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the misconception of green living. VENT.
i usually lurk on this board but i got so incredibly aggravated this past weekend that i just had to vent somewhere. i figured this is as good a place as any.
this past weekend DH & i got talking about his family. during our conversation, DH commented that his family thinks we have money. i asked him what on earth gave them that impression. we do alright. we're paying our bills and all. but we're working hard to get out of debt and we've got a 16-month old DD (and babies sure aren't cheap).
DH responded by saying that his mom and little sister think we have money because of our spending habits. evidently they've commented on all the organic products we buy, our "fancy" memberships to local farms (CSA), and how we can afford "those expensive hybrid vehicles."
it just gets me frustrated. this extreme misconception people have about green living. sure, organic produce is more expensive. but when you've cut processed foods out of your diet, which means you don't shop in 80% of the grocery aisles, the increased cost of the organic produce is offset in a major way by all the crap you're NOT buying. yes, we did write out checks for upwards of $1,000 to our local farmer that runs a produce and meat CSA. but we get six months of vegetables, fruits, eggs, cheeses and meats out of the deal. the weekly produce we pick up is more than we need, so i'm freezing half of it. which means the produce is going to last us well into the winter. so that $1K amounts to $125 a month on produce and meats. show me a grocery store that can match that.
aside for the 2x a year i need to stock up on white vinegar, borax, washing soda, oxiclean and dr. bronners at costco, i'm not spending ANY money on cleaning products (which are, IMO, ridiculously expensive).
and of the 3 vacations we took this year, 2 were CAMPING TRIPS. we spent $50 to reserve a campsite two separate weeks this summer. that's it.
anyway, i needed to vent. i just hate that mentality. i hate the "well you must make alot of money if you can afford organic" BS. it pisses me off.
as far as i'm concerned its the other way around. my inlaws must have alot of money if they can afford the stuff they buy. all these disposable cleaning products (swiffer, etc), processed foods, take out, multiple trips to dunkin donuts every day, gas for two V8-engine vehicles (they both drive really big cars).
the environmentally friendly people are not the ones throwing cash out the window.
it would be nice if people would realize that once and for all.
Re: the misconception of green living. VENT.
BFP #2: 8/26/12, EDD 5/3/12, M/C 9/4/12
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I don't care that they think we have more money. They can think whatever they want. Reality is what it is. What frustrates me about situations like this is that, IMO, it proves the point that the environmental movement would be leaps and bounds ahead of where it currently is if not for all the misinformation out there. Instead of people changing their ways its evidently much easier to point at the greener lifestyle and say, "I can't do that because I'm not well off."
Its such a shame.
I like the way your husband thinks!!
I come across the attitude that green is high falutent where I live. It makes me chuckle though. People that think it is hoity toity to be "green" or whatever often fail to understand the reduce, reuse, recycle concept and think being "green" means spending more on organic produce and fancypants foods.
I bet this is all about geography. You and I live in cities where green is the normal. If it weren't for these boards, I would probably be blissfully unaware of communities where recycling is simply not not done and where people are totally flummoxed by vegetarians, lol.
If anything, it really is the other way around. People pay more things like bottled water, paper towels, disposable diapers, processed food, and cleaning products because companies have marketed them as convenience items that you just can't live with out. But it's easy and affordable to not use paper towels or Windex or Swiffers.
I guess that I don't understand literally throwing away money when using those products.
I just wanted to say that I agreed--We saved money by participating in the CSA this summer. I love supporting the farmer's markets here--but most of them also have a CSA and I like supporting that too.
I wouldn't bank on your family doing the math on what you are doing, but it's clearly saving money for you and working for your family..
In a way they are right..you ARE saving money by doing these things--maybe someday you will BE rich by not wasting money (or resources
))
This is why I called my blog Eco-Friendly AND Frugal. I read a blog post once where the writer went on about how expensive it is to be green but you should still do it for the environment. I love nature as much as the next person, maybe moreso even, but I didn't actually go green for the environment. I went green for me and my health. I'll admit- I love the way my hair feels now that I dye with henna and wash with organic shampoo! And I love how I feel now that I'm eating healthier. Everything else is bonus.
