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Nicola and Pete: ‘We have not had to spend money on gas to heat our water’ |
How to survive the recession: buy less
Ditch the car, draught-proof the house and grow your own salads, green expert advises
HER home in Finsbury Park runs on solar energy, she keeps chickens in the garden and rather than buy clothes she organises garment swaps with friends.
Now Nicola Baird, one of the country’s leading environmental experts, is staging a one-day, free community event in Highbury next month when speakers will give tips on saving money during a recession.
A former Friends of the Earth campaigner and mother of two young children, Ms Baird said: “Anyone who doesn’t have much money will be very familiar with some of the basic principles of the environment movement. The first is buying less stuff and making better use of the things you already have.”
She rarely buys new clothes, because of the impact manufacturing has on the environment, and even avoids charity shops because these days they tend to be too costly.
“We will be organising a swap shop at the event to which women can bring good items they no longer wear and swap them for something else,” she added.
Other money-saving tips include repairing chairs and sofas instead of buying new ones.
Draught-proofing can save hundreds of pounds in fuel bills each year. Ms Baird draft-proofs everything from keyholes and letter-boxes to the bottom of doors and gaps into the cellar.
Energy efficiency is an enormous money-saver, she maintains. “We’ve tried to insulate our home, and taken up grants offered by Islington to install solar heated water,” she said. “It cost us £2,000 but with energy prices leaping up we will make that back within a few years.
“Since May, we have not had to spend money on gas to heat our water. We have also put in solar panels on the roof which generate electricity for the house.”
But she believes it is important not to be too dogmatic.
Her husband, Pete May, poked light-hearted fun at the environment movement in his new book (reviewed in the Tribune), There’s a Hippo in the Cistern.
The couple belong to a car club and rent a vehicle when they need to drive. Ms Baird added: “We had an eight-year-old Ford Fiesta left by my late father-in-law but after looking at the cost of road tax, parking, MOT and insurance, we worked out it was £1,000 cheaper to stick to the car club.”
She added: “We love the train these days. We always try and travel off-peak and book in advance because it is cheap. It’s very relaxing and the kids enjoy it.”
Ms Baird, co-author of the self-help book, Save Cash and Save the Planet, estimates she spends about £60 a week on food and essentials, including the odd glass of Eco Warrior beer or organic English red wine. On top of that she grows salads, including chard, in her garden, and goes “scrumping” for blackberries and apples.
The conference, Climate change and me, is at Highbury Fields School from 11am to 6pm on Saturday October 11. More details from climatechangeandme.blogspot.com |
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