While a heat wave broke records across much of the U.S. this past week, the housing market is still a lot colder than it was last April.
Some experts do hold hope for increased activity in the coming months, especially as mortgage rates dip for the fifth week in a row.
Don’t miss
“Incoming data suggest inflation remains well above the desired level but showing signs of deceleration,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
And according to recent data, the jobs market is staying strong — with 236,000 jobs added and the unemployment rate sliding down to 3.5% in March.
“These trends, coupled with tight labor markets, are creating increased optimism among prospective homebuyers as the housing market hits its peak in the spring and summer,” says Khater.
30-year fixed-rate mortgages
The average rate on a 30-year home loan declined slightly from 6.28% to 6.27% last week. A year ago at the same time, the average was 5%.
“With inflation moving closer to the Fed’s 2% target, mortgage rates are expected to decrease further in the coming months, likely below 6% by year’s end,” predicts Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.
Lower rates will bring down monthly payments, opening doors to more potential buyers.
“If rates drop to 6%, 3.1 million more households will once again be able to afford to buy the median-priced home compared to the beginning of the year.”
15-year fixed-rate mortgages
The average rate on a 15-year home loan dropped from 5.64% to 5.54% last week. The same time a year ago, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 2.77%.
“With both homebuyers and potential sellers feeling rather dour about the real estate market … the number of homes sold will continue to be lower than one year ago for the next few months,” writes Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
This means fewer options for buyers to compare as well, although Hale notes there has been a slight improvement in sentiment as mortgage rates ease.
“If the current dip in mortgage rates can be sustained, that will keep buyers on the hunt and perhaps draw more homeowners into the market as sellers.”
Read more: Here’s how much money the average middle-class American household makes — how do you stack up?
A ceiling on the speed of recovery
While prices are still increasing and homes are spending less time on the market — which is typical for the spring season — these shifts aren’t occurring nearly as quickly as last year.
Hale says more homeowners are opting to “sit on the sidelines” rather than list their homes, while buyers stay hesitant as well, making it a “nobody’s market.” In fact, new listings are down a whopping 32% since last year.
The median listing price hit over $424,000 in March, but grew only 3.2% year-over-year, marking the smallest jump since May 2020, reports Realtor.com.
“While this week’s figures were likely extra low due to spring holidays falling earlier in 2023, the fact remains that lackluster participation from sellers may have put a ceiling on the speed of the inventory recovery,” says Hale.
“This means that buyers will continue to have to narrow their list of must-haves in order to find success in today’s housing market.”
Get off the sidelines
While prospective homebuyers may now be feeling stuck on the sidelines, real estate investors are still finding an upside — despite high inflation and uncertain economy.
That’s because, rocky conditions aside, prime commercial real estate has outperformed the S&P 500 over a 25-year period. And until recently, only the ultra rich with millions to invest were able to get in on that action. But new platforms have opened up opportunities like this to regular retail investors.
With a single investment, you can now own a piece of insititutional-quality properties leased by big brands like CVS, Kroger and Walmart — and collect stable grocery store-anchored income on a quarterly basis.
At a time when finding success in today’s housing market seems increasingly difficult, that might seem like an easy win.
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions.
This week’s episode continues our nerdy deep dive into how climate change will affect your money.
Check out this episode on either of these platforms:
Our take
Few people enjoy thinking about home and renters insurance — it’s admittedly not the most riveting subject. But climate change has upended the calculus involved with protecting our home and belongings from natural disasters, and many homeowners and renters are discovering this only after it’s too late. Homeowners in areas at risk for wildfire and hurricanes are finding it harder to insure their homes, while others have learned the hard way that their home and renters insurance does not cover damage from flooding.
In the second episode of our nerdy deep dive into the intersections of personal finance and climate change, NerdWallet insurance editor Caitlin Constantine talks with Nerd Holden Lewis, who covers all things housing and mortgages. They explore the impact climate change is having on home insurance markets around the United States and what that means for prospective and current homeowners. They also discuss the risks of being underinsured and how to make sure you have enough insurance to cover your home and belongings, as well as why you should consider flood insurance even if you don’t think you need it.
Caitlin also speaks with Matthew Eby, founder and CEO of First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research and technology company that has developed a tool to help homeowners better understand climate-related risks like flooding, wildfire and extreme heat. They dig into some common misconceptions about flooding risk and flood zones, as well as some strategies that homeowners can use to better assess their risk and to protect their homes from potential disaster.
More about insurance on NerdWallet:
Sean Pyles: Let’s say a freak storm is headed your way and there’s a chance it could wipe out your home. Homeowner or renter, are you covered? Are you sure?
Holden Lewis: The standard homeowners policies don’t cover floods, and that means that they don’t cover rising water. They do cover falling water. If your roof blows off and rain falls inside, they’ll cover that. But that’s just one type of under insurance that people have.
Sean Pyles: Welcome to the NerdWallet Smart Money podcast. I’m Sean Pyles.
Caitlin Constantine: And I’m Caitlin Constantine.
Sean Pyles: We’re back with episode two of our nerdy deep dive into the broad effects of climate change on our financial lives. Caitlin, I know you’re going to talk about this more in a little bit, but you’ve had your own brushes with housing disaster, right?
Caitlin Constantine: Yeah, so I’ll go into depth in this during the episode, but I lived in coastal Florida for more than 20 years. During that time, I also worked for quite some time in local news. So I’ve lived through multiple hurricanes and tropical storms, and I’ve also reported on the damage that they can cause. And I’ve actually been pretty lucky to have never lost my house, but I’ve seen firsthand how these storms can really cause a lot of chaos and destruction, and how the effects of those storms last for years long after the storm has passed.
Sean Pyles: OK, so can you tell us why we’re doing a whole episode on housing?
Caitlin Constantine: Sure. For most people, their house is their biggest expense, and for a lot of us it’s also our biggest and most valuable asset. And regardless of whether you’re renting or owning your home, it’s usually way up there on the list of things that take money out of your bank account. And the risks around climate change for homeowners are especially fraught because of insurance costs.
Sean Pyles: Right. And it can be hard to fully understand what you need to know about the kinds of coverage and policies that will help protect your assets from climate risk. And, Caitlin, I don’t know about you, but I did not get a Ph.D. in risk evaluation as part of my schooling, and I’m a homeowner.
Caitlin Constantine: And I didn’t either. Although a Ph.D. in risk evaluation might make my job a little easier sometimes.
Sean Pyles: Yeah, I imagine.
Caitlin Constantine: But honestly, sometimes it really does feel like you might need that Ph.D. because climate change is affecting so many parts of our lives, including decisions about where we choose to live. And a lot of it’s really kind of unknown, which is what leads to people having a lot of uncertainty and anxiety around these issues.
Sean Pyles: All right. Well, before we dive in, we want to remind our listeners to tell us what you think. Share your ideas, concerns and hopefully some solutions around climate change and finance with us. Leave a voicemail or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. Or email a voice memo to [email protected].
Caitlin Constantine: Yeah, I would really love to hear from people who have stories about how climate change or a natural disaster has affected how they think about homeownership and where they want to live.
OK. So our first guest is fellow Nerd, Holden Lewis. Holden covers all things housing and mortgages. Welcome back to Smart Money, Holden.
Holden Lewis: Hey, it’s a pleasure to be here.
Caitlin Constantine: So we’re here today to talk about how climate change is actively affecting the housing market here in the U.S. Clearly, we’ve all seen some of the catastrophic damage from natural disasters like flooding, fires, the tornadoes that have ripped through the Southeast this spring. But can you give us a sense of what’s happening even more broadly? And then we’ll get into some of these details.
Holden Lewis: Sure. If you could move anywhere, it would really be a good idea to consider the role of climate change in where you live, because places all over the country are affected by disasters and that they seem to be exacerbated by climate change. I live on Florida’s East Coast and climate change is at the top of my mind because of hurricanes. Experts have said that climate change makes hurricanes wetter. I think we saw that especially in 2017 when that hurricane hits Houston and just parked itself over there and flooded everything. Hurricanes are just, they’re dropping more rain. And then with sea level rise, storm surges are pushing water farther inland, but storm surge isn’t the only kind of flooding to worry about because heavy rainfall causes rivers and creeks to overflow their banks and that causes flooding. And then there’s something called pluvial flooding, which is what happens when it rains faster than the water can drain away.
But water isn’t the only problem. Because of prolonged droughts, we see more wildfires in the West. They’ve wiped out entire towns and they pollute the air enough to cause danger to people’s health. So there is a lot to consider. And despite all these issues, people are moving into these high-risk areas. We have 40% of Americans live in coastal area. People are moving to places with high and extreme heat like Austin and Phoenix. And 30% of American homes are in wildlands, technically called the Wildland Urban Interface. Those are places that are vulnerable to fires where basically houses are near the woods. So as more Americans live in high-risk areas, they’re in greater risk of losing their property or even their lives because of natural disasters.
Caitlin Constantine: You and I actually both have personal experience with this. You mentioned that you live on the East Coast of Florida. So just tell us a little bit more about this.
Holden Lewis: I’ve lived on the East Coast of Florida since 1999. We’ve been hit by a lot of hurricanes. I mean, there has been a few times when I’ve been able to sit on our front porch while a hurricane blew from the back of the house. So we’re sitting there in this sheltered area. My wife and I are watching entire sections of roof tiles just blow off of houses across the street and just kind of ply through the air like Frisbees.
In our house, we’ve been fortunate. We’ve had several direct heads and some damage to the house, but not a whole lot. The hurricanes do tend to blow down our wood fences. Our homeowners insurance policy has a windstorm rider, which has its own deductible. So you have a higher deductible for hurricane damage. We haven’t had major enough damage to bother with filing a claim, but I’ve spent a lot of hours rebuilding fences in very hot and muggy weather several times. So, Caitlin, you were on the West Coast of Florida, right? What was your experience?
Caitlin Constantine: So, yeah, as I mentioned in our last episode, I lived on the West Coast of Florida for about 20 years, and I left last year. When I lived there, that part of Florida doesn’t get as many direct hits as the East Coast does, but I’ve experienced my share of hurricanes as well. So you mentioned the 2004 hurricane season. We had, I think, four hurricanes crisscrossed the state within a six-week period. And that was actually when I realized that hurricanes were serious business and not just an excuse for a hurricane party. And Hurricane Jeanne, which was the last one, it actually ripped the roof off of my apartment building. And because so many other people had damage at the same time, it took a week just to get a tarp on the roof and it rained before that could happen. And so later that winter, I ended up dealing with mold all over my apartment. And that was not a fun experience.
And then I also went through Hurricane Irma in 2017, and that was probably more significant for us. It tore down my fence and it uprooted some really big trees in my neighborhood, and it left me in my neighborhood without power for a week. And this is in September, so it was getting up to be 90, 95 degrees inside my house. The linemen who rolled up to fix my power, they got the biggest, teariest, sweatiest hug from me that day. I was so thrilled to see them. And by the way, for the folks who are not from Florida who are listening, this is a common pastime for Floridians comparing notes on our hurricane stories. We all do this, right?
Holden Lewis: I have so many. I’ve heard so many.
Caitlin Constantine: Fortunately, like you, I never had to file claims or deal with insurance after any of these storms. But as many people are aware, home insurance costs really recently increased pretty significantly in Florida, and that’s in large part due to damage from frequent severe weather that happens there quite a bit. And so by the time I moved away last year, I was paying $5,000 a year for my home insurance. So with that, let’s talk a little bit about how the insurance picture has changed as the planet warms. So we all know that most people have to get insurance on their homes to get a mortgage, right? Talk us through what that’s for and what climate change has done to the calculations.
Holden Lewis: We tend to think of homeowners insurance as something that pays for home repairs if bad things happen, but it really helps to broaden that view and just to think of insurance as protecting your wealth and your financial stability and really your mental health.
So here’s how it works. Insurance pools risk. What that means is that you and other people each add to a big pool of money. And then when one of those people has damage, that person withdraws from that pool of money. The problem with disasters is that when they’re really big, whether they’re just huge geographically or very severe, that pool of money can end up being drained and then they’re still claimants who still need to draw from it. And that’s happening more and more because of the increasing frequency of climate-related disasters.
And insurance markets have suffered in high-risk states. Look at Florida. The insurance market has had challenges since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and there’s just not a lot of large insurers who want to write policies in Florida these days. And so that means the rates have just been skyrocketing. Louisiana is grappling with damage from multiple hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. The state recently approved rate hikes of 60% for its insurer of last resort. And you look at California, they’re dealing with all those wildfires that are caused by prolonged drought, which maybe has ended with all the snow this year, but that’s going to cause its own problems. And homeowners who live near wild areas are being dropped by insurers.
Caitlin Constantine: So we’ve got these issues of availability that’s happening in these high-risk states, but we’re also seeing issues around under insurance. People maybe think that they’re covered and they discover that they’re not, or they don’t have the level of coverage that they need to rebuild after a disaster, or maybe they don’t fully understand what their policies cover. It’s not uncommon for people to think that their home insurance policy will cover flood damage when that’s typically not the case.
Holden Lewis: That’s true. The standard homeowners policies don’t cover floods, and that means that they don’t cover rising water. They do cover falling water. If your roof blows off and rain falls inside, they’ll cover that. But that’s just one type of under insurance that people have. One thing to consider is that inflation and the increases in the costs of labor and supplies, that means that a lot of homeowners are underinsured and they don’t know it because they have policy limits that maybe as costs rise, those policy limits aren’t going to cover all the damage that happened.
One other thing is that I hear people say, “If I’m hit by a disaster, I’ll just rely on government grants or federal loans.” Those are probably not going to be sufficient, and that help is going to be slow. So homeowners do have a few tools to help them understand their true risk. The current FEMA flood maps are based on historical data, and that doesn’t account for future climate change impacts and it doesn’t account for flooding that’s caused by extremely heavy rainfall, but it’s a place to start.
