Category: Green Living
Celebrate Earth Day with Five Simple Ways to Protect the Planet
April 15, 2025
Twenty million Americans celebrated the first Earth Day in 1970, and by 2020, that number had grown to over one billion people worldwide. April 22 marks a moment for us to ask what we can do to help the environment. A quick dip into the internet can leave us feeling overwhelmed, but there are things that we, as individuals, can do to make a difference. Here’s a quick list to get you started:
Eat Sustainable
We often think of eating sustainably as difficult or expensive. However, current research shows that what you eat can be as or more important than where your food was produced. While food production leads to 25% of the world’s emissions, transportation accounts for less than 10% of this amount. Thus, avoiding highly intensive foods like beef can make as much of a difference as joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program which supports local family farms by committing to purchasing produce and meats grown on the farm. Another great alternative is to take advantage of home delivery services that bring imperfect produce to your door, reducing the amount of waste from supermarkets.
Mending and Upcycling Clothing
Each year, 92 million tons of clothing get deposited in landfills. This fact alone turns mending your clothing into a smart way to help protect the planet. A quiet evening spent darning socks or replacing a shirt button can be enjoyable, but new trends are transforming mending into a fashion statement. Kate Sekules, author of Mend and a clothing mender, states that noticeable repairs used to be despised. “These days, fashion is quite in love with imperfection and deconstruction and patching,” she explains.
A quick tour through your closet will reveal pieces that can be upcycled for a new look and garments that can be donated instead of tossed. Research your local area organizations and schools for clothes closets and thrift stores that will recycle your attire. Even sneakers can get a new life through nonprofits like GotSneakers with the added value of keeping old shoes out of the landfill.
Walk More & Drive Less
Transportation is the source of the largest section of greenhouse gas emissions. One great way to reduce the amount of driving is by combining trips. Also known as trip-chaining, gathering up errands and doing all of them on one more extended trip saves gas and time. Win-win!
Reduce Plastic Usage
These days, most store products are wrapped in some form of plastic packaging. Eliminating it from our lives feels almost impossible. The Zero Waste Movement seems like a great idea, but challenging to implement. Reducing waste by 10% however feels achievable. “Zero waste isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition,” says Anne-Marie Bonneau, author of The Zero Waste Chef. “Some of the changes necessary to reach that 10 percent goal, which just about everyone can do, won’t hurt one bit.”
Some quick tips include using cloth bags when purchasing loose produce and bringing your own glass or metal containers to refill with bulk items.
Implementing just one of these strategies begins your journey to protecting the planet with a tiny step. This will hopefully result in significant change for the Earth.
InsureYouKnow.org
Half of all recyclables collected in the US are made up of paper, and most often paper used to document sensitive information gets shredded and burned. InsureYouKnow.org can help you get started by assuring secure and safe storage for your digital records. Storing this information digitally and shifting billing and other communications from paper to electronic means reduces paper use at the source.
What in the World is HELOC?
August 1, 2024
When the pandemic hit and people had to spend more time at home, they also began to spend more on home improvements. As more and more people began to renovate, the prices of construction and supplies also rose. “Right now, HELOCs might be the best way to pay for home renovations for most homeowners,” says Brian Mollo, owner and chief executive officer of Trusted House Buyers.
A HELOC, or a Home Equity Line of Credit, allows homeowners to borrow against their home’s values and have access to cash they might need. It is essentially a second mortgage or if you already own your home outright, a new primary mortgage. The homeowner is borrowing against the equity of their home minus the amount still owed on the primary mortgage, if there is one.
“Because most HELOCs have a variable interest rate, you may end up seeing the actual interest rate fall, as the draw period is 10 years,” he says. A personal loan or home equity loan by contrast comes with fixed rates that won’t respond to market changes. Of course, rates could also rise, so it’s important that you could afford rate hikes if that happens.
If you’re considering a HELOC, here’s everything you need to know about the line of credit.
Borrowing From Your Home’s Equity
When you need a large loan, borrowing from the equity in your home will often get you the best interest rate. While the annual percentage rate, or APR, varies by lender, other factors include your credit score and existing debt. Lenders want to see a credit score of 620 or higher and a debt-to-income ratio less than 40%. The home’s value should also be at least 15% more than what you owe.
Usually, you can borrow up to 85% of your equity, but this varies by lender. For instance, if your home is worth $300,000 with a balance of $200,000 on your first mortgage and the lender allows you to access up to 85% of your home’s value, then you would multiply the home’s value by that percentage, or $300,000 by 0.85 (85%). This equals $255,000 minus what you still owe ($200,000), which means that you could borrow up to $55,000 with a HELOC. You are not required to use the full line of credit. So if you only need $30,000, but the lender is offering up to $85,000, you may opt to only borrow what you need.
