The environment is a hot topic not only in politics, but in everyday life as well.  Companies are making strong pushes with green products, mainstream television is promoting green living, people are making the move to more environmentally friendly products and services.  It seems that in many ways, going green is the new way to market to consumers.  Unfortunately, especially for small businesses, it is a rather capital-intensive process that in most cases can not be fully implemented all at one time.  There are, however, ways to operate your business and do your part to help the environment, and save a bit of your own green in the process.

1.  Don’t use the trash

One of the most popular ways to save the environment is by recycling.  Many governments have been requiring their residents to separate their recyclables from non-recyclables for years, but that is on the residential side.  There is no regulation as far as commercial recycling goes in many areas, especially when it comes to office buildings with several (or hundreds) of tenants.  The good news is that there are ways to get rid of items of business nature without trashing them.  I cannot speak of the country as a whole, but in the South Florida area, about once a quarter, there are local computer/electronic recycling stations set up in the parking lots of some of the larger stores.  There, the agencies will collect all of the items and dispose of them in a manner that is less harmful than simply leaving them in the regular trash to sit in landfills for all eternity.  In the case of ink and toner, several of the office supply store are enabling members of the rewards programs to trade in their empty cartridges in exchange for reward dollars.  By going this rout, not only are you helping to save the environment, but also essentially getting store credit toward future purchases.

2.  Take advantage of technology

Another popular method of reducing the environmental footprint has been to reduce the need to travel by car.  This helps in several ways: by reducing the consumption of gasoline, reducing carbon emissions, and in turn the tires generally last longer rather than having to be replaced (particularly since the disposal of rubber is rather messy and environmentally unfriendly).  With the popularity of the internet and the advances in the technology used to deliver the electronic content, videoconferencing has gone from a method once used solely by public, multinational corporations to something that grandparents can now use to see the grand kids more often.  Why not implement something similar in your business?  On the smallest scale, for a one-on-one conference, all it takes is a high-speed connection and a web cam.  By doing so, you will not only save money on gas and tolls, but think of the time that you will be saving.  Rather than traveling back and forth, possibly sitting in traffic, you will now have that time available to be productive and billable.

3.  Something borrowed (or fixed)

Of course, another very easy way to incorporate cost savings with being environmentally friendly is by purchasing used/refurbished.  Some people shy away from anything that isn’t new because of the lack of warranty against failure, unknown treatment or conditioning, and most of all, receiving the item DOA (dead on arrival).  One solution, however is to simply purchase refurbished/display model-type products from reputable stores or direct from the manufacturer.  Not only will you get it at a discounted price, but you will get the store’s warranty and possibly and additional manufacturer’s warranty.  Computer manufacturers for example have outlets in their web stores where they sell older models and refurbished ones as well.  By purchasing refurbished, the need to produce new parts for a new product are eliminated, saving on the need to consume more materials and the corresponding waste produced in the process and there is the additional benefit of the cost savings as well.  Even better is the purchase of floor display models from retail stores: office furniture, equipment, computer equipment all right there for you to examine for functionality and cosmetic health.

Obviously, there are numerous other ways to operate your business so that it spending less capital while also being environmentally responsible such as going paperless to conserve the forestry, using light bulbs which consume less voltage and conserving electricity, using recycled paper products, and many many more.  The preceding were simply a few of the most cost-effective and simple techniques to implement without making wholesale changes to the way your business operates.

In what ways to you try to makes your business more eco-friendly?  Perhaps you have plans that you are working on?  It doesn’t take much , and every little bit helps.  

This article, 3 Ways To Green Your Business And Save Some Green was originally published by DollarVersity, and may have been used without the owner's permission.

The way things are going these days, it seems like every family and business is re-evaluating its spending in an effort to trim the fat and add more to the bottom line. Businesses are cutting payroll, or looking at cheaper alternatives to current expenditures.  Individuals are cutting out what they deem as unnecessary entertainment, taking steps to reduce energy consumption, and reducing housing costs.  Both groups are even looking to prepay their regularly occurring expenses in an effort to get their spending under control, even if there is no discount involved in doing so. Unfortunately, when it comes to prepaying expenses, even if you do get a discount, the benefits are far outweighed by the drawbacks. And, in truth I was only able to come up with two really strong (well one really strong and one that’s just “eh” in my book) reasons to go ahead with a prepayment plan but 5 even stronger ones against it.

