Earth Day is the day designated for appreciating the earth’s environment and raising awareness of the issues that threaten it. The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970 introduced by Senator Gaylord Nelson, a US senator, to bring environmental issues onto the national political agenda. Earth Day is observed in 175 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit organization Earth Day Network. Earth Day celebrates its 40th birthday this year on April 22nd.

In recognition of Earth Day, here are 5 simple things for the novice greenie to do that not only help save the environment but put money back into your pocket too.

1. Use reusable water bottles

Americans buy more than half a billion bottles of water each week. The issues with bottled water are numerous:

• Petroleum is used to make the bottles;
• About 27% of the bottles are recycled, the other 73% go into the landfills;
• Water, which is available from a tap, is transported from the bottling site to the store and ultimately to our houses causing greenhouse gases along the way;
• The FDA only requires that bottled water is as good as tap water. An NRDC study estimates that 25% of bottled water is really just tap water.

To save money and help the environment, buy a reusable water bottle and fill it up with good old tap water. If you do not trust the tap water, using a filter is still much better than buying bottled water.

2. Use reusable plastic bags

Single use bags in particular, plastic, are very bad for the environment. Not only are they made out from petroleum but the recycling rates are low. WorldWatch Inst. estimates that about 100 Billion are used and discarded in the US alone, at the cost of 12 million barrels of oil. Many of those plastic bags end up in landfills and some flow into the ocean and probably join the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which a floating island of trash estimated at twice the size of Texas where plastic particles are more abundant than plankton.

You can find reusable bags at most retail stores these days. Invest in a couple and you can save 300-700 plastic bags a year.

3. Unplug the Vampires

Many power cords suck up energy even if they are switched off, either because the appliance remains on stand-by waiting to be switched on with a remote control or an adapter, disconnected from the device they are supposed to be charging such as a cell phone or lap top, continues to suck up energy. This is known as vampire or phantom energy and can account for about 10% of your residential energy bill. The EPA estimates that the average US household spends $100 a year powering devices that are off. On a national basis, this standby power accounts for more than $10 billion in annual energy costs.

By using a power strip or unplugging unused appliances or power cords can reduce your energy bill as well as save the environment.

4. Eat like a vegetarian once a week

Farming requires fossil fuels to make fertilizer, run tractors, process and transport food. It takes many calories of grains to make one calorie of meat; animals and manure produce greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide. As a result, producing meat emits more greenhouse gases than growing crops. A 2006 United Nation report revealed that the “livestock sector” generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, trains, ships, and planes in the world combined.

Environmental Defense estimates that, “If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted a vegetarian meal, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.”

5. Buy smart

Consumerism, the constant buying and disposing of stuff, leads to a lot of environmental issues, including extraction, manufacture, packaging, transportation and disposal of goods. Limit purchases to what you really need, after all, Reduce is the first of the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

When you do need to buy something invoke the second R, Reuse, and save money by buying through thrift stores, online through Craigslist or eBay, or have fun visiting yard sales.

Have fun celebrating Earth Day 2010, and with these easy tips, save money and help save the planet too.

We all know very well that the life of a living being on planet earth is possible due to the favorable environment around it. Since the ages human beings are consuming this natural source of money in all possible ways. We are causing harm to our fragile environment due to which many problems are arising every day. Climate change, global warming, environmental degradation, ozone depletion, air pollution, water pollution, and land degradation.  This is not it; if we will continue harming our environment than the environment we know now will get destroyed completely.  So, it is a duty of every human to protect our environment in all possible ways and realize the mistakes which we or our ancestors did many of the times.

Following is the things which every individual should do to save the environment.

Stop using poly bags: Plastic bags or poly bags are non biodegradable. They clog in the drainage and water ways, spoils the landscape. Polythene takes 1000 years to break down. These poly bags are not only a threat to human beings but also to the marine and other animals too. Many birds and animals die after eating this plastic, which chokes in their throats. Also, poly bags require a millions of gallons of petroleum for the preparation.