Another thing to keep in mind is that many states don’t require sellers to disclose the flood history to homeowners or home buyers. There’s almost no federal involvement in insurance regulation because insurance is regulated by each state. So nongovernment organizations like First Street Foundation are trying to fill in those gaps.
Caitlin Constantine: And that’s actually a good preview for the second half of this episode when we’ll be talking with the First Street Foundation about how people can better assess what their true climate risk is for housing in a given area. So Holden, for those listeners who are thinking that this all sounds a little bit overwhelming, which by the way is a completely understandable way to feel, can we give people some advice for things that they can do right now to protect themselves as much as possible?
Holden Lewis: Yes. The standard advice is to review your homeowners policy every year. In my mind, that’s boring, but don’t feel bad if you don’t do it that often. But really it helps to assess your coverage. And just get questions answered when it’s time to renew that policy. So what does that mean? Well, first, pay attention to the exclusions that lay out what the policy doesn’t cover. Flooding, for example, but also earthquakes and sinkholes. Those aren’t covered. Mold damage, that’s often not covered. Talk to the agent. Find out if you have enough coverage to replace the home and belongings if it’s destroyed in a disaster or even a fire. Ask about coverage for living expenses if you’re displaced and you have to live somewhere else for a while. And are there caps on that coverage? And look into extended or guaranteed replacement cost coverage.
And then there’s also inflation guards that you can have on your policy which adjust your coverage to account for inflation. Both of those are generally going to cost more, but if you can afford it, it might be worth the peace of mind. Just make sure you have additional coverage that you might need. We recommend looking into flood insurance even if you’re not in a place that’s designated a high-risk zone. Flood insurance costs less in medium- and low-risk areas, so it’s probably worth the investment. And then, finally, just think of your contributions to climate change and how you can reduce them. Look for opportunities to decrease your carbon footprint by reducing energy usage like when you replace windows where you add insulation. And consider installing solar panels.
Caitlin Constantine: These are all great ideas and great advice. And as the home insurance editor for NerdWallet, I definitely cannot emphasize the importance of looking into flood insurance enough. There’s one more thing that we also need to talk about, which is the key timing issue on all of this, especially when you’re buying a house. So a lot of potential home buyers, they don’t really think too much about insurance when they’re going through the process of buying a house. They’re focused on the price, they’re focused on getting the mortgage. And insurance is kind of treated as this minor thing to be just checked off the list before closing, but it’s really important to think about insurance from the start to make sure that you’re fully covered should the worst happen.
Holden Lewis: It’s a really, really good point. And it’s especially important if you’re moving from a different part of the country. Let’s say you live in the Midwest or the Northeast and you move to Florida or Texas. You might be shocked at how much it costs to insure the home. What that means is it’s really increasing your monthly house payment, and that might not be something that you’re thinking about when you’re just thinking about the property taxes and the principle and the interest. So get a ballpark estimate of your insurance costs. That way you can factor them into how much you can afford to pay for the house.
Caitlin Constantine: Right. That’s such a great point. I actually read an article about a couple that retired from New Jersey to Florida thinking that they would save money on taxes and insurance, and they were absolutely shocked to find out that wasn’t the case. They saved money on taxes, but what they saved was erased by how much more they were paying with insurance.
So thank you so, so much for joining us and for sharing this really important information with us today. We really appreciate you taking the time to join us.
Holden Lewis: Hey, I appreciate the opportunity.
Caitlin Constantine: So, Sean, I dearly hope that you as a homeowner are more than adequately insured based on what Holden just told us. I know you have a house on the Southwest Coast of Washington state.
Sean Pyles: Yeah, well, I can hear the waves from my house, and I’m embarrassed to say that I do not have flood insurance. But after your conversation with Holden, I’m going to be calling up my agent, I promise. But also, Caitlin, I’m maybe spiraling a little bit about how I’m supposed to evaluate the climate risk around my house.
Caitlin Constantine: OK. Well, I’m going to be following up to make sure that you get flood insurance. But also —
Sean Pyles: Thank you.
Caitlin Constantine: Very important. But also we’re going to get a little bit into how you can better evaluate climate risk around your house with a literal expert on risk assessment. So Matthew Eby is the founder and CEO of First Street Foundation. It’s a nonprofit research and technology company that is all about risk prediction in this time of climate change. It’s developed all these cool mapping technologies that model flood, fire and extreme heat risks all over the country. And those models are integrated into real estate sites like Redfin and Realtor.com, so consumers can look up properties they’re interested in and then make a judgment about future risk.
Matthew Eby, welcome to Smart Money. It is so good to have you with us today.
Matthew Eby: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Caitlin Constantine: All right. So we have just heard from my colleague Holden Lewis about all of the negative factors that are affecting housing as we find ourselves in this era of significant climate change. Can you talk with us a bit about what you’re seeing out there and whether it’s as discouraging as it seems?
Matthew Eby: Sure. Well, the top line is the benefit that we have today is that we have data. And so we’re able to understand things that we were not able to before at a property level. So kind of what you might experience or the likelihood, the probability of an event impacting a home. So whether that’s a wildfire or a flood or a wind event or something of that nature is now something that we can understand and plan for. So while these are not great things, it’s very helpful to know what’s happening because what gets measured can be managed, and then you can do things to take proactive steps to ensure that anything that does happen can be offset with, whether it’s a risk transfer product like insurance or whether it’s something that you can do smart with your home, whether it’s elevation or defensible space from fire or a number of other things that you can do to be proactive about it.
Caitlin Constantine: Yeah. A common theme that we’ve heard over the course of this podcast is the uncertainty is a challenge for a lot of people. So your point that we now have data, that seems like it could be something that could help mitigate that uncertainty a little bit.
Matthew Eby: Yeah, that’s exactly what we do at First Street Foundation, is we work with the world’s best scientists and modelers to create transparent and peer-reviewed models that we then turn into tools that you can access free of charge on Risk Factor. So if you go to riskfactor.com, you can actually type in an address and understand what the risk may be to your home today from winds or wildfires or floods or extreme heat, and then how that’ll change over the next 30 years. So understanding that uncertainty or those probabilities and that range of outcomes that could happen really then informs those next steps for you.
Caitlin Constantine: OK. And so when, say, somebody goes and they go to Risk Factor and they put in their address, I know that I’ve done this, I’ve recently bought a house and it gave me factors for flood, extreme heat and fire, how does somebody interpret that information that Risk Factor displays on the screen when they do that?
Matthew Eby: Well, the first thing that you’re going to see is a score from 1 to 10. One being minimal where we don’t identify risk within our models and then 10 being extreme. That score for the perils that you’re talking about is representative of a 30-year ownership period. So we don’t just look at what is the risk today, we say, “OK, if you’re going to own this home for 30 years, how likely is it that you’re going to be exposed to these things that would then be potentially consequential to you?” And so that score is a really indicative of what you need to dig further on.
So if you see one of the numbers kind of above 1, you’re going to want to click in and then know what might happen from those. So if we stick with this flooding example, say you had a flood factor of 5, you would click in and then you could understand what is the actual risk to the building. Is it likely that that water would make it inside the home and cause damage? And then you want to look at other things around, because we always talk about the home may be fine, it may be that 1 like we’re talking about, that great scenario where it’s a minimal risk and we don’t see it, but your neighborhood or your roads or the critical infrastructure in your community may be at risk. Those are all things we also show within the tool. So those scores are the great place to start to know where to dig deeper. But just because you see a 1 doesn’t mean you should also not take a peek around what might be at risk for your community overall and for those other pieces of social infrastructure, critical infrastructure or other residential properties around.
Caitlin Constantine: Right. So Risk Factor is like a starting point. We know that there’s been a lot of discussion about how difficult it can be for people to assess their risk, obviously. One other thing that we have heard as a suggestion is to just go and talk to the people in the neighborhood about their experiences while living there. Does that seem like a way that you can learn a little bit more about what your risk could potentially be?
Matthew Eby: Absolutely. One thing we are always telling folks is that a model is a model and it is not certainty. What you can actually do is look at your, as many models as possible. Or if we were talking about flooding still, talk to your local floodplain manager, talk to neighbors around what you may have seen in the past. The only difficult side with that is that won’t incorporate this idea of what’s going to happen in the future. So we know from carbon emissions to greenhouse gasses that things are getting warmer. We are able to quantify the differences of what will happen in those future scenarios and then understand how that’ll change certain events like flooding and wildfire and heat and hurricane winds and things of that nature. So while the history and the historical events are very important and helpful to know, it’s also important to take all of these pieces of information together to make a very informed decision versus just relying on one of them alone.
Caitlin Constantine: That makes a lot of sense. So we’ve just talked a little bit about where future homeowners should be thinking about when they’re shopping for a house during this time of climate change and uncertainty. Can we also talk a little bit about what you buy? For instance, if you’re buying an older house or if your home has new construction, can you share a little bit about that?
Matthew Eby: Sure. So when you are looking at your property, each one of these risks are going to have different vulnerabilities to that structure. So one thing, as you just mentioned when it was built, means the building code standards were going to be either today’s because it’s a new build or one of the past building code standards that would have different rules about how it must be constructed. And so you’re going to want to look at the age, which is then driver of the building code standard, but then also sync with things like wildfire. For a lot of the homes that are on the West Coast, what are we seeing for what’s called defensible space? So is there a bunch of shrubs around the property or trees around the property? Because that’s really the major driver of what sets so many homes to actually combust, is because fires get so close under those trees and shrubs. So there’s a mixture of not just the structure itself, but also what’s around structure.
Caitlin Constantine: As somebody who just bought a home that’s near a lot of trees, I have been paying a lot of attention to that buffer zone around my home where all the vegetation is because I know that I live in the [Wildland] Urban Interface. So let’s take a bigger picture view of this and talk about what we as housing consumers, do you think that we are actually paying enough attention to climate risk when we’re looking at and thinking about where to live?
Matthew Eby: Unfortunately, it’s not something that is part of every transaction. So there are things like the National Flood Insurance Program and the FEMA flood zones, which give you an understanding of risk from flooding as FEMA sees that. But that is a stationary view of risk. It doesn’t include how this will change in the future. It’s also dependent on when those maps are made and whether they’re even available for your area. And they miss things, like they don’t include basics like precipitation flooding, so they don’t have zones associated with just rainfall flooding, which actually causes so much damage to so many homes each year.
So there’s one issue there with kind of the government standards on flooding and how it doesn’t do that. Outside of that, there’s just not data for other things, like there’s not a data for wildfires at a property level. There’s things from the Forest Service where you can go to wildfirerisk.org and get an idea of your community risk, but it doesn’t tell you about your individual property. So those are the kind of the negatives.
The positive is that data like ours is now being integrated into Realtor.com, Redfin, these types of real estate sites or brokerages like Compass that are where people are looking for homes. So they actually, “While I’m seeing the listing, I can understand the level of risk and then make an informed decision based off of it.” So while we’re making great strides, it’s just not all the way there yet.
Caitlin Constantine: I’d like to shift gears really quick to talk about people who are already homeowners, especially people who already are in high-risk areas, like places that are already seeing rising sea levels or people that are in the [Wildland] Urban Interface where fire risk is more severe. How do you talk to people about managing their risk when they already live in these places?
Matthew Eby: Yeah, I mean, the first thing you can do is just know what your risk is. Talk to your local floodplain manager, talk to your local fire department to understand what might be at risk, what might not be. And then with that knowledge, you can start to put together a plan. Is it just your individual home that’s at risk and you need to think about adaptation, mechanisms, how do you harden your home so that it isn’t as exposed to these risks if they were to happen? Or, once you see your individual home risk, how do you collectively as a community start thinking about it? But it is a collective action that if everyone is willing to, together, do the best that they can to protect the community, you’re going to be in a much better spot than you just trying to do it as an individual.
Caitlin Constantine: So if there was just one lesson that you could have people learn and understand about the risks of owning a home in this time when the climate is changing, what would that one lesson be?
Matthew Eby: I think the thing that people get wrong all the time is probabilities, because probabilities are really hard. And so when you think of a 1 in 100 flooding event, you can’t think of it as “This will happen once every hundred years.” This is a 1% risk today. And then next year you have another 1% risk and so on and so forth. So if you think of that accumulative probability without anything to do with climate change yet, means that 1% event has a 26% chance of happening over a 30-year mortgage. So if you’re planning on living in your home for 30 years and you have a 1% risk, it’s a 1 in 4 chance that horrific event is going to happen to your property. So you have to think of it as, that is a significant amount of risk and you really need to plan like it’s going to happen.
Now, you add in climate to that and it’s 1% today and it’s growing over time. Those probabilities just compound. And so really what you need to be thinking about is cumulative risk with climate change. And so what are my actual odds of this if you’re a probability person, but really just thinking about homeownership as a length of time, not like an insurance policy where you look at risk on a year-by-year basis. Think of it as the homeowner as the period that you’re going to live in it or your whole period of it’s an investment.
Caitlin Constantine: I am really glad that you made that point because I’m not going to pretend like I’m great at math, but I know that this is an ongoing challenge for a lot of people because as you said, they hear 1 in 100, one flood out of every 100 years, and then there’s a flood and they’re like, “Cool, we’re good for the next 99 years.” And as you have —
Matthew Eby: “We’re good to go.”
Caitlin Constantine: Yeah. And as you’ve just stated, that’s actually not how probability works at all.
Matthew Eby: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, the unfortunate part with flooding is that something like that happens, literally it could happen the next day. It’s just the lottery. You bought a lottery ticket and there’s a 1 in 100 chance of winning. You won. You buy a ticket the next day. You could win and get the exact same thing with flooding. But whereas something like wildfire is a little different because it needs fuel to burn. So once it burns, then everything changes. But that’s also so much more destructive than flooding. So each peril is different, but those probabilities are just so important to understand.
