recycling programs don't accept them. When they end up in the garbage, they can take anywhere from 400 to 1,000 years to break down. Even worse, they are not biodegradable, so they break down into smaller pieces that pollute our soil and water.
The most obvious solution is to remember to bring your reusable bag with you when you go shopping. I recommend keeping one in the truck, in the back seat, at your workplace, and at your house to ensure you won't forget it.
Bottled Water:
In some parts of the US and in different countries, fresh, clean water is not accessible. So bottled water is the solution. But, despite their convenience, disposable bottles damage our environment. The industry uses more than 17 billion barrels of oil to manufacture the roughly 50 billion water bottles Americans use yearly. Of these, almost 80% are not recycled, meaning that 38 billion water bottles go into landfills yearly.
Here's a solution: Instead of buying water bottles, invest in a water filtration pitcher or a sink-mount water filter.
Hopefully, by this point, you understand how everyday conveniences destroy the planet and your wallet. Do a lifestyle audit and see what conveniences you can eliminate or find alternatives.
Now then, which convenience(s) are you guilty of? Don't worry, this is a judge-free space!
Thank you for reading!
Yours truly,
Zenee
SOURCES:
Planet Aid: Convenience: It will tempt you
Medium: The True Cost of Convenience
Can you believe there once was a time where there was no Amazon, no Shein, or anything like that? In this video, I breakdown how everyday conveniences destroy not only the planet but also your wallet.