One should replace the poly bags with the paper bags and the renewable poly bags. One can also take their own carry bag when going for the shopping. Also one can buy in bulk; bulk buying will reduce the use of package material.

Ensure the proper maintenance of your vehicle: Tune up engine of your vehicle will reduce the emission of harmful gases that results in global warming and air pollutions. These gases also are the reasons for the acid rain that harms the many crops. Global warming and ozone layer depletion is caused due to these gases, because of this entire world is in danger, various diseases such as skin diseases arise because of these. These problems can become serious if we will not stop destroying our environment.

Encourage the greenery- grow plants: Humans are the wisest and superior among all the living beings. It is our duty that we all should spread the awareness to our friends, neighbors and children’s. We should encourage the awareness around the globe and also make sure that each of us does the needful things. Together we all can make the difference.

To enhance the living style you don’t have to enslave yourself to the companies. If you are an internet user then you probably have heard about the people earning thousands of dollars from the web. You must also have heard that it is quite possible from the comfort from your home.

Yes, the revolution in technologies has made it possible to earn money from your home. The internet has facilitated us to get the money from our passions. There are many ways by which you can earn handsome money for your future. The things required to start earning from home is internet skills and determination.

You can earn from many programs, and eventually without any investment too. One of the most popular ways to earn money is affiliate marketing, and you don’t have to pay a penny for this. Affiliate marketing in simple words means you get associated with the company and get to authorize to promote their products and services. In affiliate marketing, you get commissions on the number of sales you generate for the company. Today on internet thousands of products are available online, you can choose from your favorite product to promote and sell. There are many best paid affiliate programs available, such as, commission junction and click bank. All you have to do is signup with the site and choose the favorite product and start promoting and generating sells for those products.

If you have a flair for writing and your skills are best at it, then also you can earn a lot of money either by monetizing your blog. The basic of earning from your blog and website is pay per click. You will have to sign up in an affiliate network; the most popular is Google Adsense program and Amazon. Google Adsense program or other affiliate program will let you to place their advertisements on your blog, and every click of your blog visitor will make money for you.

If the above categories doesn’t suit your taste then there is another option for everyone, and that is working as a freelancer. There are many sites that can help you to get the job of your skills, you can be a freelance, writer or, data entry worker or, coder, etc. this is just an example. Sites like Freelancer.com, Elance, Scriptlance, etc. gives you the opportunity to pick a job of your choice. The only thing required is your expert skills, and you can earn from the comfort of your home.

Many people are learning and earning through the online home based jobs, become one of them. You too can earn much more than you are earning now. All you need is determination and hard work to earn more and more money from a computer with the internet at home.

Time management is nothing but keeping you and your life organized. Following proper time management table is essential to stay ahead in life. By following certain rules of time management you can get the desired result in work and life. Time managements help you to control your life and work.

To master in such skill, first you have to make a promise to yourself that no matter what, you will always keep yourself into the path of organized life. And, you will see that sooner your life will get a new direction towards the success. To start with time management you need to understand few techniques and rules.

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Setting a goal.

Setting a goal is an important aspect in time management. When you know what you want then many things will get clear to you like. By setting goal you can understand the challenges that are needed, you can understand how much time you will need to achieve, and you can understand how much effort is needed to achieve it. Enlist all the goals that you need to achieve and make a milestone.

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The 80:20 Rule

According to the 80:20 rules, 80% of unfocussed effort gives only 20% of results. This means that the 80% of remaining result can be achieved with only 20% of effort.

By using the proper Time Management you can achieve the most beneficial result with the right kind of effort towards the right direction. It will help you to use your energy in the right direction, and it will save your precious time.

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Tools of Time Management

Tools of time management are simply the way to organize your work according to the priority. Using the tools you can easily clear your path towards the most deserved success.

• Prioritizing work – Prioritizing work will help you to understand what is needed to do first and how much effort you need to put in it.
• Research – Researching on the work that has been assigned to you is important to begin with. It can give you understanding of the project and basic requirements.
• Reviewing – After completion of any project, it is important to review the work. Reviewing your work will help you to find out the mistakes you have made. Reviewing will also help you to increase the quality of your work.