Caitlin Constantine: Matthew, this has been really great. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Matthew Eby: Oh, thanks so much for having me.
Sean Pyles: OK, Caitlin, the first thing I’m doing when I wrap up my work for the day is I’m going to put my property into Risk Factor, and then I’m going to study my home insurance policy.
Caitlin Constantine: That sounds like a fabulous evening. I hope that you’re going to enjoy an adult beverage along with that scintillating plan.
Sean Pyles: Yeah, maybe two.
Caitlin Constantine: I’m kidding, sort of. That’s actually a great plan and something that everyone should do regardless of whether you have an adult beverage with you or not.
Sean Pyles: Yes. So listeners, please put that on your to-do list. You will thank yourself later. But, Caitlin, can you tell us what’s coming up in episode three of the series?
Caitlin Constantine: Well, Sean, a lot of people want to know concrete steps they can take to help fight climate change. And one thing they may have heard about is what’s called ethical investing or ethical banking or ESG or sustainable banking or socially responsible investing.
Sean Pyles: OK. OK, Caitlin, I’m about to call the jargon police. These terms seem slapped together by a marketing team.
Caitlin Constantine: Oh, I agree with that. It is a lot of word salad, and we’re going to actually cut through that salad.
Sean Pyles: OK. I’m going to get a good fork and a good knife and maybe some tongs.
Caitlin Constantine: Yeah. And maybe a nice balsamic vinaigrette to go on top of it when you’re done.
Sean Pyles: Yes. Yes. All right.
Caitlin Constantine: So yes, but we’re hoping that this will give folks better tools as they’re making their decisions about how they can save the planet.
Spencer Tierney: We have to be honest with ourselves that our individual impact isn’t going to change the world on its own. It’s really going to be a group effort to create systemic solutions to climate change. And the more people who choose a bank based on its sustainable focus, the more of a hold sustainability will have in the banking industry.
Caitlin Constantine: For now, that’s all we have for this episode. So do you have a money question of your own? Turn to the Nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at [email protected]. Also visit nerdwallet.com/podcast for more information on this episode. And remember to follow, rate, and review us wherever you’re getting this podcast.
Sean Pyles: This episode was produced by Tess Vigeland and Caitlin Constantine. I helped with editing. Sarah Schlichter helped with fact checking. Kaely Monahan mixed our audio. And a big thank you to the folks on the NerdWallet copy desk for all their help.
Caitlin Constantine: And here’s our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and it may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Sean Pyles: And with that said, until next time, turn to the Nerds.
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Frugal green living is important for everyone because environmental issues affect all of us, not just the people who can afford to be eco-conscious.
Plus the concept of frugal green means you are saving money! And that is always helpful.
This is why I created this blog, to help people save money, find financial freedom, and have choices in life.
Reducing your carbon footprint is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and the planet.
But how do you save money while also making a difference? It’s possible!
This is why choosing to be frugal green is so important!
These are all frugal ways that I have personally done or heard of other people doing as well. They are tried-and-true methods of living a more frugal life, and I hope that you will find them helpful. Plus help the environment at the same time.
This is a win-win situation.
Have you ever wondered how to be environmentally friendly?
Do you want to save money and the environment at the same time?
This article has 91+ frugal green living tips that will help! Let me know which ones are your favorites!
How to save money and be frugal green?
There are many ways to be frugal green and save money while helping the environment.
Plus in the long run living green costs less.
We will cover ideas for your kitchen, car, shopping and so much more. There are many other ways to be frugal green, so find what works best for you and make a difference!
These are ways to live more sustainably while saving money.
Importance of Sustainability and the Environment
You can save money and help the environment without making any major changes to your lifestyle.
Some easy ways to do this include, but are not limited to, changing your habits at home, buying used instead of new, and being more conscious about how you use energy.
Every day you can make the decision to choose to be a thrifty person.
Top 10 Best Frugal Green Living Tips
In order to save money and be more environmentally friendly, try some of these tips:
1. Reduce your use of plastics. This means bringing your own bags to the grocery store, refusing straws when you order drinks, and not using disposable utensils or plates.
2. Make Recycling a Priority. Recycling is important, and everyone should do their part to make it a part of their everyday routine. It’s not just for plastics and paper- there are many different things that can be recycled. By taking small steps like bringing a reusable coffee mug, we can all make a big difference in the long run.
3. Ride a bike or walk instead of driving. Not only is this better for the environment, but it’s also a great way to get some exercise.
4. Do the “green thing” and buy things secondhand! When you’re considering your lifestyle choices, buying things secondhand is a great way to do the “green thing.” You can save money and help reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills.
5. Only buy what you need. Many times we buy things out of convenience or wants. Truly evaluate whether the purchase is necessary or if you can save money by buying used.
6. Compost as much as possible. Not only does this help reduce waste, but it also helps create nutrient-rich soil for plants.
7. Consider your carbon footprint. Americans use a tremendous amount of resources and impact the planet in many ways. We consume a lot of energy, materials, and water. Our lifestyles have a big environmental impact. There are many ways to be frugal and environmentally conscious, including recycling and reducing food waste.
8. Cut Out Paper and Plastic Waste. One way to be more frugal and green is to reduce the amount of paper and plastic waste you produce. Technology has greatly improved in many ways to cut down on plastic and paper consumption, so take advantage.
9. Think Before You Throw Away and Buy New. We are way too quick to toss things and replace them without even thinking. Next time before you throw it into the landfill, think about how you can reuse, repurpose, or give away the item.
10. Upcycle. The concept of upcycling has gained popularity in the past years. It is a simple way of taking something ugly and worn down, putting some TLC into it, and making it into something beautiful.
Related Reading: Top 10 Influential Frugal Living Tips with a Big Impact
Being frugal and being environmentally conscious may not always go hand in hand.
In some cases, you may have to make a choice between buying an eco-friendly item that is more expensive or sticking with a cheaper, non-sustainable option.
However, many of the aims of frugal families link to eco-friendly living.
Below are simple sustainable products to consider buying instead of their wasteful counterpart.
Reusable food bags are a great way to reduce your environmental impact while also saving money.
There are a variety of different types of food grade eco-friendly bags on the market today. They are made of safe, eco-friendly materials that will not harm the environment and they are lead-free, chloride-free, and BPA free.
Bamboo straws are a great eco-friendly alternative to plastic straws.
They are compostable, meaning they will never pollute the environment or harm animals. Bamboo straws are odorless and tasteless, so you can use them with any drink. Reusable bamboo straws make a great addition to your everyday kitchen supplies.
These dish cloths are also super absorbent and work better than microfiber cloths and paper towels for cleaning.
They are made from cellulose, which is a soft material that is gentle on your hands. They can be used for a variety of tasks, such as dishwashing, wiping down counters, and polishing furniture. And they are durable enough to be reused multiple times.
A reusable K-cup is a great way to reduce your environmental impact while enjoying your favorite cup of joe.
Works perfectly in our house! Not only do they help you save money in the long run, but they also allow you to customize your coffee experience like never before. Plus, using a reusable k-cup is an easy way to reduce waste and help preserve our planet.
Frugal Green in the Kitchen & Table
There are a number of ways to save money and be frugal green in your kitchen.
Use a Reusable Coffee Mug. So simple and easy to do. Pick your favorite up here.
Skip plastic straws. This is a simple thing to do for the environment. Buy reusable straws. And don’t forget the cleaning brush (hint… the cleaning brush will save you from throwing away your reusable straws.)
Skip the Paper Plates and Plastic Utensils. You will be shocked to see the waste this creates. Invest in quality dishes you like and don’t be afraid to wash them up.
Invest in a Water Filter. If you’re looking for ways to improve your diet and save money, consider investing in a water filter. We upgraded to an under-the-sink mount water filter and it was the BEST choice ever! This is the exact one we bought.
Cook at Home. Making your own meals can save you a lot of money in the long run. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by cooking simple meals yourself.
Grow a Kitchen Garden. One way to reduce your food costs is to grow some of your own fruits and vegetables. You can start with a kitchen garden, which is a small plot of land near your house where you can plant fruits, vegetables, and herbs. if you don’t have space, check out these Aerogardens.
Stop Using Plastic Wrap. To reduce your reliance on plastic wrap is to invest in some beeswax food wraps. These work just as well as plastic wrap, but because they’re made of natural materials, you can reuse them over and over again!
Air dry dishes. This is because air-drying dishes use less energy than running a dishwasher and takes up less time.
Stick With Instant Pot. When you’re cooking, try to use a microwave or pressure cooker instead of your oven. Ovens produce a lot of heat and use up a lot of energy, so using these other appliances will help conserve resources. This is the Instant Pot/Air Fryer Combo I love (and use ALL.THE.TIME)!
Frugal Green Cooking & Menu Plan
This may not seem as environmentally conscious as other areas, however, it will help your wallet more.
Buy produce at the local market. Fruits and vegetables tend to be cheaper at the market than they are at the grocery store, so this is a great way to save some cash while also doing your part for the environment. Plus you save on the costs of trucking in the produce and support local.
Join a CSA. These community-supported agricultures have become popular ways for consumers to buy local and seasonal food directly from the farm. You normally have a dollar amount buy-in or a certain number of hours worked for food.
Enjoy Organic Foods. Organic foods may be worth the extra cost – organic food has a higher nutritional value than conventional food, plus it’s better for the environment because it doesn’t require pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
Go Meatless. Americans, on average, eat twice the recommended amount of meat. Meat production is one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Consider your carbon footprint when making dietary decisions.
Shop Grocery Weekly Ads. Start by looking out for food sales at the grocery store. This can help you save money while also being more mindful of the environmental impact your food choices have.
Meal Plan. One great way to save money on groceries is to plan your meals ahead of time. This allows you to be more strategic in your shopping and can help you avoid buying items that you don’t need.
Use Leftovers. When you’re cooking a meal, always cook a little more than you need. This way, you’ll have leftovers that can be used to make another meal or stored in a glass jar for later use.
Pantry Challenge Time! One way to save money on your groceries is to consider doing a pantry cleanse. This means eating all the foods in your pantry that are sitting there. Then, only buy groceries that you know you’ll use. This can help you avoid overspending and wasting food.
Skip Pre-Made or Boxed Mixes. Making your own is a more affordable option, as pre-made or boxed mixes can be expensive. There are many recipes online that are healthy and affordable, and by planning ahead you can save time and money.
Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store. A lot of people want to save money and be more environmentally friendly, but don’t know where to start. One way to do both is to try to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. This means avoiding the center aisles, where most processed foods and extra packaging are found.
Buy Generic Brands. Generic brands are less expensive than their name-brand counterparts. This is because generic brands do not have the same marketing and advertising costs as name-brand products. Many times the quality is the same or better!
Key Frugal Green Ideas While Shopping
These are environmentally friendly ways to improve your shopping habits. Many people may call this frugal minimalism.
Donate First. It’s easy to just dispose of something when it’s no longer needed, but sometimes that thing could be reused or recycled. For example, if you have an old TV that isn’t being used, try selling it or donating it before throwing it away. There are a lot of people who might need your old TV, and you can get some money for it if you sell it.
Buy Refurbished. On the other hand, if you’re in the market for a new TV, think about buying one that is refurbished instead of buying a brand-new one. Refurbished electronics often come with the same warranty as new ones and cost way less than buying a brand-new model.
Try Fixing First. Just because something is broken doesn’t mean you have to throw it away! Many times, things can be fixed very easily and cheaply. If your electronic device is leaking toxic chemicals, however, you should definitely not try to fix it yourself–take it to a professional recycler instead.
Reuse your own grocery bags. This will save both money and the environment, as disposable grocery bags often end up in landfills. Also, many stores are now charging for grocery bags, so save a few bucks at the store.
Do not buy new books. You can borrow books from the library or from friends, or you can buy them used. Buying new books wastes resources, and it’s often cheaper to buy them used.
Use the Library. The library has a wealth of books, movies, and music that you can borrow for free. Plus you can find access to tons of digital resources as well.
Shop Second-Hand Stores for your needs. These are great places to find clothes, furniture, and other household items at a fraction of the price.
Stop buying the paper version of the newspaper. Instead, get the daily news online for free. Not only will you save a few bucks each month, but you’ll also help reduce deforestation.
Shop at Sustainable Businesses. Thankfully, many companies focus on being sustainable businesses by making changes from production, to packing to shipping. As a whole, the industry could do better to create less waste. One sustainable company is the Everyone Store.
Think Twice on Gifts. Really consider what someone would want for a gift. Too many times we opt for quick and cheap gifts that are materialistic in nature and never be used. So, consider some of these money gift ideas instead.
Frugal Green Cleaning Products that Are Eco Friendly
You may not be environmentally aware of the hazards of using most cleaning products. In fact, you should check your normal cleaning products with EWG’s database and their standards.
DIY Baking Soda & Vinegar. Using green cleaning products is usually more expensive than traditional ones. Baking soda and vinegar are easy-to-find, cost-effective alternatives to environmentally unfriendly cleaners.
Use Microfiber Cloths. Personally, this is my favorite way to cut the expansive (and not-good-for-you) cleaning products. These microfiber cloths are just as effective at cleaning and will save you money in the long run.
Skip the Disposable Rags. Use up-cycled rags from old clothes to pick up spills.
Stop Using Air Fresheners. Reduce or eliminate the use of air fresheners, which release harmful chemicals into the air. Plus they are super costly!
Frugal Green & Energy Use in the Laundry Room
Use Detergent Powder. Washing your clothes in a washing powder uses less water than liquid tabs, which come in more plastic packaging. Also, the powder is a much better environmental solution and better for your body. This is the detergent powder we use and love (and those I recommended it to love it as well)!
