If you have a bit of a green thumb and like working on your yard and garden you might find this tip useful.  In the area I live there are endless amounts of limestone rock in quarries and shorelines.  My money saving tip for you is to go to your nearest rocky shoreline or quarry and pick up some nice flat rocks to line your gardens instead of paying hundreds or even thousands for engineered landscaping stones.  I helped my parents do the same thing last summer and I think it looks great…a real rustic look.  I’ll take a picture of one of their gardens the next time i’m over there and i’ll post it.  I plan on doing the same thing around my gardens this summer.

Next, instead of buying bottled water all the time purchase a filter that connects directly to your faucet.  I know we’re probably talking about savings in cents here, but hopefully this will make ’sense’ to you (I had to do it….and I am aware that it was corny!).  Just remember that it all adds up over time.  As an added bonus, you will also be reducing your carbon footprint by using less plastic.

This next one is nothing new, but everyone could use a reminder about it….Carpooling.  If a bunch of your fellow collegues live in reletively close proximity why not all go to work toghether?  It makes a whole lot of sense considering you’ll be using less fuel and putting less wear on your vehicle because you won’t be driving as often.  And again you’ll be reducing your carbon footprint by getting a few vehicles off the road.  This is a tip that is definitely under utilized but is simple to do.  Think about it, and talk to some of your co-workers about it tomorrow around the water cooler or lunch room.

I know $750 sounds like a lot of money, but there are some great money saving offers if you do want to install one of these systems.  If you are a customer of Union Gas, you can receive a $450 bill credit by installing a drain water heat recovery system (refer to www.uniongas.com/energyefficiency).  Also, regarding the Canadian Government’s Energy Retrofit Program (refer to previous post) you are also eligible for an additional $260 ($130 from both Federal and Provincial) in grant money.  In order to be eligible for the grant money, you must have a pre and post assessment of your home completed

First you have to get an assessment from a certified NRCan energy adviser.  They will assess your home from attic to basement and they go over a report with you on eco-upgrades that you can make that qualify for the grant.  Click here to find a certified adviser in your area.

Next you can visit the NRCan website to see a list of improvements you can make along with amount of money you can get back.

After you initial assessment, you have 18 months to make any installations.  Afterwards, the certified NRCan energy advisor will come back to your home and do a post-retrofit evaluation and help you submit your application for any grants that you qualify for.  You will then be issued a cheque within 90 days for the installations that were performed.

This is an excellent step for the Federal and Provincial government and if you care about saving yourself some money and saving the environment at the same time I would look into this offer.