Under sofa cushions, the bottom of our purse, mixed in with our dryer lint, handed to us at Starbucks, sunning on a sidewalk, we encounter loose change on a regular basis and those of us who micromanage the past, present and future and who see the big picture of life savor each jingle emitted from a handful or pocketful of change. Dropping our new coin acquisitions in a makeshift piggy bank we celebrate at the confirmation sound of coins falling upon coin now, rather than the glass bottom.

Of course it’s taken us months, perhaps years to amass a collection this great, but there are ways we could steadily increase our revenue of pocket change and increase it enough to start our own family hedge fund so we can invest in new soccer cleats with the return of a full ride scholarship. Whether the drive for your savings is this ambitiously intent or you are tired of handing your hard earned paycheck to mega conglomerate companies that just so happen to feed electric currents in your home, well it’s time to make some changes.

• Change light bulbs to high efficiency fluorescent and turn unnecessary lights “Off.”
• When not in use turn your desktop to sleep during daylight, and shut down at night. If you have a laptop use this as much as often and once the battery is charged unplug and utilize the full battery.
• Unplug. Despite the 90’s commercial for PlugIns with their singing slogan sensation, “Plug it in, Plug it in!” it’s time to unplug, unplug, unplug your unused gadgets. From the kitchen blender, coffee machine, and mixer to the cell phone chargers we need to remember to pull out what’s not in use.
• Upgrade. While this may sometimes eat more out of your pocket in one card swipe the ROI will be quickly beneficial. Windows, insulation, washers, dryers, water heaters, all will streamline your energy bill.
• Don’t pre-rinse. The dishwasher was designed to replace our hands dipped deep in sudsy water, so let it properly shine. Cutting back on water usage in simple ways will save you in more ways than one.
• Toughen it out. The invention and comfort in an air conditioned home is a luxury that we far too easily become dependent upon but if a small fan or your ceiling fan can circulate cool air, turn it up to top speed and save some cha-ching.
• Seal off draft areas. Weather strip windows and door to ensure that heat or cool air isn’t recycled to the great outdoors.

Perhaps you have heard advice like these countless time but after a week or so of attempting to make a greener difference both for the planet and out wallets we subconsciously begin negligently allowing the water to run while we brush our pearly whites. As we rush out the door we forgot to turn off every other light switch. It’s lifelong habits like these that will take some hard training in Energy Saving Boot Camp but picture dollar signs and you should be able to recruit enough passion to make it second nature to conserve energy. So let’s start considering the hand that signs the checks and use our hands to turn faucets and light switches off.