Earth Day is April 22nd: Can You Bargain Shop and Save the Earth?
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You might not think about putting Earth Day up as something a "bargain hunter" might be interested in, and lets face it, Earth Day products tend to be super expensive (see Vegan shoes and clothing). But if you follow the actual cause behind Earth Day, you'll see that bargain shopping and saving the planet can go hand in hand. Here are a few ways you can celebrate Earth Day in a bargain fashion!
Don't Buy New
Do you really need to buy a new copy of Battlestar Galactica, only to watch it once, then set it on the shelf? No! Try renting that TV show by the season from Netflix, or see if your local video store, or Redbox has a copy. I know The Big Bang Theory is completely awesome, but you don't need to impress your friends by having it sit on your shelf. If you just have to own this or any other TV show or movie on DVD, buy it used from Amazon or eBay. Earth Day solution: repurpose already purchased products.
Don't Buy Books; Rent Them
Did you know there are still libraries in almost every city? Most of them seem to have converted to internet cafes (minus the coffee), and so people rarely see the books now. But most are still buying new books, and letting you rent them for free or for maybe a quarter per day. I don't know about you guys, but once I've read a book, I'm done with it. So, if I can get it for free at the library, that's perfect for me. If you don't have a local library, or they don't have your book try the used book store. This is still going to be far cheaper than buying a new version. Earth Day solution: save a tree; read a used or rented book.
Don't Buy Physical Copies of Electronic Works
That's a long title, but I wanted to include not only software in this section, but books as well. Many software publishers are now letting consumers purchase their products via the internet, and honestly, that' s just as good. If you've every purchased software in the store, the first thing you noticed when you opened it was that there was 1 CD inside, and a slip of paper regarding the warranty. Almost all publishers include the manuals on the CD's, and do not print them. So, why buy a physical copy? Just download it!
Electronic copies of books are also a good way to Save the Earth. I think Amazon has around 450,000 books available for download as of this writing, which can be read on the Kindle, on the iPhone Kindle app (free), iPod Touch (free), on the iPad Kindle app (free), Blackberry (free)and on the Kindle for PC and Mac (free again). If you have any of these devices, why not just purchase your books online, and read them on your device? All you are missing is the pretty cover, and who cares about that? I would rather just carry my books around on my iPhone.
The same goes for movies. I know that Amazon, Netflix, and Xbox 360 (via Zune) allow for streaming of movies and television shows. Why not just purchase a rental from your internet ready device? You can even save a trip in the car with this one!
Earth Day solution: save trees, save gas, save packaging by downloading your entertainment and software.
There are many other ways to participate in Earth Day, but also continue to be frugal and a bargain shopper. What are some of your favorite ways to save money and save the Earth at the same time?
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B. Daniels is the lead review expert with Find Cheap Bargains. B. was more than likely the person responsible for the hands-on review of every product on the site. He also spends time searching for sale bargains when not conducting and writing the reviews.
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