So it kind of upset me when I read that to the point where I started a blog about it. I'm saving SO much money by getting all of my fruits from the farms and driving my efficient car. It would only be more expensive if I was still using the expensive salon shampoo I used to use in addition to my eco-friendly shampoo or buying all that crap from the grocery store. But that would just be dumb.
I hey ya Wubster, our region and my family are the same way. Everything is about price. The quality of the food or item, whether it's reusable, or whether you'll be paying higher costs (like healthcare) later down the road don't even factor into their thought process. All they see is the initial unfront cost, they're blind to everything else. On the surface, yes organic food is more expensive than conventional food. A hybrid is more expensive than an SUV. But they're not considering the long-term costs, and you are, which makes you the better consumer. Your organic food will result in lower healthcare costs in the future. Your hybrid saves on gas and has a much higher resale value than their SUV. Plus you won't have to ditch your hybrid when (it's not "if" but "when") gas goes back up to $4 a gallon. I try not to let other people's opinions get to me because I know i'm making the right decisions for me and my family. My parents or co-workers may think they're getting the better deal with their disposable products and cheap food, but they're not paying the whole cost.
It annoys me too. We do save a ton of money by not using "convenience"/disposable items like papertowls, napkins, swiffers, cleaning products etc. But eating locally and organically is a shitton more expensive (short term) than eating the cheap grocery food. Meat, eggs and produce at the farmers market is probably double than that of their grocery counterparts. I still buy it. But what the relatives don't see are the sacrifices we make (not eating out etc.) in order to afford good food. It does irritate me that people think we're rich because we eat this way. It is all about priorities people.
Next year I am planning a garden, so that will help some. And I started canning, and freezing local produce this summer. I imagine we will start to see savings in our food budget this winter because of it.
Where are you seeing $2.99 for a pound of broccoli? When broccoli is in season (winter months) I can get it from the Farmer's Market for only $0.89/pound (or at least last winter that was the price).
I don't belong to a CSA either but I just got 1 GIANT Melon, 19 Plums, 5 Bananas, 8 Nectarines,1 Bag of Grapes, 1 Container of Strawberries, 2 Green Peppers, 1 head of Spinach, 2 bunches of Celery, 1 head of cabbage, 14 sweet potatoes, 5 loaves of 9-grain bread, and 10 mangoes for $32 through my co-op. If you wanted to buy all of that in the grocery store I figured you'd be spending close to $50-60. So that saved me a fair amount of money and I know where my food came from which is more valuable for me. For only $10 more you can get all organic produce but that wasn't offered at my location this week. Sometimes you just have to put a little bit of effort into things to find the deal and program that works best for you and will still offer you locally grown, healthy produce.
Though in Seattle I'm sure the grocery store strives to buy more locally so that's probably not a bad option for you. But here they import most produce so I prefer to buy from co-op so I know I'm not supporting a Monsanto farm.
I really think some people don't WANT to be green and this is how they justify it. IMO you don't really need to justify not being green... just have the balls to come out and say you don't want to do it!
I budget myself to $250 (after rent and bills) to live off of per month. This is what I use for food, clothing, gas, stuff for my home, and entertainment each month and I think that's pretty cheap! And I buy only locally grown and/or organic foods whenever possible. Sure this is only or two people and I imagine when you have a larger family it gets a bit more difficult, but if you cut expenses elsewhere you really do save. I haven't bought paper towels in who knows how long... I can't even begin to think how much I've saved by cutting that ONE product.
I get both sides of it. We do all we can to be green, and in many ways it saves us money. We compost and recycle to avoid pricey garbage fees. We clean naturally, we avoid processed foods and disposable goods. The thing is, your logic is missing two things. 1. While it may be cheaper to eat organic than processed crap, it's not usually cheaper (at least in my area) to eat organic instead of healthy non-organic. Around here, imported produce and meats are way cheaper than CSAs or organic. I know, because I really try to find it cheaper and stick to it, but we just can't do it. I'm always on the lookout for a place to get local stuff, but it's so popular to do so that the prices are jacked way up. 2. For some people, they have to focus on the up front cost. Yes, a hybrid may cost less in the long run, but there is still no way on earth I can afford a $20k vehicle. We pay closer to $6k for our cars and you can't find one of those in a hybrid.
Yes, in many ways going green can be cheaper, but in many ways, it's also super expensive.