What is Sustainable Living?
Sustainable living is the act of living your life in a way that minimises the harm on the environment, and promotes social responsibility to focus on reducing waste, single use materials, fossil fuels and dietary choices that are harmful to animals and the planets ecosystem. It can involve refusing products from certain brands or products made of specific materials, choosing a plant-based diet to reduce the number of animal-based products produced and helping to promote initiatives such as recycling, tree planting and green energy. Even the smallest changes can make a difference when multiplied by billions of people, so it’s important to develop sustainable habits that are easy to factor into your day-to-day life.
The Restrictions of a Student Budget
When all your time is taken up with studying and classes, it can be difficult to find extra time to work a part-time job to earn extra income. Saving money is essential on a student budget, as a large proportion of your spending will be on essentials such as education materials (books, courses, equipment etc.), transportation and overall living expenses rather than luxury items and non-essentials.
Three, It’s A Magic Number
What Can I Reduce?
Reducing the amount of shopping you do can make a huge difference to reducing your outgoings. Shopping once a week to reduce the potential of overspending, shopping hungry or getting caught out by unnecessary promotions means you can keep a closer eye on your spending.
You can also cut back on the number of utilities you use, for instance, if you have a gym membership, showering at the gym or swimming pool can help cut back on your water and electricity usage at home.
What Can I Reuse?
Reusing items such as shopping bags instead of getting a new one every time you shop means less single-use plastic finds its way to landfill and saves you money now plastic bags come with a charge. Also, re-wearing clothing for special events instead of buying new outfits means less clothes go to landfill. You can also buy items from second hand sites, charity shops or vintage stores so your outfit can be new for you, but not for the planet. If you want to buy yourself a treat, say a new book, console, or piece of equipment, see if you’re able to buy it second hand before you spend money on it brand new.
What Can I Recycle?
There are plenty of materials you can recycle.
- Paper – All paper can be recycled providing it’s clean.
- Cardboard – Cardboard boxes and packaging can be recycled, but ensure you take any address or person details from the packaging. However, pizza boxes cannot be recycled due to their grease!
- Glass – Most large supermarkets will have a bottle bank that allows you to recycle your glass providing it’s empty and clean.
- Certain Plastics – Certain types of plastic can be recycled, but you will need to check on the material itself and with your local council whether it will be accepted.
Lifestyle, Cooking and Diet
Less takeaways, less coffee on the go and more homemade food and drink will make a massive impact on not only your wallet, but also the planet. By making your coffee at home in a reusable cup rather than spending £4 a day on takeaway coffee, you’re also reducing the amount of single use plastic and wasteful materials used by big companies in their packaging.
Rather than ordering takeaways for convenience after a long day, batch cooking or meal prepping at the weekend means all your food is ready to eat or pop in the microwave as soon as you need it. So, you get all the convenience of a takeaway with only a fraction of the cost.
Also, if you’re trying to stay healthy and active but don’t want to spend money on expensive gym memberships or equipment, walking/cycling to your lectures rather than driving or getting taxis can benefit not only your health and fitness, but also the planet.
Sustainable Bills With The Student Energy Group
Studying full time whilst juggling bills, rent, and saving money can feel a little overwhelming at times, especially when prices are rising. Our student bill packages combine all of your household bills including internet, electricity, gas and even your TV Licence, everyone only has to pay one single payment.
Everyone wants to do more for the planet, but it can feel difficult to try and make a difference if you don’t know where to start. As a trusted student bills company, The Student Energy Group allows you to combine all your bills into one easy to manage payment, all while planting trees every time somebody signs up.
