green | Online Savings Blog

Bank of America Giving Away Hybrid for Paperless Banking
10.04.08 | Online Banking | 1 Comment | by junger
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Bank of America, which has promoted green banking, is giving away a Saturn Hybrid car and 5 $10,000 prizes for using its paperless banking.

According to the Sweepstakes page, you can enter up to 16 times by:
- enrolling in online banking
- pay up to 5 bills using bill pay
- receive e-bills on up to 5 accounts
- stop receiving paper statement by mail on up to 5 accounts
The grand prize winner receives either a Saturn AURA hybrid or a Saturn VUE hybrid.

After that, there are 5 first prizes of $10,000 in cash.

While Bank of America's Keep the Change program isn't worth it, they've always been on the ball about promoting green and online banking.

We use BofA as our primary checking account, though mostly our money just goes in and out of the account.

But we've been paperless with them for a while now — and it's worth it. They used to send the thickest (and most useless) account statements every month.

I've said before that my primary motivation for going paperless is convenience, but it's nice to know I'm doing something good for the environment at the same time.

Bank Better, Live Greener Sweepstakes
Bank of America's 3 Steps to Green Banking Online
05.15.08 | Online Banking | 0 Comments | by junger

We've talked a lot about how convenient online banking is, but there's also a very green aspect to it, too. Being green isn't my top priority, but it's definitely an added bonus when it comes along with convenience.

While it may or may not actually save 17 million trees, Bank of America is pushing a "Think Green, Bank Green" message to get its customers into online banking.

Online Statements Getting your monthly statements online keeps you organized and cuts clutter
Bill Pay Scheduling bill payments online saves you time, postage, potential late fees, and more.
eBills Paying bills online? Why not go for ultimate convenience and receives them online, too.

According to the promo, BofA customers using the three steps have saved a total of 8,174 tons of paper.

Like I said, going green isn't the reason I would be banking online, but it's a very compelling reason for certain folks.

It's a smart move by Bank of America to shape their message this way, especially if their customers are hesitant to bank online.
Savings in Action: What I've Achieved So Far
04.03.08 | Money | 0 Comments | by Tom Valenti

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.
Save the Earth, Save Money
02.26.08 | Consumerism | 0 Comments | by Tom Valenti

I recently watched Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.

Wow, what a downer.

I've always been somewhat mindful about not being wasteful in terms of consumables, but I was never an "environmentalist." This movie really makes you rethink priorities, both personally and on a global level.

The conclusion is what you'd expect — if we don't change our ways now, Earth as we know it will no longer exist. Some might say that this movie presents only one side of the argument, and perhaps it is does exaggerate some risks (as a few scientists have pointed out), but I think the only ones who totally refute the idea of global warming are those who value big business over all else.

So, what does caring about the environment have to do with saving money? A lot!

Think of all the things you could do to cut down on waste and thus save money: use public transportation, instead of buying that book or magazine read it at the library, insulate the pipes in your house, switch to CFL bulbs, etc. Bankrate.com has a nice guide that goes into more detail, as does Green And Save.

I've already begun to change my ways, switching from conventional electricity to a mix of solar/wind/water power. It's a little more expensive, but spending an extra $5 per month is the least I can do.

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.

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