Eco-Friendly

Our family is moving to the next phase in doing our part to save the planet. Even if that means a little blood will be shed.

Six weeks ago, DW and I picked up our new hybrid automobile. While it's not a fully electric vehicle, it is much more fuel-efficient than any of our previous vehicles and can run about 800 kilometres or so on a single (45 L) tank of gas. And while we drove it a lot in the first week after picking it up (our CR-V was essentially left sitting in the driveway), we went more than four weeks between fillups on our second tank.

(Of course, being in self-isolation played a major role.)

After four weeks on a single tank: just under a quarter of a tank left and 121 km until empty.

When we initially ran the numbers, we'd calculated that we'll save at least $60 each month^* in fuel fillups.

Before we bought the car, we had begun reducing the amount of plastic that we've been bringing into the house. When we shop for ingredients at Bulk Barn, we bring our own plastic containers^*. At stores, we refused plastic bags. And for some products, we've stopped buying some things that come in plastic bottles. DW has bought bars of shampoo and conditioner, and we're finding that it takes so little to lather up. Instead of deodorants in plastic tubes, we have bars that seem to last longer. DW even bought glass bottles of powdered toothpaste.

Though I've always used bars of soap in the shower, DW recently gave up plastic bottles of body wash to do the same.

We used to use disposable razors, but recently both DW and I have made the shift to safety razors. This weekend, I even acquired a barber-grade brush and a tin of shaving cream. In the past, I would shave in the shower, using a bar of soap to lather my face and then using the disposable razors to remove stubble.

It's a new way to shave, for me. After my shower, I fill the sink with hot water and use my new equipment. The shave is slower-going but I get a much-closer shave. Maybe, too close: I haven't bled this much while shaving since before I had two moles removed from my face. (That's another story. Perhaps not.)

It's a small price to pay for reducing the amount of waste that plastic creates.

How about you? Have you moved away from plastic? Have you left your gas-guzzling vehicles behind? What steps have you taken to become more eco-friendly?


^*Pre-COVID living practices.

Cutting Costs

DW and I have been looking for ways to cut back on our expenses, from eating out less often to cutting out services we don't feel we need.

I've even reduced my trips to the LCBO and other shops where I buy my beer. No more stockpiling shelves of bottles and cans. I went almost a month without buying new beer, choosing to deplete what I have accumulated. Once my shelves are empty, I'll try to only shop for beer every two weeks, buying only enough to carry me through that period.

Wish me luck with that.

Earlier this year, we cut out some of the specialty channels from our Bell TV. We cut out HBO and the Movie Network stations, as well as Space, Comedy Network, and Showcase. I went through John Oliver withdrawal and haven't seen the last season of Game of Thrones. I can wait for it to reach Netflix.

But DW and I decided to dig deeper, and we made even more drastic cuts. As of this weekend, we no longer have a landline. Everyone in our family has a cell phone, so we're still reachable. That was a tough cut, and we'll have to spend the next while, letting our doctors and other services know about our phone number changes.

Our cut with Bell didn't stop at our landline. We also quit our television service altogether. We bought a digital antenna, and in the next day or so I'll climb onto the roof and set it up. We should still get at least 10 or so local stations: as long as I can get CBC, I'm happy.

In our search to further cut expenses, we looked to our cellular services and we confirmed what we had already heard: having a phone number in Québec is much cheaper than owning one in Ontario. Because two of our five phones were off-contract, we called our provider, Fido, to see if we could cut our cost. We've been loyal customers for about eight years and loved their customer service, had recommended them to anyone who was looking for a provider.

I explained that I worked in Québec and could provide an address, but was told that the address had to be my primary residence, which doesn't make sense to me. It's a mobile phone: why does it matter where I live?

DW and I learned that a competitor from la belle provence, Videotron, had a kiosk set up in the St.Laurent Shopping Centre, in the east end of the city, and that they were offering packages to Ontario residents at Québec rates.

For example, if you brought your own phone, you could get 6 GB of data for $50 a month. This deal offered all of the perks of our current plans: unlimited Canada-wide calling, international texting, voice mail, call display.

DW was paying $45 each month for 500 MB of data: DD16 had a $50 plan with only 300 MB.

If you had three lines, you received an additional $10 off, each month, per phone. This is what convinced me to switch and bring three lines.

DW and DD16 were off-contract. I had about six months left on my contract: if I wanted to break it, I'd have to pay Fido $164. But the three of us were paying $164 per month for our phones, with a combined amount of 2.8 GB of data. Through Videotron, we would pay $110 each month for a combined total of 14 GB of data.

DW and I took the 6 GB plan, at $50 each. DD16 took a 2 GB plan, at $40. With a $30 saving for three lines, that made the $110.

I told Fido of the deal I was being offered (I didn't tell them who was providing the deal, telling them that they should already know their competition). I told them that I would really like to stay with them, but this was business.

It all came down to numbers.

Fido came back to me, several times, over the course of the day. The best they could do was offer me 3 GB of data for $50 (my existing plan was 2 GB for $69).

"Fifty dollars for 3 gigs is not 6 GB for $40," I told them. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Fido still has two of our lines (my father-in-law's phone is on my bill). DD14's phone doesn't become contract-free until March of 2019. By then, we can bring her over and we'll each receive $15 off per month.

Or better, if rates drop.

No landline. No cable TV. Cheap plans on our cell phones. We've cut about $150 off of our monthly expenses.

That's something to drink to, but only when I can afford to.