Right up front I should tell you that I don’t think green living (REAL green living) is expensive. I even think that green living saves you money. That said, if I had a dime for every time I’ve heard, “Green living is too expensive!” well, I’d be a very rich blogging girl.
Trust me, I get it, because economic times are hard, but we all make choices with our money. When money is tight, when money is plentiful, when we’ve got just enough – we still make choices about where our money goes.
The above said, this post is not about being able to afford green products or an eco-lifestyle; this post is about whether green is worth it to you. In upcoming posts we’ll look at some easy ways to budget specifically for greener products because once you want to live greener there is a learning curve to being able to afford it, but for now, let’s just concentrate on why (or if) green products and a green lifestyle are even worth it to you.
Cost is not the same thing as worth: As noted above the majority of people I’ve met think green living, organic food, sustainable clothing and so on costs more than if you don’t live green and the belief that green costs more tends to turn into something else entirely such as, “Living green is just not worth the cost.” That’s a shame because what green living really comes down to are priorities and choices.
Cost vs. worth
Here’s the difference – cost is one issue. Worth and priorities are other issues entirely and that’s where people get hung up.
- If green living and true eco-friendly products cost way more than conventional living and products the worth of living green is still the same.
- If green living and true eco-friendly products cost way less than conventional living and products the worth of living green is still the same.
- If we pretend that all things are equal today; if green living and true eco-friendly products cost exactly the same as conventional living and products the worth of living green is still the same.
Examples that aren’t green-minded: Worth is sometimes easier to understand when applied to anything but green. Some people say college is too expensive or buying a home or getting a new laptop or owning a dog or leasing a car costs too much so they avoid these issues.
Other people agree that all of the above may cost a lot but it’s very worth it to their life so they figure it out. Some people work out a plan to get to college or to own that house or dog. These folks have a priority in mind – to have that item or experience that will add value to their life. To the people who work it out; who get that college degree or that house or the darn dog, it’s worth it.
Like the above issues, green living is only worth as much as you make it worth. Honestly it’s either worth it to you to figure out or it’s not. Like all things in life green living is a personal value and priority. No one can make owning a home or having a college degree matter to you if those issues aren’t personally important to you and likewise no one can make green living matter to you – green living has to hold personal value for you and only you can decide what that green living is worth in total.
The real question is not, “Is green living worth the cost?” but rather, “What is green living worth to you personally?”
Green living is worth a lot to me. Coming up I’ll give my opinion on why green living is worth it and then later for those who do want to live green we’ll go over how you can shift your priorities and budget to make it happen.
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