Sniff Test. Implement the sniff test and only wash clothes when they fail the sniff test. Beware of this recommendation with teenagers!
Line Dry Clothes. Additionally, line drying clothes throughout the year can save a ton on your energy bill! Plus your clothes do not wear as quickly.
Watch Your Hot, Wash in Cold. One easy way to save money on your household bills is to reduce the amount of hot water you use. Heating water takes up a large percentage of the energy used in households, so by washing your clothes in cold water, you can cut down on your energy usage significantly.
Frugal Green in the Bathroom & Morning Routine
Use Less Shampoo or Soap. In order to save money on your grocery bill, you can use less shampoo than is recommended. If everyone did this, it would result in significant monetary and plastic savings.
Turn the water off while brushing your teeth. It is important to turn the tap off while brushing teeth in order to conserve water. Many people forget to do this, and as a result, millions of gallons of water are wasted every year.
If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If the toilet water is yellow, it’s ok to let it mellow. You don’t have to flush to turn it off every time. Thanks to auto-flush toilets in most places this is very common for people to forget to flush at home.
Take Cooler Showers. This may not be everyone’s favorite. But take a cool shower rather than a piping hot shower. Most of the energy used is the hot water heater warming up the water.
Use Every Last Drop! There are a few ways to get the most out of your products and conserve them- one way is to leave bottles upside down for a couple of hours after you’ve used them so that you can get the last bit of product out. You can also roll up toothpaste tubes to get the remaining paste out. Here is a great product to help you squeeze every expensive ounce out.
Related Reading: Billionaire Morning Routine: How To Achieve Success In Life
Green Lot with Frugal Green Landscaping
Xeroscape Your Lawn. Lawns are often seen as a status symbol, but they’re actually quite expensive and environmentally damaging. They require large amounts of water, fertilizer, and pesticides to maintain, which can leach into the groundwater and pollute the environment.
Change Mowing Schedule. Additionally, lawn mowing emits greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
Water Less Often. While this sounds great in theory, you may not be able to fully switch to xeriscaping your yard. If you can’t switch, then check out this Rachio to lessen your dependence on water.
Frugal Green Home Ownership
There are many ways to save money and be more environmentally conscious at the same time when owning a home.
Your home is probably one of your biggest expenses, so it’s important to take measures to conserve energy and save money. Plus there are many ways to reduce the amount of energy your home consumes!
Home Improvement Math. When considering whether or not to make an improvement to your home in order to reduce your carbon footprint, always do the math to see if the improvement will actually pay for itself. Sometimes it will and sometimes it won’t so be sure to weigh all of the options before making a decision.
Downsize Your Home. If you live in a large house, consider moving into a smaller one. This will help you save on your energy bill and make your home more efficient.
Install low-flow fixtures. One way is to install low-flow fixtures, such as showerheads and faucets. This will reduce your energy use and, in turn, your monthly bills. You can also save water by taking shorter showers.
Hang UV Blocking Curtains. By stopping the sun from heating up your house with curtains during the day, you can save on cooling costs in the summer. Using UV blocking curtains is something we did and notice a significant difference in the summer and winter.
Run Appliances with Full Loads Only. Wait until you have a full load of dishes or laundry before running the dishwasher or washing machine. You would be surprised at the amount of energy and water it takes to run those appliances.
Be Reasonable with Air Conditioning Temperature. In the summer, don’t crank up the air conditioning to save on your energy bill. You can also set your thermostat a couple of degrees higher in the summer to save money. Also, you may want to start cooling your house earlier in the day to prevent your AC unit from working overtime and consuming more energy.
Program Your Winter Heating Temperature. In the UK, A/C is not as common as it is in other countries. Central heating is used more often and is set to a lower room temperature for the summer and a higher room temperature for the winter. This is because people want to save on their energy bills.
Open Windows to Cool House. When the weather is nice, open your windows to allow for natural cooling. This is a simple and cheap way to cool your house. Especially after a nice cool thunderstorm.
Buy Energy Efficient Appliances. Energy-efficient models might be more expensive in the short term, but they will save you money in the long run and help reduce your environmental impact. However, these products should only be bought when the older model is worn out–don’t replace something just because it’s energy-efficient!
Replace Windows. On the one hand, it’s a great idea to replace your windows with more energy-efficient models if you’re staying in your home for many years. However, if you plan on moving within a few years, it might not be worth the investment. You’ll need to weigh the cost of the windows against how much money you’ll save on your monthly energy bill.
Get a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats are a great way to save money on your energy bill. You can set them to turn off or down when you’re not at home, or during times of the day when you don’t need as much heating or cooling.
Look for Energy Leakage. The typical older home has enough energy leakage that it’s the equivalent of leaving your front door open all year long. You can combat this by installing weather stripping and caulking around doors and windows and adding insulation to your attic. Most utility companies offer an energy audit.
Weatherize your Home. Weatherizing your home is a great way to improve energy efficiency and save money on your energy bills. There are many things you can do this and varies on the area of the world you live in.
Sustainable Frugal Green Transportation
Ditch the Car Completely. One of the biggest expenses for many people is their car. Whether you’re paying for car payments, insurance, gas, or maintenance, it can be a lot of money. You can eliminate this expense by ditching the keys and taking public transportation. Not only will you save money on your monthly expenses, but you’ll also help the environment!
Buy Hybrid Cars. Hybrids cars are expensive but they could help you save money on fuel in the long run – hybrids tend to have lower emissions than conventional cars. So, it might be time to say bye to that beater car.
Drive Less and Play Your Route. Driving less is the biggest way to reduce fuel-guzzling trips. Take it a step further with UPS research on their strategic delivery methods and focus on making only right-hand turns.
Carpool Whenever Possible. carpooling is a much more green choice than driving alone.
Look Into Car Sharing. When you only need a car occasionally, or for short trips, it might be more convenient and affordable to use a car-sharing service. Car-sharing services offer the opportunity to have access to wheels when you need them, and they’re flexible and convenient for short trips.
Invest in Electric Scooter. This mode of transportation is the uber-popular. You don’t need cash for gas, money for registration fees, and completely reliable to get around quickly. Check out the best electric scooters on the market.
Ride a Bike. A commuter bike is much cheaper than a car. Plus you get the added benefits of exercise and no carbon waste. Or upgrade to an E-bike.
Telecommute. If you can do your work remotely, then telecommute more often than not. This will save on transportation costs as well as pollution.
Walk More Often. Plan your day around being able to walk places that take under 30 minutes to get there. Then, it is better to walk than drive. Plus you can hit your 10000 steps quicker. It is a triple for the win – health benefits, free exercise, and fresh air!
Don’t Run Your Engine Unnecessarily. Leaving your engine running unnecessarily while stationary can waste fuel and cause environmental damage. Make sure to turn your engine off when you’re not moving to save money and help the planet!
Drive More Efficient. When it comes to saving fuel, one of the best ways is to drive more slowly and efficiently. This will help you save petrol or diesel and reduce your carbon footprint. For example, slowly put your foot on the accelerate to maintain a speed.
Frugal Green Budgeting Per Month
Choose To Save Rather Than Spend. Every tie you actively choose to save your money rather than spend it. You help the environmental impact. We have plenty of popular money saving challenges to help you save more money today.
Pay Bills Online. When you pay bills online, you can save a lot of time, space, and money. You can also save paper by paying your bills online–instead of receiving paper statements in the mail, you can access them online.
Find Free Things to Do. This one is a win-win for frugality environmentalism. Focus on finding activities from this list of things to do with no money. Many of them are already frugal green wins.
Opt for Paperless. And finally, if you pay your bills online, you may automatically receive discounts on some of your monthly bills! Many companies now charge a $2-5 paper statement to be mailed.
Focus on Financial Independence. This may seem like a crazy idea, but it is true. The more you save, the faster you reach financial independence. In fact, this is with the Frugalwoods decided to be frugal in the first place.
Follow Simple Frugal Living Green Ideas – Way to Go Green
Reduce, reuse, recycle. This old mantra is more important than ever in today’s world. By recycling everything you can, you can help conserve resources and keep waste out of landfills.
Your Mindset is Everything. Just like with anything, if you decide to commit yourselves to become environmentally aware, then you are likely to succeed. You don’t have to become extremely frugal overnight. You just have to remember that mindset is everything in this process.
Turn off electronics when not in use. This includes televisions, computers, and other appliances. By turning them off, you’re conserving energy (and saving money). Plus some older appliances might be fire hazards if left plugged in.
Stop Junk Mail. One way to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive is to go through your postal mail and ask to be removed from lists you’re not interested in. This can be done by contacting the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) or specific companies that send you unsolicited mail.
Grab a Sweatershirt or Blanket when Cold. Instead of automatically adjusting the programmable thermostat higher, you can also save by wearing a sweater or using a blanket. Maybe turn on the fireplace before putting the heating on.
Invest in Renewable Energy. In today’s world, it is more important than ever to invest in renewable energy. There are many reasons for this:
First and foremost, using renewable energy helps to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which are finite and contribute to climate change.
Renewable energy also creates jobs and supports local businesses.
And finally, investing in renewables reduces our greenhouse gas emissions, helping to fight climate change.
In the long run, renewable energy can save you money and reduce emissions by providing power more reliably, often more cheaply than a traditional power source.
Are You Ready Live Life Frugal Green?
Living a more frugal lifestyle is good for the environment because it costs less.
It doesn’t take much to make small changes in your life that will have a big impact on the planet. For example, consume less and you’ll be doing the most earth-friendly thing you can do.
There are dozens of ways to save money and be more environmentally conscious which we covered in this post.
Being frugal and being green often go hand in hand.
However, most people lose steam after just a couple of weeks. So, do not attempt to do each frugal green living habit.
Pick your top 3 with the biggest impact.
Add one another 1-3 frugal living tips every month or so.
Over time, you will be surprised to see how easy it is to live frugal green, while also helping you to save money while also protecting the environment.
You can be the frugal green girl or gal with a few of these simple habits. Or choose to follow a frugal blog or frugal forum.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Buying a house is like dating: When you find the right one, things will fall into place, and it usually happens when you least expect it. For my husband, Scott, and me, that house took the form of a 1950s-era brick ranch house. We envisioned it as a place of weekend escape from our busy work lives in New York City. We were newly married with no kids (yet), and we were full of excitement and possibilities. Of course—having worked at interior design magazines my entire career and having a firsthand look at the most exquisite living spaces in the world—I was eager to finally try out interior decorating for myself.
ELLE DECOR’s style director Parker Bowie Larson standing in the entryway of her home.
Read McKendree
Needless to say, we were in the dark—at times literally. We spent our first night without light because we didn’t consider the fixtures the home had. Then there was the time the heat didn’t turn on and we slept through the night in 40 degrees thinking that the burner must be broken, only to learn from the heating company that we were out of oil and why didn’t we call them immediately? As my husband and I talked about our budget, it became clear that we would need to do the house in stages and live happily with folding tailgating chairs as an excuse for living room furniture longer than we thought. Thankfully, the previous owners had left some beautiful blue-and-white curtains by Kravet, so we had some semblance of ambience.
The living areas of Parker Bowie Larson’s house were railroaded, so she chose a round clamshell-top dining table and Rajasthan bone inlay chairs by Made Goods to break up the rectangular shape of the spaces.
Read McKendree
Mishaps aside, the first challenge was to figure out how to use the living spaces. Our house had three and followed an odd railroaded floor plan where one space flowed directly into another. The first one had a sloped wooden ceiling, which felt befitting of a cozy TV room. I ditched the tailgating chairs in favor of a David Easton sofa from Kravet, a small antique desk and chair for writing letters, and a lounge chair and ottoman upholstered in a Hill Brown fabric.
The larger of the three rooms, complete with a beautiful working fireplace, felt perfect for a more formal living room. Luckily, thanks to those blue-and-white Kravet curtains, I was able to stick to my favorite color scheme and reupholstered two antique bergères in a Manuel Canovas Bagatelle fabric with a coordinated houndstooth pattern for the back. To break up the combined spaces, I went with a circular table and Indian bone inlay chairs by Made Goods for the dining area. But my favorite pieces arrived via truck from my alma mater state, North Carolina: antiques from grandmother. I have always been very close to my grandparents and having their furniture surround us felt particularly comforting. My grandmother’s accompanying handwritten note listing where every piece was from made it even more special.
See More of Parker’s Long Island Home
For years, we lived with only half of our house done, but once we found out we were expecting our first daughter, it was time to decorate the rest. Even though I was having a girl, I painted her room my favorite color, Carolina blue, using hot pink fabrics for the window shades and upholstery paired with a painted white floor. For the second bedroom upstairs, which we made a guest bedroom, I went with a hot pink paint color called Peony from Benjamin Moore, contrasting it by using an indigo blue Indian floral pattern from Les Indiennes for the bedding and curtains. This was the first floor that felt truly “done” to me, thanks to our elbow grease, and I was so proud to bring my daughter home from the hospital and see her wonder at the colors and patterns (although her favorite thing was looking at the trees through the window by her changing table).
Read McKendree
During the pandemic, we felt lucky enough to move out to our house full time. With daughter number two on the way, we quickly realized we needed a space for toys and for our little ones to play, so the next and final project was finishing our basement. I collaborated with Denise Davies and Karri Bowen-Poole from Project Playroom, whom I had recently worked with on a kids’ room story, to create the playroom of my girls’ dreams. Smart play is critical to Davies and Bowen-Poole’s ethos, so we installed a rock climbing wall, monkey bars, and swings, which allowed my daughters to work on their motor skills and saved us on many a cold and rainy day. California Closets designed and installed shelving to store and organize their games, toys, and crafts, and I used a fun macaron wallpaper from Wallshoppe to complete the whimsical look.