Because a HELOC is secured against the value of your home, the interest rate is typically lower than the one you’d pay on a credit card or personal loan, and closer to that of a mortgage rate. In order to secure the best rate, it’s important to shop around with at least three lenders. Check with your bank or mortgage lender first as they likely offer discounts for existing customers. You may want to opt for lenders that offer a fixed-rate option, which lets you lock in your APR and protects your loan from rising interest rates. This will make your long-term financial planning easier.
HELOCs are Meant for Home Improvements
Most often, a HELOC is used for home repairs or renovations that are meant to increase the value of your home. The interest that you pay on a HELOC is also tax-deductible if you use the money to improve your home and the combination of your HELOC and mortgage do not exceed IRS loan limits. Lenders strongly advise against using a HELOC for anything besides home improvements. “We don’t like seeing people break into the piggy bank and take out equity for other uses,” says Melinda Opperman, president of the nonprofit Credit.org. “Homeowners should only do it if they are using the funds to improve their property,” she says.
There are two phases of a HELOC. The first is the draw period, where you make only interest payments for about the first ten years. Payments towards the principal are optional during the draw period. The second phase is the repayment period when you must make both principal and interest payments until you’ve paid off what you’ve borrowed. With the addition of the principal, monthly payments can rise sharply and surprise the borrower. The length of the repayment varies but typically lasts 20 years.In addition to the interest you’ll pay on the loan, there will also likely be closing costs, which are often between two and five percent of the loan amount. Some lenders also charge annual fees, which are usually about $50 a year.
Using a home equity line to pay for a vacation or to fund leisure is an indicator that you’re spending beyond your means. If you use debt to fund your lifestyle, borrowing from home equity is only going to exacerbate the problem. With credit cards, you are only risking your credit, but with a HELOC, you are putting your home at risk. Experts advise against using a HELOC to pay off existing debt for this same reason. When it comes to purchasing a car or paying for a child’s college tuition, then use a car loan or a college loan, as those also will not put your home at risk.
The Risk Involved With a HELOC
Another consideration to make before resorting to a HELOC is whether or not the value of your home could fall as they did in 2008 during the financial crisis. “The amount of credit available to you through your HELOC is directly linked to your home value,” says Tyler Weerden, financial planner and founder at Layered Financial. “So, what happens if prices drop? In this case, the lender can reduce or even freeze your HELOC, all while you’re still required to make the payments,” he says.
While HELOCs do come with risks, they can also be an affordable source of funds for large projects like home renovations. Whether or not the risks are worth the benefits depends on your financial situation. “The big thing to remember when taking out a HELOC is that no matter what you spend that loan on, you are using your home as collateral,” says Omer Reiner, realtor and president of Florida Cash Home Buyers, LLC. “So be sure that you can afford to pay on both your first mortgage and your HELOC every month, otherwise you risk losing your home,” he says.
A HELOC may not be the right choice for you if you are only looking to borrow a smaller amount of money. In that case, you would be better off considering a low interest credit card. Since HELOCs come with the risk that you may lose your home if you cannot make your payments, they are not recommended if you have trouble making your existing mortgage payments.
By investing in your home with a HELOC, you may end up increasing the value of your home if you plan to sell it down the road. If not, then any improvements to your home will increase the quality of your time spent there with those you love. No matter which route you take, make sure that you’re confident in paying back a HELOC. With Insureyouknow.org, you can keep all of your financial records and home improvement planning in one easy-to-review place so that you may make the best plans for both your home and financial future.
Pros and Cons of Owning an Electric Vehicle
July 15, 2024
Almost 1.2 million Americans went electric in 2023, and according to Kelley Blue Book, electric vehicles are the fastest-growing category in car sales. With states such as California putting forth legislation that will require all vehicles to be electric by 2035 and new federal regulations for all government vehicle acquisitions to be electric the same year, EV sales are expected to remain steady.
“For people thinking about going to EV, just get educated,” says CEO of ChargePoint Rick Wilmer, who operates the world’s largest network of EV charging stations in North America and Europe. “If you understand how it works on a basic level, you should be fine.” So if you’re thinking about owning an EV, here are some pros and cons to going electric.
