About
My goal for The Greenest Dollar is simple: to give people easy, common-sense ways to save money and go green.
I feel strongly that our society is coming to an important tipping point; we’re starting to realize that shopping and spending money doesn’t really make us happy. We’re beginning to see the effects of our consumerism on the environment. And more and more people want to learn how to change their lifestyle to reflect this shift from “shopping” to “saving”.
Who Am I?
My name is Heather Levin, and I live in the Upper Midwest. I have always been interested in going green, but I didn’t become interested in personal finance until I bought my first house.
After the initial wave of “first-home bliss” wore off (which took about 2-3 months), I got my first mortgage statement in the mail. That’s when I realized that the majority of what I was paying each month on my mortgage was going to the bank, as pure profit for them in the form of interest payments.
Yes, everyone had fully explained this to me before I bought my house. But it didn’t really sink in until I actually saw it on paper.
Since that fateful day, I’ve come to the realization that I don’t ever want to have a mortgage again. After some tough decisions, my husband and I have decided to put our house on the market so that we can pursue our dream of living 100% debt free. Our goal right now is to build a small, off-grid home using recycled shipping containers.
Having fun in Bat Cave, NC
A Blog Is Born…
Because our goal is to save as much money as possible (so we don’t have to finance our off-grid home) I started researching and learning more about personal finance. All I wanted were simple, easy ways to save money and go green.
As time passed I realized that I was starting to acquire knowledge that could really help other people in the same boat. I’d been regularly reading several other great blogs online, and got the idea that I should start my own. Personal finance and going green were my two passions, so it naturally followed that I should write about one of those topics.
But, which one? I thought about it for weeks, trying to figure out which one I wanted to write about more. Which was I most passionate about? How could I help people the most?
Finally, however, it hit me: I could do both.
Why? Because saving money and saving the environment are not mutually exclusive. When you save money by curbing spending, you’re saving the environment by consuming fewer resources. When you save the environment by recycling and reducing energy costs, you’re also saving money.
It was a EUREKA! moment that I’ll never forget.
My Goals
Like everyone else in this world, I have goals, and mine tie in closely with the topics covered in this blog.
Zerocabin.com
My main goal right now is to save enough money so that when we begin construction on our off-grid home, we can pay for it with cash.
So far, we’re well on our way. Our current home is for sale, and as soon as we find our buyer we’ll begin Stage 2 of our Master Plan (Stage 2 involves buying acres of land in a wind-friendly area, yet to be determined).
I sincerely hope that you find the articles I’ve published in The Greenest Dollar help you save money and go green in your own life. It’s been my mission from the get-go to only publish information that’s truly useful to people.
My Disclaimer
I am not a financial advisor or investment guru. Yes, I’ve researched the articles on The Greenest Dollar, and made every effort to use good information taken from reliable sources. But none of the information on this site should be looked at as professional advice.
Please make your own decisions when it comes to your finances. If you need professional advice, then consult a professional financial planner.
My Thanks…
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading this blog.
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Hey there! I wanted to contact you about becoming a blog partner with wikiHow, but I couldn’t find an e-mail address. Can you get in touch? Thanks!
Heather, you are a wealth of information! I’m impressed with you and your site! Hang in there and we’ll be joining you on this Journey! 🙂
Jay
hi,
I have just found your blog.
I would love to deal with you.
It would be wonderful, if you could write a post about credit with my links.
My site is about credit cards for women and has PR 2.
I would like to know how much money does it cost. Contact me if you are interested in such a deal.
Regards,
Diana
Hey nice site. I use the same theme.
I wanted to find out what plugin you are using for you adsense ads. I like how they are displayed.
I also wanted to make sure you changed your options to a search engine friendly url. For example if you follow one of your posts it just has numbers at the end. You can change wordpress to use the title of your article. If you would like more information contact me at my site and check out how links to my articles are displayed.
Heather,
We love what you’re doing… my wife and I are on a similar journey.
Please check out our website and learn about our product, THE GREEN GARMENTO, a reusable garment bag with the objective to eliminate single use plastic from drycleaners in the same way similar, smaller polypropylene bags are helping with retail and grocery stores.
Something for your readers… As it says on our website, we’re giving a free GREEN GARMENTO to anyone who gives us the name of the drycleaner they’ll be bringing the bags to.
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/The-Green-Garmento-Llc-915561.html
I didn’t find where to send you a couple of samples, can you forward me your business address? Thanks.
Best,
Rick Siegel
Hey Heather, sounds like a great idea. That sounds exactly what I’m trying to do. If you’d like to write an eco tip for http://www.dailyecotips.com, just let me know. I’ll link back to The Greenest Dollar.
Thanks
Dan
Hello Ms. Levin,
I’m writing to you about the next edition of Brave New Foundation’s Meet the Bloggers (MeetTheBloggers.org) which airs online this coming Friday, December 5. Our topic is responsible shopping for the holidays. I want to offer this content to you, and would love it if you would consider letting your readers know about the show.
We will host Rev. Billy of ‘The Church of Stop Shopping’ (www.revbilly.com) for a conversation about responsible, regional, sustainable shopping and resisting the rampant commercialism and consumerism.
