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In the past, I've posted about how I've decided to be environmentally-conscious whenever I can, and how a nice side-effect of it are cost-savings. In the past couple of weeks I've begun a couple of new initiatives that again prove this to be true.

Instead of buying soil for my yard, I've begun a compost pile that will eventually provide me with all that I need. Composting works by decomposing organic matter like yard waste and many foods and turning it into an enriched soil.

The process will take at least 6 months to bear fruit, but I have to start sometime.

My savings are as follows:
1. less trash: environmentally friendly, and if more people joined me in doing this, we'd have less need for garbage pickup and processing, which would lead to savings on energy and taxes
2. cost of soil: this time next year, I should never have to buy soil again
3. cost of compost bin: I purchased my bin from my county at a highly discounted rate (saving about 75%). My taxes are subsidizing it, so why not take advantage of it?

As I've also posted in the past, I'm looking into changing out my heater and air conditioner.

This will lead to the following savings:
1. energy efficiency: conservation is easier on our resources, and it saves me money
2. less maintenance: if all goes well, the units should cost almost nothing to properly maintain

Tom Valenti is a marketer and project manager who currently works for a financial institution in New Jersey. For more info, visit him at http://tomvalenti.com.