10 SUSTAINABLE Ways to SAVE Money!

G'day I'm Mark from Self Sufficient Me and in this video I'm going to give you 10 ways that you can save money, lower the cost of living and be sustainable at the same time. Let's get into it. I think it's important to mention that politicians are to blame for rising food and high energy prices and the rising cost of living in general. Their lack of ability to fix major problems in the world and their uncanny skill to create new issues makes it even more necessary for us to become as self-sufficient as possible. Number one, upcycle or repurpose things. When I need to build something or I've got a DIY job to do I always try to find ways to reuse or recycle materials because it's responsible to get as much out of something as possible. It saves money, not purchasing new stuff, saves energy and the environment not disposing of it and can be fun and artistic no matter how it looks. If it does the job I don't care. Number two, use organic waste. Unlike politicians, organic waste like food scraps and plant materials are too valuable to be thrown away and buried in landfill. There are a ton of ways we can compost these things down into a super rich resource that will improve your soil and give nutrients to your plants and local fauna. Besides composting you can simply bury things in the garden or use waste to make fertilizer or even try hugelkultur to save on soil for raised garden beds. Number three, use recycled materials. Often products made from recycled materials are cheaper to buy than those made from virgin goods. In my opinion governments don't help or promote these types of companies enough including collecting and sorting recyclable waste but with our support hopefully they can continue to grow turning plastics and other planet polluting rubbish into useful and affordable products. Number four, grow as much food as you can from acreage to inner city apartment. If you've got a square foot of area that gets at least six hours of sunlight per day I encourage you to use it to grow food because it saves money full stop. It also saves on transportation costs and growing your own organic pesticide-free produce saves on how much cancer-causing chemicals you inadvertently ingest. In small spaces concentrate on high value crops like expensive herbs and spices that can flavour meats and cheap carbs plus be used as amazing homemade health tonics full of antioxidants and vitamins. Those with more land should grow high energy crops to capitalise on this extra land and also insulate themselves from the next government crisis it imposes on its population. Forget the pretty lawns, turn that into fruit and veg instead. You can eat grass but only herbivores like cows and kangaroos can live off it. Growing your own also encourages you to eat in which saves on eating out and is much healthier overall. Number five, use quality products. If you're going to buy new at least get equipment and materials that are built to last. This might cost more initially but it will save money, use less energy and save you time in the long term. Number six, capture water and recycle water. Since governments don't understand that rising populations need more water resources like dams for example, usable water is becoming scarcer than intelligent, useful, hard-working for the people bureaucrats. So we need to harvest as much natural water as possible to save money instead of town water which is becoming increasingly expensive. You can do this through water tanks, shallow bores, small dams and by using recycled or grey water to irrigate fruit trees. I hand water where possible as spot watering only the plants that need it saves water and of course mulch, mulch, mulch to conserve water by preventing runoff and evaporation. Number seven, solar. I know not everyone can have or get solar for many different reasons but if you can get a solar system it will save you money. As a gross generalization you should recoup your installation costs within about three years particularly with the insane rises in electricity prices caused by, you guessed it, our inept politicians. Our system is over 10 years old now and it's still going strong. Touch wood, it saves about a third of our power bills per annum so if you live in a solar friendly area and you can afford it or get subsidies from the government definitely go for it. Number eight, keep chickens. Have you seen the price of eggs? That used to be a running joke. What's that got to do with the price of eggs? Except nowadays everything. You know why the price of smashed avocado on toast in Canberra is so expensive? Eggs. Most backyard hens lay for at least seven years so you're going to get dozens and dozens of eggs out of one $20 bird. They reuse your kitchen waste which saves money on chicken feed. They can even make compost or work in the garden to clear areas and eat pests. Free labor. Cock-a-doodle-doo. Speaking of eggs, number nine is learn how to preserve food. Whether it's growing your own food in your own backyard or finding some great bargains at the markets, preserving a glut of produce will save you a ton of cash. Freezing, salting, dehydrating, freeze drying, fermenting, making jams and sauces, pressure canning and water bathing are some of the main ways to preserve food. These methods not only save money but they can enhance the flavor of the food and make ordinary food into sensational gastronomic delights. And number 10, buy goods from the markets or swap meetups. Let's say you can't grow your own or make your own. Well instead of buying from the supermarkets or big retail outlets, you can often save a ton of money buying products from local markets, swap meets or even online marketplaces. Ordinary people selling excellent goods they've grown or made themselves at reasonable prices. So by incorporating these sustainable practices in your daily life, you'll not only help to save the planet but you'll also be able to produce a better budget over time. Little by little your expenses will reduce and you'll also have a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way of lifestyle. Well I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, make sure you give it a big, I can't stand politicians either, thumbs up and share the video around. Make sure you subscribe if you haven't already. Thanks a lot for watching. Bye for now. Cheers.