We’re asking organizations committed to a sustainable future to:
*email your subscribers to alert them to the upcoming show. It will be online as of 10 a.m. Pacific time on Friday and can be viewed anytime after.
*post a brief segment from the show on your website. Here’s a clip featuring Rev. Billy – and there are several others from the show available for posting and distribution.
Here is an early clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRaLXtnypL0
In exchange, we can include a link to your organization on our website.
Thanks for all you do and I’m excited to work with you.
Thanks,
Ofelia Yanez
Production Assistant
Meet The Bloggers (www.meetthebloggers.org)
Brave New Foundation
[email protected]
(310) 204-0448 Ext. 252
Hello Heather,
I would like to mail you one or two of our products for your review in your blog, if possible. I was thinking of a lunch carrier (http://www.healthykitchenware.com/stainless-lunch-carrier-with-sauce-container-p-49.html) and/or children’s dish set (http://www.healthykitchenware.com/fun-kids-dishes-c-8.html). If this sounds like a good idea please send me you mailing address to ship the product. If you ever do contests/giveaways, we would also be happy to ship one of our products to the prize winner.
Our website is: http://www.HealthyKitchenware.com
Hope to hear from you soon,
Hi all…I think we are all trying to get the word out and share information to become better “green” peeps. I am a Realtor here in South Florida and just got the Green designation from NAR. I also teach and train Realtors on Finding a Niche. I would love for all of you to join http://www.thegreenrealestatereport.com. I am also on Twitter…
at GreenRealtorFLA and of course the usual suspects Linked In and Facebook under Michele Bellisari. Looking forward to networking and sharing with you all!
Hi,
I just wanted to email you to show support. I too am paying tremendous sums to the bank; I thought it was the only alternative to paying some else’s mortgage in NYC! Husband and I now pay one extra payment a year and got the 30 year mortgage down to 22 1/2 years. I love our house, so it’s a compromise.
All the best,
J Neal Urbanski
http://wakeuptofrugality.blogspot.com/
J N,
Thanks so much for your vote of support!
That’s great that you’re pre-paying on your mortgage. Good luck on your journey!
Thanks!
J Neal Urbanski
http://wakeuptofrugality.blogspot.com/
I love this site! People often assume the green option is always more expensive, but you can save on most expenses by using greener alternatives which are more cost efficient. I have a site at http://www.self-sufficiency-guide.com which tries to teach the same message – Green is the cheapest way to go!
Jonny,
Thanks for chiming in! I’m glad you found me here. I’ll definitely check out your site!
Heather,
Thanks so much for creating this blog. I am someone that is desperately wanting to be more frugal, save money, and I would love to get a little more green in the process. There are very few places that will cover both topics in the same place, so thanks for making it a little easier to find ways to be green and frugal.
@Simply DIYgal- Thanks so much! I’m so glad that you found some information of value here!
I am very interested in the survival seeds. I visited the site and will probably order if I don’t win. I stumbled upon and bookmarked your site as it seems to be a valuable wealth of information. Thank you!
@K, thanks for writing in! Make sure you leave a comment on the actual contest post, however, since that counts as your entry!
My husband and I are looking to save money in a big way! He lost his job two years ago, forcing us to make some decisions we otherwise wouldn’t have. We moved across the country for my job, and left a lot of our “stuff” behind. I never thought I would say it, but we are so much happier with less!
So glad I found your site! My husband and I are trying to become debt free. We are using Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. We can use whatever tips we can get!
Glad to have run across your blog Am interested in green, and surely want to follow how you wil build a home with leftover shipping cartons. Presently I am an older (75, yeah,,,, older lady, completely responsble for my own expenses,and look for ways to stay frugal and green. I think it is very important for the environement. At least it means much for me. I have bunch of “saver” projects, coupons for he overseas military families, bottle caps for the veterans organization, stamps for the same, etc. etc. Seems like I am always finding a new project! Too much cash equals too much stash, which s ridiculous, when you get older you realize there ain’t no pockets in a shroud1
Heather,
I love your posts. I’ve long held that money is really a spiritual as well as temporal commodity. When you don’t owe money or have financial stress it frees you up to be at peace and centered – both excellent for your soul. I appreciate your goals and what you’re doing here on the greenest dollar. Looking for a windy place? I live in Monument, Colorado – on the continental divide. Windy most of the time.
Great writing – you dispense good information with a personal voice. Best of luck to you in your pursuits.
Barbara The Empty Nest Mom
I am getting a tremendous amount of help and info from you. I will share my success with you as I go a long, because I am convinced, that my family and I will be successful at building a green, and better lifestyle.
Hello heather
Love your thoughts and ideas. Thanks for sharing with us all. I am starting to make jewelry out of recycled materials. I saw your soda can braclets on Pinterest. I love them. Do you have a tutorial on them?
Can’t wait to hear from you!
Stacey
do you have instructions for the soda can bracelets? I would love to make them.
Do you have instructions for your soda can bracelets? I want to make some too! There so kewl!