Larson collaborated with Project Playroom to create the perfect recreational space for her kids.
Read McKendree
With the kids’ spaces complete, I had to surmount perhaps my biggest challenge: convincing my husband of the merits of bold wallpaper. We redid our own primary bedroom using the Oiseaux & Feuillage pattern from Antoinette Poisson for the walls and a simple blue check by Chelsea Textiles for the window coverings, adding in molding for extra architectural detail. For the entryway, I decided to go with a beautiful floral from Raoul Textiles and complemented it with one of their blue moiré patterns in an adjoining hallway. Strategically, I installed everything while my husband was away. When he arrived home, he commented, “It looks like a bunch of girls live here.” It was an apt statement as I reminded him we had a third daughter on the way.
After eight years feathering our nest, we put our home on the market to find a new place that would accommodate our growing family. It was bittersweet. But despite my husband’s opinions, all the painting, wallpapering, and decorating paid off: We were in contract within a week of putting it up for sale. Even the rock climbing wall and swings were a huge hit (one real estate broker told us it was the best playroom he had ever seen), and we were so happy when we learned that the new homeowners wanted us to leave them.
Read McKendree
Your first love always sticks with you, and so does your first house. Our home started out as our escape and became our haven during the pandemic. It will always be part of our family as we remember how it welcomed each of our three girls home. As we settle into our new place, I’ve taken the lessons from our first one with me, first and foremost the idea that it’s OK to take your time. The second, and most important, is that your home is an expression of who you are, and you should never be afraid of choosing the patterns and objects you love. But, perhaps, I will leave those tailgating chairs behind.
Style Director, ELLE Decor
Parker Bowie Larson is the Style Director for ELLE Decor, covering everything interior design-related ranging from tabletop to furniture to kitchen and bath, and has previously worked for Architectural Digest and Cottage Living.
After some investigation, I saw the problem: the electric company charged a $200 deposit fee for starting electric service at our new house.
The deposit was supposed to be waived, since we had a good payment history with the electric company. Only here it was, on our bill. And since we’re on autopay, the electric company had already collected payment.
After calling and sorting out the matter, the electric company said they’d give us a credit on our next bill.
That wasn’t a solution I exactly loved, since it meant that our bills would be higher than usual that month. Maybe I should’ve fought them on that, but I didn’t. Also, we could cover the overcharge easily enough, so I figured, what’s the difference?
But it did make me think about whether automatic payments are really such a great idea.
Autopay Doesn’t Mean Autopilot
Autopay is great because it’s convenient, requiring no action on our part to avoid late payment fees. There’s nothing to mail and no logins or passwords to remember. I never have to wonder, “Did I remember to pay the electric bill?”
“Autopay is also an especially appealing feature for young adults just starting out in the real world because it makes it very easy to pay the bills,” says Robert Long, managing editor for Kiplinger.com. “But it can be a trap.”
For instance, bills that have a variable rate, like your electric bill, can be especially tricky to track if you schedule automatic payments to cover them. “My bill might be $50 at one time of the year or as high as $200 other times of the year, depending on how much I’m using the heat or AC,” says Long.
And if a couple of bills are higher than anticipated, you could end up with a low bank balance, or even overdraft charges.
“Giving debtors access to your banking account can open you up to accidental overcharges, whether it’s a legitimate bill that’s just higher than you expected or it’s an accidental billing error where you’re being charged a little or a lot more that you should be,” says Long.
For instance, you might have a recurring annual contract, like a gym membership, that you didn’t want to renew but forgot to cancel. Or maybe you’re disputing a bill, but in the meantime the company is still charging you and taking the money out of your account.
“Autopay can be too automatic,” says Long. “It puts control into the hands of the debtor because they can go into your account. Maybe one time out of 100, there’s an accidental overcharge or you’re getting scammed, but either way it takes that control out of your hands.”
It’s easy to set it and forget it
So why is a service that’s supposed to make life easier so problematic?
For one thing, many of us treat bills on autopay like a Ron Popeil rotisserie oven — we set them and forget them.
For instance, I like not worrying about my electric bill. But I admit that I’m not disciplined about checking the bill every month. And would I notice if the overcharge hadn’t been so large? Probably not. But with no real action required on my part to pay the bill, when life gets hectic, I don’t always review the charges like I should.
Two solutions to autopay problems
As with most things in life, you have to do what works for you, and autopay is no different. As Kiplinger writers Amanda Lilly and Stacy Rapacon discussed in a recent article, there are pros and cons to automatic payments, and sometimes what works for you changes as your situation changes.
So let’s talk about a couple of options.
Option #1: If you hate the idea of letting a creditor have access to your money, then skip autopay altogether. You can still enjoy many of the conveniences of autopay with online bill payment.
“Personally, I recommend going with online bill payment, but not autopay,” says Long. “Autopay puts control in hands of debtors, but with online bill pay, you’re in control.”
Option #2: If you’re concerned about avoiding late fees, use autopay, but use it wisely.
Here are a few ways to use autopay carefully:
Pay with a credit card first. If, and only if, you use credit cards and pay your balance off every month, consider autopaying with a credit card when possible. It gives you extra time to dispute charges and keeps your cash safe in the meantime.
Only autopay set charges and minimum payments. If you’re worried about too many higher-than-expected variable bills socking it to your balance, don’t put those bills on autopay. Just set up automatic payments for the non-variable bills like Netflix. It’s also pretty low-risk to set up autopay for minimum payments, such as on credit cards, to avoid accidental late fees.
Mark electronic bills as high priority. Flag them, filter them, or tag them — just have a system to mark your electronic bills as high priority. It’s easy to let bills get piled under other emails, which means you’ll forget to review them.
Opt for payment notifications. When you set up autopay for a bill, many times you’ll have the option to be notified of the bill via text or email before the payment goes through. So opt in! It’s just one extra assurance that you’ll know what you’re about to pay.
Keep an eye on your bank account. There are a few things you can do to protect your bank account. One, double-check the automatic payments on your bank statement every month to make sure they’re for the right amounts. Two, “make sure you’ve got enough cushion in your account so you won’t get hit with overdraft fees,” says Long. This is especially important if you have variable bills on autopay. And three, sign up for balance notifications to make sure you don’t overdraw. “Set up automatic alerts from your bank or a site like Mint to get an alert when your account dips below a certain level,” says Long.
For some people, automatic bill pay causes more stress. For others, it gives peace of mind. Personally, I’m liking the idea of taking my variable-rate bills off autopay. That way I won’t find out that I’ve been overcharged after the fact. I’ll just pay online each month, which always prompts me to review the bill.
So readers, weigh in! Do you pay your bills manually, automatically, or on a case-by-case basis? What tips or cautions can you add?
Nobody ever said finding “the one” was easy. It takes some time, a great deal of persistence, and definitely the commitment to make your way through a few bad eggs before finding one with potential.
The same is true for finding your ideal apartment– it really does take the same amount of dedication. However, in the same way that it’s hard to know if you’ve landed a guy or gal you could commit to, it’s also tough to know while apartment searching when you’ve found the place you want to snatch up.
Every place is going to have its advantages and disadvantages. So, to give you a little assistance on your apartment quest, here’s how to know you’ve found the one:
You Like Your Landlord (and Your Lease)
It’s important to enter into a lease confident in your landlord’s expectations and dependability. You don’t want to get stuck with no heat mid-December, only to find out you have a landlord who’s no help at all.
When talking (whether in person or over email or phone) to potential landlords or building managers, pay attention to how they answer your questions or concerns and how quickly they respond. Find someone who you like and feel you can trust.
Also, be sure the terms of your lease are OK. If no utilities are included and the rent is already on the high end of your budget or there are strict lease terms you can’t really agree to, the situation may not be the right fit for you.
It’s Well-Maintained
No renter should have to live in a place that’s constantly in need of repairs, small or large. During your apartment search, observe the overall condition of the building and the apartment, including its floors and walls.
Then, inspect appliances, heating and cooling systems (if applicable), and faucets and fixtures in the kitchen and bathroom to make sure everything is in good working order. Don’t feel bad about taking the time to do this– as they say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Your Location is Ideal
You should have done ample research on the best neighborhoods for you before beginning your apartment search. If not, consider whether the locations of the apartments you’re viewing are a good fit for you.
Is the neighborhood safe? Is the commute to school or work reasonable? Is the area easily accessible by public transportation or is there parking nearby? Are all of your everyday necessities in the vicinity (i.e., a grocery store, coffee shop, pet store, etc.)?
The Price is Right
It’s always best to go into apartment hunting with an ideal budget in mind, but you should nail down a maximum price you’re willing to stretch to in case you aren’t finding anything within your optimal price range.
Your apartment may be “the one” if it’s a little over what you’d like to spend but makes up for that with amenities and location. Perhaps, for example, an apartment with a nice workout facility is more expensive, but then you could also cancel your gym membership to offset that added cost.
However, that doesn’t mean you should go over what you can reasonably pay per month.
It Has Your Non-Negotiable Amenities
Personally, I can’t live in an apartment without a dishwasher. In my experience, that will result in a sink constantly full of dirty dishes and an overextended food budget. Why? Because I’d rather buy food than clean my dishes and make meals at home.
Decide what your non-negotiable amenities are before apartment searching. Your ideal apartment should have as many of these as possible.
It’s the Right Fit for Your Furry Friend
Do you have a pet? Or are you considering getting one in the near future? Then the apartment has to be the right fit for your furry friend too. You wouldn’t marry someone your kids (assuming you have them) didn’t like, would you?
In any case, look for a place that has the right setup, amenities and location for your pets, and make sure the added deposits, fees and monthly rent will still keep the place within your budget. If you’re wondering how to know if a place is good for animals, look for other signs of dogs or cats in the building, like an outdoor doggie play area or a jar of treats at the front desk.
Keep in mind that it’s rare to find a “perfect” apartment. Much like finding the man or woman who is “the one” for you (you know, if you believe in that sort of thing), finding the right apartment may mean having to make a few compromises. While you shouldn’t settle for something that truly isn’t a good fit, give yourself a little wiggle room in all of these categories and look for a place that meets your most important criteria.
Moving is stressful enough without causing an explosion. Setting a fire, losing your cherished memories, and poisoning yourself are all bound to ruin move-in day. With that in mind, here are nine things you should never put in a moving truck:
1. Photo Albums
Photo albums aren’t going to do any harm to the other items in your moving truck, but they’re at risk themselves during a move. Accidents happen in moving trucks, whether it’s something falling down, a box getting misplaced during unloading, or even (rarely) something dramatic like a fire. If you have any albums of particular significance, make sure they’re in the car with you when you move.
2. Pet Food
Let’s imagine a scenario – you get to your new place, and your puppy is ready for his evening meal. So you put him in his designated room, put down a bowl of water, and grab a bowl for food. But wait! Where is the dog food?
If it’s tucked somewhere amid the furniture and boxes, you’ll have no way to get it out for your pup. Set aside at least two to three servings of pet food, so you don’t risk having to scramble to find the kibbles.
3. Flammable Material
Fires can happen in moving trucks, particularly if there is any flammable material to get things going. This means no lighter fluid, alcohol, nail polish remover, or anything else labeled “Keep away from open flame” in the truck. If there were a spark, or the van got hot, these materials could have your stuff up in smoke before you even realized there was a problem.
4. Things That Go ‘Boom’
In the same vein, you cannot put anything combustible into a moving truck. For some items, like fireworks, this might be a little obvious – others, however, are easier to overlook. For example, you can’t have any aerosol cans in a moving van, whether they’re full of tile cleaner, cooking spray, or deodorant. Anything that can explode has no place in a moving truck.
5. Medications
This is one of those items that seems obvious, but is still worth stating, just in case – don’t put your meds in a box in your moving truck. Any prescriptions you take regularly will be a serious pain to try and find amid the many boxes. That’s assuming, of course, you don’t take any emergency meds: In that case, putting meds in the van could cause a life-threatening situation.
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6. Perishable Foods
Some foods can’t move with you, and that mainly includes any food that can’t survive outside of the fridge. If you put perishable items in your moving van, the odds are good they’ll have spoiled by the time you arrive. Best case scenario, you notice and throw them out – worst case, you give yourself food poisoning.
7. Fertilizers and Pesticides
Anything you’d describe as “poison” should be kept out of your moving van. Fertilizers and pesticides can leak chemicals into anything touching them, which is why you keep them far away from the rest of your stuff. That shouldn’t change when you move – find a safe way to transport them that doesn’t involve your moving van.
8. Important Paperwork
Never transport important documents in a moving truck. Too much can go wrong for this to be safe or wise. Keep your tax information, IDs, passports, health info, will – basically anything you can’t afford to lose or replace – with you, ideally from the moment they leave their proper place until the moment they’re returned.
9. Temperature-Sensitive Stuff
Are you a musician? If so, keep your instrument with you so you can make sure it doesn’t warp with the temperature changes in the van. The same goes for any item that can be affected by extreme heat or cold – moving vans aren’t exactly known for their temperature regulation, so your items will be at the mercy of the elements.
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It’s that time of year again. The joyous, magical time of giving and receiving!
What do I want for Christmas?
This is a question that you may find yourself asking this time of year.
It can be hard to ask someone what they would like as it feels kind of weird and embarrassing! Even worse, is actually telling someone exactly what you want.
Many times people are so caught up in their own lives, with work and school, and other things going on, that they don’t know what the best gift to give each other might be! The last thing anyone needs is more stress (or anxiety) around the holidays.
So, I have compiled a list of some ideas for what you might like as a gift this Christmas!
To kickstart this list, I asked around to my besties – both women and men what they really want for Christmas. This list is from real people!
Guaranteed you will find the perfect gift for that someone special on your list!
things I want for christmas
I hope this holiday gift guide helps give you some ideas for what to ask for this year!