You do Want to Achieve Your Goals, don’t you?  Click here to learn how you can turbo charge that  by managing your time properly.

With simple actions taken regularly you will be able to save money by spending less on gas for your car. Follow these seven tips:

1. Follow a maintenance schedule. Most cars need a tune-up every year or 30,000 miles, whichever comes first. Older cars need to be serviced more frequently. A car in need of a tune-up may exhibit poor gas mileage as a symptom.

2. Change the air filter every 10,000 miles.

3. Always use cruise control on the highway.

4. Check to make sure you’re not carrying any extra weight or unneeded items in the trunk or backseat of your car. Every item counts.

5. Turn off the engine instead of idling when you plan to be waiting for more than three or four minutes.

6. Never use high-octane gasoline (the most expensive one at the pump), except if your engine is pinging. Pinging is a rattling-type noise from the engine, mostly heard on acceleration and when driving uphill.

7. Keep all the tires properly inflated. The recommended tire pressure is listed in the vehicle’s manual, stamped on the side of the tire, and often on a sticker on the driver’s-side doorjamb. When in doubt, 32 pounds per square inch (psi) is a good average until other sources can be consulted. Low air pressure will cause bad gas mileage.

Your bank account and the environment thanks you.

Freelancing is appealing because it presents a change of scene. It offers a fresh start especially if your career has been a disappointment. Freelancing is also a chance to take on a new talent or pursue a different opportunity.

I have a friend who left a nice paying job in a technology company to become a freelance photographer. It didn’t happen overtime for him and he had to go through a lot of preparation – time, money, and self-assessment.

My friend chose to reinvent himself, prepared for it, and succeeded.

Some reinvent themselves because of layoffs or unplanned family situations. Ideally, you don’t want to be forced to make changes in your life. It’s no fun thinking about freelancing after a layoff. If you want a new job (because your current company sucks), you better start finding a new one before you can’t take it any more. As they say, the best time to find a new job is when you don’t need one.

If you don’t want to be in a situation where you are pushed against the wall, you should take a regular review of your current situation and find out the imbalances in your life, upside/downside of your current job, and more importantly, the gulf between who you are right now and who you want to be.

Review yourself. On a piece of paper, list your disappointments and things that stress you on the left side, and things that make you happy or will make you happy on the right. From this alone, you can clearly see what things need to be addressed to swing your life towards the happy side.

Question your fears. Everyone is afraid of something. If you think you can’t afford to start over with your career, that’s normal. However, fear and truth are not the same. List the things that are preventing you from pursuing your dream and start questioning them whether they really matter.

Sometimes, you are looking at the problem from a wrong point of view. If you quit your job and become a freelancer, you are not necessarily starting from scratch because you still have the personal network you have built over the years with you. You may have to start at the bottom with regards to accounting, but you can jumpstart your marketing through your network.

Don’t kill your dream. If you want to travel around the world but you don’t have the resources to do it, would you stop dreaming about it? Just because it is impossible today, doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow. Dreams not only liberate; they also puts us in touch with who we are and who we want to be. If you stopped dreaming today, you will never get around the perceived limitations of money and security. The only way your dream can ever come true is you hold onto it with unwavering belief.

Fill the gaps. If you feel you lack a particular skill or the knowledge in subject you’re interested in, ask yourself how you can fill it. It can be as simple as spending a day in the library, a lunch with a former colleague, or regular chat with a mentor to guide you. There are millions of successful people who are more than willing to help you.

Do it. What’s the point of thinking and planning if you are not going to do it? Every change you do in your life will feel unusual at the start but that’s OK. Just keep doing it and eventually it will feel natural. Being shy, whenever I attend gatherings where I don’t know anyone I always tell myself to say “Hello” and smile. It’s weird at first because I’m consciously trying it yet. Eventually, I got over it.

There will always be moments of doubt and that’s normal. Just remember that if you fail, the worst thing that would happen is you end up to where you are right now. So what are you waiting for?