The Good:

• Saving money with a discount

  In most instances, you will not receive any kind of special savings for paying your bill – let’s say 1 year in advance. Some times, like with insurance, you can a couple of dollars by paying the premiums up front rather than using a semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly payment plan. Vonage will give you a discount of up to 20% to pay your phone bill a year at a time, and Phone Power will give you the second year free if you prepay. This is the only solid benefit of taking this kind of approach, and even then, there may not be much of a significant savings realized.

  
  

• Less to remember

  With all of the required payments being made up front, that reduces the number of bill payments on a monthly basis. That also reduces the amount of paperwork (assuming you do not use auto-pay) to be dealt with.  That being said, since many small business owners decide to do everything themselves, it also means that there is less of a chance that you will forget to make a payment as well.  On the personal financial side, it certainly helps those individuals who have trouble with organization and keeping track of their bills (and due dates).

  
  

The Bad:

• Loss of Liquidity

  You are spending the money up front, and losing flexibility of having those funds available for other, more immediate, and possible emergency needs. This isn’t like an investment account, where you can liquidate certain items in order to free up some cash in times of need.  You are locked into this purchase for the duration, unless there is some sort of pro-rated refund policy, which to be honest is a rare characteristic of prepaying expenses. Individuals will lose the ability to have their money working for them, and even though interest rates are low these days, anything is better than nothing.

  
  

• Budgeting Concerns

  Great, you’ve paid your next year’s worth of expenses in one fell swoop. Did you remember to keep include the bills in your monthly budget or did you remove it since it’s technically not going to need attention for a while? Whether you are running a business or a household, it is important to keep planning for that expense if for nothing else, then for the sake of repetition. The last thing you would want is for the day that you actually have to start paying that particular bill regularly to come, only to realize that you removed it from your budget and now do not have enough free cash to cover it. Not only is it a pain to deal with, but it also means having to spend extra time reworking that budget and finding a way to fit the expense back in.

  
  

• Mergers and Acquisitions

  Companies merge quite frequently, especially in this economy where the weaker companies have little other options than to allow themselves to be bought.  The problem, is that many times the company that is purchased gets folded into the purchasing company effectively ceasing to exist.  What happens if your company merges with another and you end up not liking the resulting product or service or support from the new company? Essentially nothing, since you are stuck with them until your prepayment expires, or you get lucky enough to get an opportunity to void the remainder of your agreement.

  
  

• Technological Innovation

  Every day advances are being made in technology.  Every day new ways of processing information are discovered. Regardless of what the product or service is, somewhere a company is rolling out a better product or service. Somewhere, a company is offering better rates for a product or service you or your business uses,  The unfortunate thing about it is that you cannot take advantage of either pricing or quality differences because you already paid for your current services, essentially creating a long-term contract that cannot be broken.

  
  

The (Very) Ugly:

• Bye Bye Company

  This is the most extreme and maddening of the negatives. Any business can go belly-up at any time. Should a company happen to file for bankruptcy protection, the creditors are the ones that will receive the primary attention.  What happens to the customers? They’re left holding the bag in most cases.  That means you will be not only be out the money you had prepaid for the products or services, but you will also be forced to find another supplier which means paying twice for one thing.  Would it suck should that happen?  Absolutely. But, that is life and that is what sometimes happens in business.

  
  

Can any of these scenarios happen, of course they can.  The likelihood of some occurring are greater than other though.  So, what can you take away from all of this?  Simply put, and in my humble opinion, it is better to spend a few extra dollars in order to have more control over your money both in a business environment and in personal financial situations.  Do you have to listen to me? Not at all. This is simply my view of this particular spending strategy and how I view the pros and cons.  You are your own person and are free to choose to do business or handle your personal finances in any way your see fit, and without judgement (unless of course you end up asking someone for their opinion)!

This article, Thinking About Prepaying Expenses? I Wouldn’t If I Were You! was originally published by DollarVersity, and may have been used without the owner's permission.