Deep down, I want big things like travel, quiet time, health, and hanging out with my family. But, my family always wants ideas.
Regardless, if you have a big Christmas list or small one, here are great ideas for you.
What do I want on my Christmas list?
When it comes to Christmas lists, it can be tough to figure out what you actually want.
After all, there are so many things to choose from! But don’t worry, we’re here to help.
Consider the five-gift rule:
Something I Want
Something I Need
Something to Wear
Something to Read
Something to Do
Some great gift ideas for Christmas include clothes, books, movies, gift cards, and experiences like a trip or a concert. But remember: these are just suggestions! You should put whatever you want on your list–after all, it’s your Christmas present!
What Do I Want for Christmas?
Hey everyone, it’s that time of year again when we all start to think about what we want for Christmas.
Personally, I’ve been doing a lot of online shopping and have compiled a list of items that I would love to see under the tree on December 25th.
If you’re like me and still haven’t decided on what you want, don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with this ultimate holiday gift guide.
1. Headphones / AirPods
First up are headphones. There are a ton of different options when it comes to headphones, but I love my Apple AirPods I received a few years ago.
The price tags on most of their devices seem steep at first, but you can find some great entry-level ones that offer great quality.
I highly recommend quality headphones for your Christmas wish list.
2. Money
Money is a popular gift option because it offers a lot of flexibility. You can use it to buy anything you want, and it’s always appreciated. Some people find it difficult to ask for money or receive it as a gift, but with the right attitude, it can be a great way to show your loved ones that you care.
One way to give money as a gift is in a brainteaser box. This fun idea turns giving money into a game, and your friends and family will love trying to figure out how to open it.
However, before you can enjoy the benefits of being on the giving or receiving end of money, you need to have realistic expectations.
Money doesn’t buy happiness, and expecting too much from your loved ones can lead to disappointment.
If you’re feeling brave, why not ask for money this Christmas? It’s always better than expecting something expensive from your loved ones. Here are great money gift ideas.
3. Digital Photo Album
One of the favorite features on my phone is when random picture memories pop up! It makes my heart sing!
If you want a unique gift that will always have these happy photo moments, consider a digital photo album.
This is a great way to store and organize all of your photos in one place, and it’s also easy to share with friends and family.
There are many different options when it comes to digital photo albums, so you can find one that fits your needs. For example, if they like to travel a lot, you might want to choose an album that includes GPS tracking so they can always know where their photos were taken. Or if they’re into scrapbooking, find an album that allows them to add text and other elements to their photos.
Whatever option you choose, make sure the digital photo album is easy for your loved ones to use. The last thing you want is for them to be frustrated with trying to navigate through all of their photos!
4. Shiatsu Massage Chair Pad With Heat Function
If you’re looking for a massage chair pad that will help alleviate muscle soreness, easy neck stiffness, and eliminate fatigue, the Shiatsu Massage Chair Pad With Heat Function is an excellent choice. This product comes with a rolling and spot massage, providing a comfortable, soothing feel to muscles. Plus, it’s an excellent alternative to a full-body massage chair if space and cost are constraints.
The Shiatsu Massage Chair Pad With Heat Function is made with a washable and reusable fabric. It also has anti-slip feet on the bottom to stay in place. The heat function can be turned off if desired, or there’s a timer that will automatically shut it off after 10 minutes of use. You can buy this product on Amazon and way cheaper than a full massage chair.
5. Indoor Smart Herb Garden
If you’re looking for a unique and special gift for the gardener in your life, look no further than an AeroGarden In-Home Garden System. This garden kit takes care of itself and can be placed anywhere in the house–no green thumb required!
The Smart Herb Garden is a great way to get started with gardening, and it’s also perfect for anyone who wants to add scent and beauty to their home or apartment.
You can purchase additional seed pod kits as well.
6. LiLash Purified Eyelash Serum
If you’re looking for the best beauty splurge, look no further than LiLash Purified Eyelash Serum.
Their eyelash serums are made with natural vitamins and minerals to give you noticeable results in just 6 weeks, and full results in 12 weeks!
LiLash is a purified eyelash serum that is vegan, gluten-free, non-toxic, and cruelty-free. It has over a million users and a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. They’re also easy-to-use and fit right into your daily routine.
I want to splurge on this eyelash serum to lengthen and thicken my lashes!!
7. Shower Bluetooth Speaker
Do you hate having to stop your music or podcast when you go in the shower? If so, I have the perfect solution for you!
A shower speaker is a small, water-resistant speaker that can be used in the shower, by the pool, or anywhere else near water. They are often Bluetooth-enabled so that they can be connected to a phone or other device for streaming music.
The Oontz shower speaker is waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof. That means you can take it with you wherever you go without having to worry about it getting wet or damaged.
The battery lasts forever on a single charge, so you can use it all day long if you need to. And if that’s not enough, there are a lot of popular Bluetooth speakers on the market, but this is the one I personally have. So no matter what kind of music or podcast lover you are, there’s sure to be a speaker that’s perfect for you.
So check them out today and get ready to rock out in the shower!
8. Everyday Hammock Chair
If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the person who wants to slip away and relax, look no further than a hammock! This high-quality hammock chair is made of oak wood and is personalized with the user’s name on it. It’s also a great gift for any occasion!
While many think hammocks are for camping or for hikers to relax after a long day of trekking through the wilderness, they are perfect for ANYONE who needs an escape to quiet. And what could be better than getting to relax in your very own personalized hammock?
Hammocks make a great gift for any occasion, but it’s especially perfect for Christmas.
9. Breville, the Barista Express, Espresso Machine & Specialty Coffee at Home
The Breville Barista Express is a high-quality espresso machine that is perfect for the at-home coffee lover.
The machine is compact and easy to use, making it a one-stop shop for quality espresso.
The Barista Express also delivers fresh, quality espresso in under a minute, so you can get your caffeine fix quickly. Getting authentic café style results in no time at all.
10. Instant Pot Duo Crisp Large 11-in-1 Air Fryer & Electric Pressure Cooker Combo
Instant Pot has come out with a new product that is sure to be a hit every holiday season. The Duo Crisp Large 11-in-1 Air Fryer & Electric Pressure Cooker Combo.
This is something I always wanted, but never wanted to research which one is best. So, my mom bought this one for me. I absolutely love it! And we use it multiple times per week.
This product is a pressure cooker and air fryer combo with 2 convenient removable lids. This means that you can air fry your food in one multi-cooker and easily transition between pressure cooking and slow cooking.
11. Himalayan Rock Salt Lamp
Salt lamps have been popular in western nations for a while now, and for good reason. They offer a number of benefits to those who have them in their home. improved energy, better sleep quality, and purified air are just a few of the advantages you can enjoy from having a Himalayan Rock Salt Lamp.
People who have salt lamps often report multiple benefits from having them in their homes. Some people find that they help improve their moods, while others appreciate the added beauty that the circular design brings to their décor. And unlike traditional lamps, these Himalayan salt lamps are flicker-free, meaning you can read or relax near them without being disturbed by any light flickering.
We have a Himalayan Rock Salt Lamp in each of our bedrooms.
If you’re looking for a unique and beneficial gift this holiday season, consider gifting someone a Himalayan Rock Salt Lamp.
12. Spa Gift Set For Women
When it comes to finding the perfect gift for a woman, sometimes it can be tough to think outside the box. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! This year, consider a spa gift set. Women love to relax and pamper themselves, and what better way to do that than with a luxurious set of spa products?
Hint…hint… a spa gift set is always a great option!
No matter what type of woman you’re shopping for, there’s sure to be a spa gift set that’s perfect for her. Whether she loves spending time at the spa or just enjoys pampering herself at home, she’ll love these luxurious gifts.
So if you’re stuck for ideas this Christmas, why not go with something she’ll really appreciate – time to relax and be pampered?
13. Stress Reliever Ball
Do you find yourself feeling stressed out often? If so, we have the perfect solution for you!
This Serenilite Stress Reliever Ball is perfect for relieving some tension during the workday. It’s a fun addition to your desk or party, with the goal of bringing relaxation into your life when you need it most.
Each ball is made with three densities – soft, medium, and hard. Perfect for strengthening your grip, joints, and muscles.
14. Gemstone Birthstone Necklace
This necklace is a beautiful piece that would make the perfect gift for any occasion. It comes with one pendant and is made of high-quality materials. The pendant measures approximately 13 millimeters in height and is sure to impress.
This minimalist-style gemstone birthstone necklace is perfect for anyone who wants a unique and personalized piece of jewelry. The pendants are engraved and sealed with the month of your choice, making it a special and one-of-a-kind gift.
Who doesn’t want a personalized item for Christmas?!?!
15. Deep Tissue Muscle Treatment Portable Handheld Massage Gun
This handheld massage gun is perfect for those who need deep tissue muscle treatment. It comes with several adjustable speeds to help tense muscles, relieve pain, and increase blood flow. The Shiatsu massage is an added bonus that helps make this gun a great choice for anyone looking for relief from muscle pain.
This device is a great option for those who are on a budget or live in small spaces. The rolling and spot massage work on the back, but this device can be used anywhere on the body.
16. Traeger Wood Pellet Grill
A Traeger wood pellet grill is a great gift for the holidays because the user can control it from anywhere with WiFi and Alexa technology. The grill also has a built-in meat probe, so the user can cook to perfection every time.
They are known for their 6-in 1 versatility, which allows you to use it as a grill, a smoker, a bake oven, a roast oven, a braise pot, and even a BBQ pit.
Traeger is the original creator of the wood-pellet grill. Who says mama can’t smoke meat too?
17. Fitbit Versa 2
The Fitbit Versa 2 is the latest and greatest addition to the Fitbit family.
This smartwatch has all the features you need to help you stay on track. You can create alarms, set reminders, check the weather or start an exercise with Alexa. Plus, it comes in a variety of colors to fit your style.
This smartwatch has an always-on display mode and Fitbit Pay, so you can easily check your pace and distance during a run or pay for something without having to take your wallet out. It also has built-in GPS, so you can track your progress on runs or hikes. Plus, the battery life varies with use, so it’s perfect for people who want a watch that does it all.
So overall, the Fitbit Versa 2 is exactly what you want for Christmas!
18. Robot Vacuum Cleaner
If you’re looking for an easy way to keep your floors clean, a robot vacuum cleaner may be the perfect solution. It was for me!!
Robot vacuums are automatic vacuum cleaners that do not need cleaning themselves and can be charged automatically. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with multiple cleaning modes and auto-clean scheduling.
Some of the more popular brands include iRobot, eufy, and Shark. While there are many robot vacuums on the market, each has its own unique features that set it apart from the competition. For example, some models are designed for pet owners or have special attachments for dealing with tougher messes.
When shopping for a robot vacuum cleaner, it’s important to consider your specific needs and budget. Many models are available online, so be sure to do your research before making a purchase. Less time cleaning is a win for you!
19. Kindle Paperwhite
If you’re looking for an e-reader this holiday season, the Kindle Paperwhite is a great option.
It’s easy to hold and use, and you can read in the sunlight without any screen glare. The Kindle Paperwhite also comes in a size similar to a regular novel, which makes it more comfortable than an ordinary book for readers of all ages. Plus, the Kindle e-Reader can hold thousands of books, and the battery lasts for weeks. And with the Kindle Unlimited, users can read as many books as they like from the store.
The Kindle Paperwhite is a popular option for those looking for an e-reader, and it’s great sale price — less than other options on the market. So if you’re looking for a great gift that your loved ones will actually use, be sure to consider the Kindle Paperwhite!
20. Memory Jars
Memory jars are a great way to capture memories and moments from your life. They can be filled with photos, tickets, mementos, or any other item that holds sentimental value to you. You can create a memory jar for any occasion-a birthday, graduation, wedding, or just because.
To make a memory jar, start by gathering your supplies. You’ll need a jar (or container) of some sort, Mod Podge or another sealant, paintbrush(es), photos or other items to decorate the jar with and scissors. Once you have your supplies ready, it’s time to start creating! Or you can buy straight from Etsy!
Just be sure to include the year so you can look back on your memories later!
21. Desktop Stand for Printer
This desktop stand is perfect for your printer and a great way to save space in your office!
The stand is stable and sturdy, making it perfect for stacking printers, fax machines, scanners, and other office equipment. The height-adjustable skid pads protect your table and floor from scratches or scuffs, making it easy to clean.
Pretty solution for your cluttered desk!
22. Outdoor String Lights
Outdoor string lights are a must for the holidays. They add a touch of festivity and cheer to any setting. I highly recommend these weatherproof string lights. They are beautiful, durable, and long-lasting.
This is more of the ambiance you have wanted on your patio, right? Each set is 25 ft, 50 ft or 100 ft in length.
Perfect to decorate your outdoor space!
23. Rain Shower Head
This rain shower head is a great upgrade from an old, rusty shower head. It provides good water pressure and is easy to install.
As for the shower head set, it comes with an 8′ large square rainfall showerhead, a high pressure handheld shower head, and a filter. The 8′ large square rainfall showerhead has a 360 rotation angle-adjustable solid ball joint nut for reliable leak-free connection and different angle position showers needs. The 5 setting handheld shower head is suitable for baby shower, massage or pets shower, etc.
Time for a quiet shower with your newly installed rain shower head and your Bluetooth speaker!
24. Collapsible Folding Tailgating Table
If you’re looking for the best gift for a tailgater, look no further than a collapsible folding tailgating table!
This gift is perfect for someone who needs to set up multiple tables in short periods of time. Plus, it’s very easy to transport and store – perfect for when you need to take your gear on the go!
Also perfect for the sports family who is always on the go and setting up meals in the parking lot of a sports complex.
25. UV Smartphone Sanitizer
The smartphone Sanitizer is a device used to clean your phone of germs and bacteria. It can be used for things like jewelry or even keyboards.
