The Sunday Review #17: Earth Day Edition

For those who are not aware, every year, April 22^nd marks the “Earth Day”. In short, it’s a day when people *suddenly* realize the importance of global warming and environmental degradation. It’s like those other days when we suddenly realize the significance of our mother, father, spouse, children, teachers, and grandparents. But hey! one day is better than none. So, on this occasion “Earth Day”, let’s spend some time on a few green thoughts. Here is something to get you started (source):

“If every household replaced its most commonly used incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, electricity use for lighting could be cut in half. Doing so would lower our annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 125 billion pounds. This action alone could halt the growth in carbon dioxide emissions from the United States, given recent growth rates.”

Update [thanks to Super Saver]: Home Depot is giving away 1,000,000 Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs today to customers who visit Home Depot stores. So get up and get going to your nearest Home Depot store before you read the rest of the post. It’s free stuff - will vanish before you think twice about it.

Here are some green and wallet-friendly resources on this blog:

• How much money would you save by using CF lights?
• How is energy generated from waste?
• Right turns and other simple tips to save money and environment.

Related and useful reading material from other sources:

• 51 Things We Can Do (to save the environment).
• Global Warming, Environmental Movement (@ Earthday.net). [loads very slowly]
  

Now, let’s move on to some money articles of the week.

• Stocks vs. Real Estate by Lazy @ Lazy Man and Money. Lazy gets into the numerical mode and churns out some numbers to compare returns from stocks with those from real estate investments. According to him, real estate investment has an edge over stocks. Personally, I have always felt that real estate stuff is not for the common man. The whole process of buying, maintaining, and then selling a house is just too intimidating to indulge in regularly…for someone like me. Stocks? I can pick some in my lunch break.

• Invest In Your 401(k) Up To The Company Match by Henry @ Binary Dollar. Seriously, you could not have it explained any easier than this. Want to know how to get 100% returns on your investment? Read this post.

• Lifecycle Funds: Look But Don’t Touch by Jeremy @ Generation X Finance.

With this statement I am not implying you should avoid these funds, not at all. These are a terrific way for investors to spread their money out with little effort and require very little interaction with the funds. I think these funds are turning out to be a great addition to retirement plans everywhere, but they have to be used properly in order to be effective.

• 3 Ways To Fund Your Business: How To Finance A Startup For The Best Growth by SVB @ The Digerati Life. I will probably never start my own business (I have my own reasons), but it is interesting to learn how the enterprising guys can gather the funds to start on their own. Must read for wannabe entrepreneurs.

• Being A Big Kid - Frugal Entertainment by Super Saver @ My Wealth Builder. Entertainment doesn’t have to be expensive..and if you are creative enough, it can be simply free. Super conveys the message through personal examples.

• Would You Pay Higher Taxes for a Cleaner Environment? by Ben @ Money Smart Life. A perfect topic for Earth Day

• What Do NetworthIQ Statistics Say about Net Worth? by Sun @ The Sun’s Financial Diary. Sun picks up a few numbers from NetworthIQ and draws conclusions on how education may be influencing the net worth of people. Some time back, I posted my own personal observations on how education had improved economic conditions of my high school classmates.

• Like Minded Individuals - Critical To Your Success by Hazzard @ Everybody Loves Your Money. Chatting with (sensible) neighbors can be a very frugal way to keep your financial house in order. Hazzard shares some thoughts in this matter.

Image source: www.ge.com