SAVE A FORTUNE ...

. . . while you’re saving the planet

It pays to be green. You can be a tree-hugging, environmentalist – and save money. Squandering the earth’s precious resources is expensive, and creates waste, which costs more money. Conservation – of fuel, food, waste or basically anything – can save you a packet. There are also plenty of tasty tax breaks for clean living, such as a cracking new deal on electric cars (see below). So here’s our Good Consumer Guide to help you save cash – and the planet!

PLUG IN TO ELECTRIC CARS

Last year I drove an electric car, the Nissan Leaf, for a week. The Leaf – Ireland’s cheapest and best-selling Electric Vehicle (EV) by far – is starting to make a compelling financial case for drivers. It’s surprisingly nifty too.

This has not gone unnoticed – with a 200% increase in pre-sales for 2018 compared to last year, Nissan tells me.

It’s likely that cumulative electric car sales in Ireland will rise from 3,200 up to last year to 14,000 by 2020. Behind this trend are: A €5,000 grant; €4,000 savings on running costs over four years; €120 road tax (and lower insurance); Free home charger grant (€600); Public charging free; Free tolls due to come in. It’s even more compelling for company cars. A little-known budget measure allows sole traders and companies to depreciate the full price of a car in year one and save €11,000 in tax.

And from this year, there is no Benefit In Kind whatsoever to be paid for employees who drive electric cars (a tax still applies in the case of hybrids).

So what’s not to like? The biggest concern is range. A few years ago electric cars got you 100km – which would have you biting your fingernails on a trip between, say, Dundalk and Dublin. But this has changed utterly.

In April a more powerful 40kwh new Leaf will increase range from 250km on a single charge to 378km, according to Nissan.

This puts Cork within easy reach of Dublin – or vice versa – for the very first time for an electric car.

TIME TO GET ON YOUR BIKE

Cycling is even cheaper than electric cars – and it will keep you fit too. A good second–hand bike costs just €150.

If work is a little far, why not get an electric bike to take the pain out of those steep hills? You can get a new bike of any type – and equipment – up to the value of €1,000 through the generous Bike to Work scheme.

Get your employer to pay the supplier for a bicycle. You then pay back the money over a period of less than 12 months and claim tax relief at the top rate. See the website biketowork.ie.

DRIVE CLEAN ... AND SAVE

Make your car more fuel-efficient with a few tips.

Did you know than open windows reduce fuel efficiency by 20%? And check your tyres are properly inflated – and roadworthy – to get more kilometres to the litre.

There are plenty more clean driving tips to be found on the AA website, aa.com.

And watch out for prices at the pumps – a three cent per litre difference can cost you €150 a year. Compare petrol and diesel prices on pumps.ie.

PLASTIC IS NOT FANTASTIC

The average plastic bag is used for 12 minutes, yet takes 20 years to break down, causing havoc with marine life. And that’s before it turns into microplastic fragments, causing even more damage for an immeasurable amount of time.

The environmental levy on plastic bags at 22c has helped.

But most supermarkets now seem to be getting around it. Many have phased out the small cheap plastic bags that used to cost around 40c after 22c tax.

Instead, they are offering bigger bags at 70c a pop. Supermarkets claim to be doing this to help the environment but they are really saving themselves money. The plastic bag tax doesn’t apply on bags costing more than 70c, even though these are still plastic bags, if a little bit more reusable.

You’d be much better off buying a €2 cloth bag that is genuinely reusable.

WASTE NOT AND PAY NOT

Irish households chuck out €700 worth of food ever year – a third of what we buy. So we have to pay on the double – for disposing of it as well in black or brown bins.

Cut back on this shocking waste by checking use-by dates before puchasing – and rotating food in fridges and on shelves. See more tips on brownbinrescue.ie.

MONEY GROWS IN THE GROUND

Another ‘green’ moneyspinner is: grow your own vegetables. You won’t save as much by growing cheaper veggies like carrots or potatoes, which can be had for as little as a euro a bag in some supermarkets. Try pricier things like berries or peppers.

Even if you just grow herbs in a pot in the kitchen, you’ll save money and have handy, everfresh and organic produce at your fingertips.

I’ve found mint, dill and rocket can flourish outside, although occasionally mint will die in the winter.

FRUITS OF THE FORAGE

In the autumn, forage in local hedgerows for delicious blackberries and other produce. There are actually loads of berries and nutritious plants to enjoy – even the pesky nettle, which is neutralised by heat and similar to spinach when boiled. Make sure you know exactly what you are picking, however, especially with mushrooms, which are best left to the experts. There are plenty of books, websites and courses to get you started.