The sanitizer kills 99% of germs in 5-10 minutes and comes with a charger! This portable charger is affordable, easy to carry, and may be the answer to what I want for Christmas.
No more germs around the things you touch the most. Get your UV sanitizer for your home.
26. A Vitamix because you deserve it
A Vitamix blender is a great gift for anyone who loves to cook and wants to eat healthier. They are known for their high-quality construction, durability, and powerful motors that can blend even the toughest ingredients.
The variable speed control allows you to customize your blending experience, while the large batches make it perfect for preparing food for a crowd.
It has a 7- year full warranty, meaning that it will be covered for any damage or defects for the first seven years after purchase. I can attest they stand by this because my motor was replaced and it runs like new!
Best Christmas gift to myself – my Vitamix!
27. MICHLEY Unbreakable Wine Glasses
If you’re looking for a great gift for clumsy drinkers, look no further than the MICHLEY Unbreakable Wine Glasses!
These glasses are made of durable plastic and can withstand even the most strenuous of drinking sessions. Whether your loved one is an occasional drinker or not, these glasses will make sure their wine never ends up on the floor again. So why not give them the gift of unbreakable wine glasses this Christmas?
28. Bathtub Caddy with Gold Handles
This bathtub caddy is handmade and made to order.
You can choose from 20 different color options, and the board is made of knotty pine planks.
Imagine relaxing after a stressful day! Great for setting drinks, food, books, etc. Wouldn’t this be a perfect addition to your bathroom?
29. Subscription Gift Sets for Women
There are many different sets to choose from, so you’re sure to find one that fits the woman’s personality.
If she’s into fashion, consider buying her a set that includes designer handbags, jewelry, clothes, or tickets to a show. Or if she’s more of a homebody, go for a set that includes candles, bath salts, and other relaxation items.
No matter what set you choose, the woman is sure to appreciate your thoughtfulness. So why not surprise her with a gift set this Christmas? She’ll love you for it!
30. Yoga Leggings
Looking for a comfortable and stylish pair of leggings to wear this holiday season?
Look no further than the Healthyoga Yoga Pants! Made with a breathable and soft fabric, as well as a high-waisted fit, these leggings are perfect for people who work out or just want to feel comfortable during the holiday season. Plus, they come in several colors and patterns, including one that features beautiful butterflies.
Please don’t tell anyone how many pairs I already own; yet, I still want more!
What’s more, these leggings are perfect for people who like to take their workouts outdoors. They do not ride up when in the squat position, and they also have a handy pocket that is the perfect place to store essentials like your ID, phone, or keys. So don’t wait any longer–order your yoga pants today!
What Christmas Gifts Do I Want?
Christmas is a time where we all get together with our loved ones and exchange gifts.
It’s always a lot of fun to see what everyone gets, but sometimes it can be difficult to come up with ideas for what to put on your wish list.
If you’re struggling to come up with some ideas, don’t worry we included plenty of gift ideas to help you out!
What to consider when buying a gift for someone?
When buying a gift for someone, it is important to consider their interests and what will make them happy. It is also important to think about the occasion and what type of gift will be appropriate. If you are not sure what to get someone, it is always a good idea to ask them what they would like.
Another option is to give a handmade gift. This could be anything from a cake or cookies to jewelry or a scarf. The advantage of this type of present is that it’s personal and made by you, which makes it extra special.
Finally, if you’re still stuck for ideas, why not give a gift card? This gives the person receiving the present the freedom to choose something they really want. It also means you don’t have to worry about getting the wrong thing!
When buying someone a Christmas gift, it’s important to put some thought into it and make sure it’s something they’ll really like.
what do u want for christmas
That’s the question on everyone’s mind this time of year. And most of us are too afraid to articulate. Maybe you are hoping for a new outfit. Or maybe you’re hoping for something a little more luxurious, like a trip to Europe.
First, you need to be open and honest about what you want for Christmas.
We all want… Santa to come bearing gifts!
Now, Share What Do I Want For Christmas
I have you covered. Share this post with family and friends with numbers of which gifts were intriguing to you.
That takes the awkward conversation of gifts during the holidays.
Christmas is about love, joy, and giving gifts – not about getting the most expensive thing on the wish list.
But, here are the must-have items we heard loud and clear when asking around about what do I want for Christmas.
This will guarantee success this Christmas season and beyond!
Even better, you can order online from the comfort of your own home! Right now!
Also, this article has something for everyone and is perfect for any occasion. Whether you’re looking for a gift for Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or just because!
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
Christmas is a time filled with joy and wonder. It’s the best season of the year to celebrate all that life has given us.
I wanted to share 93 things you can do on Christmas Day, from spending quality time with your family over a cozy fire in your fireplace or at an outdoor party, playing games around the house (even if it means taking turns), making food for others during holiday celebrations, going outside for walks during snowfall so we stay active and healthy this winter, and even taking a day off from work to do something relaxing.
Are you looking for a list of activities to do on Christmas Day that is fun?
Don’t worry, I got your back. Here is my list of over 90 ideas so you can spend the day with friends and family in style!
To be honest, this is my list of favorite things to do on Christmas Day.
If you need ideas, then start here…
What to do on Christmas day?
There are a variety of things you can do on Christmas day to make the most of the holiday.
You have to decide how you want to spend the day.
We will cover ideas with family, in the kitchen, with kids, at home, and just for you!
Quick Christmas Things to Do
You could help your loved ones decorate the yard with some inflatables– there are plenty of options available, from classic characters like Santa and snowmen to silly options like dinosaurs and unicorns.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you could even head out for a hike in the morning- nothing beats fresh air and stunning views in winter.
Once you’ve worked up an appetite, why not prepare a festive feast? There are plenty of recipes online that will let you show off your culinary skills. Or if cooking isn’t really your fancy, take advantage of convenient delivery services and enjoy Christmas dinner without having to lift a finger.
Once everyone’s bellies are full, it’s time for some fun (or a nap)!
Get the family together for some party Christmas games or put on a movie marathon. Whatever you choose to do, make sure to savor every moment spent with your loved ones- after all, Christmas only comes once a year!
What are some traditions people have on Christmas day?
There are many different family Christmas traditions that people partake in.
Some common traditions include:
Counting down to Christmas
Doing crafts on December 25th
Exchanging gifts.
These traditions are often passed down from generation to generation and are a lot of fun for both children and adults.
Another popular tradition is saying “Merry Christmas” to one another. This usually happens when family members gather together to celebrate the holiday.
Families come from all over to spend time with each other on Christmas day, and the joyous atmosphere is something that can’t be replicated any other time of year.
What do people typically eat on Christmas day?
Christmas is a time when many people come together to celebrate. While the exact traditions may vary, there are some acts that remain the same. For example, many people will eat turkey, mashed potatoes, and cookies on Christmas day (source).
If you’re looking to give back to your local community this Christmas, consider donating to your local food bank. Many food banks are able to help those in need during the holiday season and beyond.
Things to Do on Christmas Day with Family
Every year in December, the holiday season brings a rush of family time.
Christmas is a day that you can spend with your family, and there are plenty of things for the whole family to enjoy on this special day.
Here are some activities to enjoy with your loved ones on Christmas Day that you might not have thought about:
1. Spend time with family and friends. This is probably the best part of Christmas day! Enjoying good company is what makes this holiday special.
2. Karaoke Time. If you have a talent (or not) for singing, take turns with your family and friends by caroling the Christmas classics..
3. Watch Christmas Movies. Pick one of the many Christmas-themed movies that are on TV or streaming online to get into the spirit of Christmas. Watch classic holiday films like “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “A Christmas Story.”
4. Game Night. There are a lot of fun and interactive ways to keep you entertained this holiday season, including board games and card games! Start a family competition with bragging rights for the whole year!
5. Eat Christmas Snacks. What is Christmas without the traditional treats? Enjoy some of your favorite holiday foods, like cookies and candy canes.
6. Christmas crafts. There are a lot of fun DIY projects you could do this year to celebrate the holiday season, like making decorations or ornaments.
7. Host a Christmas party. If you’re hosting a Christmas party this year, make sure to get into the spirit of the holiday event by decorating your house and putting up a Christmas tree!
8. Refine Your Christmas traditions. There are some fun family traditions you can do this year, like baking cookies or watching classic holiday movies. Pick a handful of activities you want to do each year.
9. Prepare Christmas dinner. The Christmas meal is a big part of the holiday tradition, and there are lots of different foods you can make for your family this year — from ham and turkey to yummy desserts!
10. Make cookies. If you want to make Christmas cookies, now is the time to start thinking about what kind of treats you’d like to make. You can use a recipe, or you can make up your own recipe.
11. Video Chat with Your Family. Time to say hello to your family that you don’t get to see in person. Get on Zoom, Whatsapp, or Facetime with your family, even if they’re not in the same country.
12. Have a Family Meeting. What are some matters you can do as a family to help you focus on the true meaning of Christmas? Write them down and discuss how you can incorporate these into your holiday.
13. Puzzle. At my aunt’s house, there was always a puzzle on the table. Family members would stop and put a puzzle piece together while chatting and laughing.
14. Stream the Nutcracker Performance. Do you have a favorite performance of The Nutcracker? Be sure to watch it on Christmas day, even if it’s just for an hour or so.
15. Make Gingerbread Cookies. If you want to do something really special for someone, try making gingerbread cookies! Bake up a batch of gingerbread cookies with your family.
16. Craft a Gingerbread House. Cut out gingerbread men, stars, and snowflakes from construction paper or cardstock, then use them to decorate a gingerbread house. You don’t have to use the traditional kit with frosting.
17. Listen to Christmas Music. There’s nothing like listening to some holiday music while you’re baking cookies or hanging out with family and friends on Christmas Day.
18. Play the Game “Secret Santa.” If you’re hosting a holiday party this year, why not play the game “Secret Santa”? Everyone brings an inexpensive gift to the party, and then one person is chosen to be Secret Santa. Everyone draws a number, and the person with #1 picks out a gift from Secret Santa’s pile to open. Then everyone else has to figure out who their Secret Santa is by guessing which person brought them their gift.
19. Ugly Sweater Contest. You might even want to combine it with a white elephant gift exchange!
20. Christmas Scavenger Hunt Game. This is a fun activity for the whole family. Have each person do some research about Christmas traditions from around the world, and then come up with an item to bring back that symbolizes one of those countries. Or press the easy button and pick a ready-to-go Christmas scavenger hunt game.
More Things to Do on Christmas Day at Home
Christmas is a time for family get-togethers and relaxing with loved ones. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it’s still a fun day to have some activities that are holiday-oriented.
As the saying goes, “The home is where the heart is.” Here is a list of more fun things to do on Christmas Day at home.
21. Read a Christmas book. Pick up JK Rowling’s latest, The Christmas Pig.
22. Write Letters to Open on Milestone Christmases. Write a letter to your future self on Christmas day, putting any sort of advice you give to yourself as well as predictions you have. Pick milestone years. For example, when you celebrate Christmas with your baby, when your kids leave for college, or even the first Christmas without a parent.
23. Create a “Christmas Bucket List.” What are some undertakings that you want to experience in your life? Create lists for everything. For example, family trips in which everyone gets to pick the destination, a Christmas wedding, or even watching your children give their first speech.
24. Eat Christmas Cookies. Bake some sugar cookies and spread a bunch of frosting over them to make them look like Christmas trees.
25. Christmas Movie Marathon. Watch all of the Christmas movies!
26. Listen to Christmas songs. You could listen to some of your favorite Christmas songs while hanging out with friends and family. you’re decorating the tree or wrapping presents.
27. Shop Online for What You Didn’t Get. Buying a gift for your future self is a bit of an existential dilemma: what do you want to have? Truly people didn’t listen to what do I want from Christmas.
28. Send Christmas cards. If you’re going to be sending out Christmas cards this year, now is the time to start thinking about who you want to send them to! Better late than never!
29. Host a Party. Plan an open house for Christmas, and invite friends and neighbors to enjoy food, games, and gifts together.
30. Book Reservations. Those experience gift ideas need to be booked and put on the calendar.
Things to Do on Christmas Day In the Kitchen & Food to Eat
As Christmas Day approaches, now is a great time of the year to start planning what you plan to eat, make and bake in the kitchen. Whether you like cooking or not, there is something for everyone on this list from the kitchen to the backyard.
The Christmas season is a time to celebrate with family and friends. And food brings people together.
So, here are some fun activities you can bake on Christmas Day:
31. Make Christmas Star Bread. This is one of the traditions in our house. Please note, that you need to start this a day in advance. Here is our favorite Christmas star bread recipe.
32. Christmas Morning Brunch. This is a Sunday tradition in our house, but for Christmas, we have the favorite egg casserole prepared in advance for no work needed during opening gift time! Always cooked and ready to be enjoyed once everyone is done opening presents.
33. Bake and Decorate Christmas Cookies. My friend, Haley, over at If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen, always has great cookie ideas. And they are delicious!!
34. Cook a Fancy Meal. Let’s be honest… You more than likely don’t have the extra time to spend time in the kitchen and try a new recipe you have been wanting to try! Christmas is the perfect day to spend time cooking to your heart’s content.
35. Plan a Themed Christmas Dinner. Say bye-bye to classic turkey, ham, and beef! Each year choose a new theme for dinner. Here are some of our favorite themed ideas: Italian, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean, or Costa Rican Casado. Even football favorite appetizers! Every seven years there is guaranteed to be football on.
36. Mix a Christmas Cocktail. Enjoy being by a nice fire and enjoy watching the snowflakes fall. It sounds perfect, right?
37. S’mores by the Fire. Who says, campfires and summer are the only time for smores. Grab the sweet supplies, jackets, and blankets, and nestle around a firepit.