Depending on how large the battery in your EV is and what your electric rates are, it will still cost you money to charge your vehicle at home, but it should be less than what it would be to fill a gas tank. You can calculate the cost of filling up an EV by multiplying the size of the car’s battery by your home’s electricity rate, which can be found on your electric bill in kilowatt hours (or kWh). Then you could compare that price to how much it would cost to fill up a car with gas and yield the same mileage. If you pay the 2024 national average of 17 cents per kWh and have an EV with a 65-kWh battery, then you would pay $11.05, or $0.17 × 65, to fully charge the car’s battery. At the pump, if you paid this year’s average gas price of $3.35 per gallon, then10 gallons of gas would cost you $33.50. Plus, if you utilize public chargers or have access to other free charging stations, then your gas savings could be even higher. At the end of the day, the amount of money you’ll save on gas will depend on how many miles you drive and the difference between what you’ll pay for electricity versus gas.
EVs have less engine than a traditional gas-powered car, so there are less things that can go wrong. Since there’s no engine, there are also no oil changes or certain routine engine maintenance to take care of. This isn’t to say EVs come without maintenance though. You may need to replace your tires more often due to the heavy battery and regenerative braking, which helps charge the battery every time you use the brakes. EV tires typically wear out 20% faster than a traditional car’s. While the cost of replacing a battery can range from $6,500 to $20,000, many EVs now come with battery warranties of up to eight years or 100,000 miles. Putting your savings on gas on maintenance into a sinking fund may help if you end up needing to replace the battery down the road.
Pro: Better for the Environment
EVs don’t burn gas, and even though the battery makes it more material-intensive than a gas-powered vehicle, the environmental benefits outweigh the initial environmental cost. The greenhouse gas emissions from charging the vehicle are also lower than a gas car’s total emissions, especially when the local power plants are using clean energy sources rather than burning fossil fuels.
Con: Investing in Home Charging
Unless you plan to rely completely on charging your EV in public spaces or you live somewhere that already has charging stations available, you’re likely going to have to install a charging station in your home. In addition to the cost of installing the charging station, your electric bill will be higher. How much higher your bill will be depends on your electric rate, the type of charging system you use, and how often you need to charge your battery at home.
Con: EV Range and Charging Difficulties
An EV’s range is how far a full battery charge will get you. Today, you can buy a new EV with a range between 260 and 400 miles. Even on a full battery though, most EVs won’t take you as far as most gas-powered cars on a full tank. The other downside to having to charge the battery versus filling up at a gas station is that fully charging a battery can take up anywhere between 15 minutes and 12 hours depending on the charging speed. Yet another sticking point to getting where you need to go is that it might be difficult to find charging stations along the way as EVs are still new. You’ll likely have to plan your route around where you can stop and charge up.
Con: The Upfront Cost of Buying an EV
While it’s becoming less expensive to buy EVs, they are still more expensive than your traditional vehicle. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average cost of buying a new EV was $49,507 by the end of 2022. “Buyers expect their vehicles to be affordable. Fully 74 percent of those intending to buy an electric expect their next vehicle to cost less than $50,000,” says Deloitte’s Automotive Research Leader Ryan Robinson. “With the average price of a new vehicle already approaching $40,000, that’s a very narrow band for electrics.” As production increases and technologies improve, EV prices are expected to equalize with conventional cars in the coming years. Also, the cost of buying an EV may be offset by the potential fuel and maintenance savings and the federal tax credit. This year, you may claim a tax credit of up to $7,500 on your 2023 taxes for purchasing an electric vehicle.
Are Hybrids the Middle Ground?
If you’re hesitant to buy an EV, then a hybrid car might be an alternative. Since hybrids use less gas, they are still environmentally friendly and will still cost you less at the pump. Another plus is that since they are self-charging, they don’t require charging stations. Even though skipping out on charging stations is a benefit, they do still have a battery that will eventually cost you to replace. Since you can think of a hybrid as being part traditional, there will also still be maintenance costs. They will also cost you more to buy upfront, because a hybrid uses newer technology just like an EV. If you think you can afford the added costs upfront and possibly replace the battery eventually, then the upsides to hybrids are going to be less emissions, gas savings, and hassle-free battery charging.
If you’re unsure of buying an electric vehicle, another solution may be to lease one and see if the EV life is right for you. Otherwise, as long as you think you can reduce the upfront costs of transitioning to an EV, the savings on maintenance and gas over time are appealing, while you would also be doing your part in reducing emissions. At Insureyouknow.org, you may store and access all of your financial information and vehicle maintenance records easily so that if you’re considering going electric, the transition can be seamless.