38. Serve Cake for Dinner. Serve your family a big slice of cake for dinner instead of turkey or ham. Can you see their faces of amazement!?!?
39. Make a Christmas Tree Out of Fruit and Vegetables. This is a fun activity for kids of all ages.
40. Cook Frozen Pizza. This doesn’t happen often, but it is always well received by my crowd. Pizza for the win!
Things to Do on Christmas Day with Kids
Christmas Day is a time for family, and often children are the ones who make it so memorable.
To help you find something fun to do with your children on Christmas day we have compiled an extensive list of activities that you and the kids can do together.
41. Open Christmas Gifts. Yes, this is what kids look forward to the most each Christmas. In fact, here are $10 gifts approved by my own kids.
42. Play in the snow. Throw a snowball, build a snowman, or make snow angels. Kids NEED to get outside and burn off their energy.
43. Play hide-n-seek outside. No snow? Don’t worry. Start a game of hide-n-seek outside. The last one to be found picks the next activity.
44. Candy Cane Hunt. First of all, you need a lot of candy canes and some good hiding places. Make sure you count all of the candy canes before to make sure you find them all!
45. Make Christmas Tree Ornaments. This project is perfect for the kids in your life! I love how easy they are to make and that they can be decorated however you choose.
46. Decorate Windows with Paper Snowflakes. This is one of the best activities for kids to improve their motor skills. How many can you make? And what size snowflakes? This is a great project for kids! They can make them any size they want and hang them on the tree or around the house.
47. Visit Local Attractions. Every city may have something cool on Christmas Day that is open. Check out Living on the Cheap for your closest city for local attractions.
48. Art4Kidz Hub. Seriously, they have some of the best videos on how to draw! Hours of entertainment. Plus their artwork can turn into thank you cards!
49. Make Kid Christmas crafts. This is a fun way to do something different from presents. Spend quality time making various crafts. Just make sure to buy the craft supplies in advance!
50. Play kid-approved board games. Time for a family game night or afternoon. Invite friends and family over for a game of Uno, Connect Four, or Apples to Apples! Even Scrabble or Monopoly- so many fun options!
List of Crafty Things to Do on Christmas Day
Christmas is one of the most exciting and fun holidays to be a part of. But everyone loves it when they get something in return for all their hard work, right?
So, spend the day doing the craft projects you always want to do!
Here are some great ways to give your friends and family something special.
51. Photo Book. Photo Books are a great way to preserve memories for special occasions. Plus, they can be shared with other people so everyone is able to see the good times! You can create a printable photo book or a digital photo book.
52. Make Christmas Ornaments. Christmas is the best time of year to wear new ornaments! You can make some really fun and unique ornaments using recycled materials, like bottle caps.
53. Make Christmas Headbands. These are so adorable for little kids and adults alike! They can be made in any colors you choose.
54. Decorate Homemade Gift Bags. Gift bags are a great way to personalize your gifts and make them look extra special!
55. Make A Holiday Recipe Book. Create a recipe book for all of your holiday dinner favorites. You can include the recipes for stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and any other dishes that you love to cook during the holidays. Here is the digital recipe book organizer I use.
56. Create a Card Christmas Tree. Arrange photos and Christmas cards to make a Christmas tree on the wall. Even wrapping paper can be reused to “build” your tree.
57. Make New Year’s Cards. Seriously, it is SO stressful trying to get Christmas cards out in advance. So, let’s start sending New Year’s cards instead.
58. Make a Christmas Tree skirt. This one has been on my list forever. So, I decided to dedicate time on Christmas to finally complete my project.
59. Put Together A Memory Box. This is easy, but thoughtful idea that you can give as a gift to your family. You can fill the box with photos, recipes, and other special items that you have collected over time.
60. Make Salt Dough Ornaments. This is a fun and easy project. I love how they look on the tree, too!
Outdoor City Attractions to Do on Christmas Day
Open the door and enjoy the weather. Whether you go for a walk, play in the snow, or go for a drive, getting some fresh air is always a good idea.
On Christmas Day, many attractions and businesses are closed. So, opt for open parks and space for your wintery fun!
You can even pair the outing with these National Park gifts.
Snow is here, but it doesn’t have to be all about snow. Take advantage of the winter weather and get outside for some fun activities!
61. Run a Christmas 5k. Running has become a prominent form of health and fitness activity in recent years. Have fun during a fast-paced run (or walk) by taking on a Christmas 5k. Challenge your friends and family to join you!
62. Take an ice-skating lesson. If you’ve never tried ice skating before, this is a great way to dip your toes in.
63. Go sledding! You may not have the equipment for traditional snow tubing, but taking a trip down a hill is just as much fun.
64. Go ice fishing! If you don’t want to go too far, make your own pond in the backyard.
65. Play in the snow. This can lead to hours of fun! Don’t dread the snow because you have to shovel it. Think of ways to build a snow fort, throw snowballs or just play around.
66. Play tennis, golf, or pickleball. Not every year will there be snow on the ground. On those sunny days, pick up your racket or golf clubs and get a game or two in.
67. Go cross-country skiing. Time to get some exercise and burn calories. Cross-country skiing is a great way to get outside and hit your fitness goals.
68. Watch a movie in the snow. How fun does that sound? Thanks to technology you can snuggle up while watching a Christmas classic. Make sure to buy a projector ahead of time!
69. Ride roller coasters. Sounds thrilling, right?!?! But check to see if they are open first.
70. Drive Around to See Christmas Lights. A simple and classic activity to do on Christmas day. Go around and find the best light display!
Things to Do on Christmas Day to Refresh Your Soul
Do you often get bored of the same old ideas on Christmas Day? The answer to that question is probably a resounding “yes” if your answer has been anything like mine.
Here is a compiled list of relaxing Christmas Day activities for people who are looking to enjoy their day while rejuvenating their souls.
71. Relax and take it easy. There’s no need to stress out about anything – just relax and enjoy yourself!
72. Enjoy a LuxuriousHotBath. Time to destress from the hustle and bustle of the season. Grab some must-have bath essentials to make your experience more spa-like.
73. Treat Yourself. What is one intention you’ve always wanted to do? Buy it for yourself or give yourself the gift of time and allow yourself to enjoy that experience.
74. Escape on a Christmas Vacation. Do you always want to try something new for Christmas? Let’s make this year the best one yet and plan that special Christmas trip!
75. Take a walk in nature. Enjoy the sun and soak up some Vitamin D!
76. At Home Manicure/Pedicure Experience. While it’s not the same as being pampered in the salon, there are many at-home manicure and pedicure sets, that you can use all year round.
77. Personalized Playlist. Spend time finding new songs that revitalize your mind.
78. Stay in Christmas Pajamas. Even better plan matching PJs for the whole family!
79. Spend time cuddling on the couch. A dream come true for a busy mom or dad!
80. Make a List. Make a list of activities to do or places to go that are not centered around Christmas. Focus on items that you are grateful or blessed to have in your life. This will help you avoid the “Xmas” overload and keep you focused on what is really important.
81. Attend a Christmas Eve Service. What is one church in your area that you’ve never visited? Take the opportunity to attend a service on Christmas Eve.
Ways to Show Generosity on Christmas
Giving is always better than receiving.
Christmas is a time of giving, but it can be difficult to know how much you should give.
This doesn’t mean that Christmas has to be all about presents or expensive gifts for your loved ones, but you can still show your gratitude with small acts of kindness. Here are some ways to do that:
82. Volunteer at a Homeless Shelter. This is a great way to serve and be appreciative of what you have been blessed with. Find your nearest homeless shelter and volunteer to serve a meal, or help set up cots for a cold night. Maybe set fundraising parties to help gather monetary donations.
83. Take a Meal to Someone. Many people don’t want to cook on Christmas because they are by themselves or unable to spend hours in the kitchen anymore. Bless them with a cooked meal and your decorated Christmas cookies.
84. Write Thank You Notes. We all know this needs to be done. So, practice writing thank-yous before you start playing and using the gift you received.
85. St. Nick’s Giveaway Day. St Nicholas was known for giving out toys to all the children. Pay it forward by passing along toys, clothes, or other furnishings you don’t need anymore.
86. Be a Santa. Adopt a family for Christmas and provide gifts, food, or other items that they would enjoy.
87. Random Acts of Kindness. Write a list of ways you can bless people with random acts of kindness. Small actions go a long way toward making someone’s day, especially around the holidays.
88. Serve Others. Visit a nursing home or assisted living facility. Bring them cookies, sing Christmas carols with them, read to them and spend time with people who may not have the opportunity to see you on another day.
89. Pray for Others. What is one way to pray on this day that would make someone else’s life better?
Things to Do on Christmas Day for Adults
Christmas is an exciting time of the year, but it can also be a very stressful holiday due to work and family commitments.
There are many different activities that adults can enjoy on Christmas day.
90. Cook a Traditional Meal. One popular option is cooking a traditional Christmas meal. This can be a great way to learn about other cultures and traditions.
91. Ice Skating. There is no shortage of places to go ice skating on Christmas Day.
92. Ugly Sweater Time. Wearing an ugly sweater is always a festive tradition, and it can be especially fun on Christmas Day when everyone else is dressed up too. Just make sure you’re prepared for people to make fun of your outfit!
93. Be Alone. Some people prefer to spend Christmas day alone, either because they don’t have any family nearby or because they simply want some time to themselves. There are plenty of activities that can be done by oneself without requiring any specific skills or knowledge. For example, reading a good book, watching a movie, or taking a walk in the park are all enjoyable ways to spend the day.
Honestly, as an adult, you can choose any of the above activities that would be a perfect way to celebrate Christmas day.
What are some unique or interesting ways to celebrate Christmas day?
There are many unique ways to celebrate Christmas.
Honestly, it comes down to your preferred traditions. This is something you will find over the years about how you want to spend the day.
One popular way is to place an elf in your child’s bedroom to monitor their behavior! Another fun tradition is singing carols or skating on the ice. If you’re looking for something a bit more unique, consider driving down a festive pathway or reconnecting with old friends over dinner.
No matter how you choose to celebrate, make sure to enjoy yourself and have some fun!
More tips for making the most of Christmas day
Christmas is a time for family, friends, and fun.
Christmas day can be a lot of fun, but it’s important to make the most of it!
The best tips for making the most of Christmas day include spending time with your family and having a good time.
Here are some important tips to keep in mind when celebrating.
Tip #1 – Watch for Stressors
Make sure to take a break from the “seasonal grind” and forget to enjoy the holidays yourself.
Before Christmas day arrives, make a list of the stressors you tend to experience on this joyous holiday. Make a conscious decision to avoid the stressors as much as possible. If you cannot completely avoid one of them, then limit your time and plan for decompress time afterward.
Tip #2 – Spend Quality Time with Family
Christmas is a time of celebration and family gatherings.
However, you must make sure you are spending quality time with your loved ones can make the holiday much more enjoyable.
This may be easy or difficult depending on your family situation. Yes, spending time with your family and friends during the holidays is important- especially for kids! Just make sure you can look back and enjoy the day.
Tip #3 – Get Outdoors
On Christmas Day, go outside and enjoy all the fitness opportunities that a cold day has to offer.
Many people stay inside their buildings and homes for the holidays, but outdoor time is actually beneficial. The colder the weather, the better, because when your body is cold even a small outing helps release some of the heat that has been gathering in your body.
Getting outside will help you stay away from any possible triggers, too!
Tip #4 – Spend Less Money
It’s Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.
Christmas is often a heavy financial burden for many individuals who are required to buy gifts and arrange an evening meal for loved ones.
All the extra expense can sap people of the energy and life they relish in the rest of the year, hence leading to depression which leads to a number of other health complications.
So, plan your Christmas budget ahead of time, so you can walk away happy.
Tip #5 – Remember the True Reason for Christmas
Christmas Day is one day of the year that is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated.
Yet, we tend to forget the true reason for the season – the birth of Jesus Christ.
While we are called to celebrate in community, keep the real reason at the center of your get-togethers with family and friends, and enjoy some of the traditional festivities.
What activities are open on Christmas day?
First of all, before you go, check online or call to see if the business is open.
Typically, you can find convenience stores, gas stations, movie theaters, and some restaurants open on Christmas.
Also, many local attractions may be open as they are focused on the activities they can provide.
Just be prepared for possible long wait times and always be sure to tip well.
Best Holiday Memories for the Season
Ultimately, those are the fun things to do on Christmas day are activities to experience.
Christmas is a time of joys and festivities, giving gifts to friends and family, and decorating your home with Christmas lights or greenery. But the best day always comes when it’s over!
Just remember…
Have Fun!
Remember that Christmas is a time to enjoy and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is not just about shopping, eating, and being with family.
Relax! Take a break from your hectic schedule and enjoy the priceless gifts you have been given.
Find More: 101 Fun Things To Do With No Money
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
A farmhouse built in 1700 on a 22-acre horse property in Flemington, NJ, is the oldest home on the market this week on Realtor.com®.
Many period details remain in the three-bedroom home, including a walk-in fireplace, wide-plank floors, exposed-beam ceilings, and two staircases. A window seat, arched ceilings, and built-in cabinets can also be found throughout the comfortable dwelling.
Other historic homes to hit the market this week include an affordable abode in Connecticut, a Virginia farmhouse where Thomas Jefferson is believed to have once dined, and a modernized Cape in Massachusetts.
Scroll down for a full look at this week’s 10 oldest homes.
Price: $725,000 Year built: 1700 The ultimate vintage house: Designed for equestrian lovers, this three-bedroom residence sits on 22 acres and comes with a horse barn.
The bright kitchen has wide-plank flooring, an exposed-beam ceiling, and a built-in cabinet. The sunken dining room boasts a walk-in fireplace. There are two more fireplaces found on the main level. The bedrooms are all upstairs and spacious and feature wide-plank flooring.
There’s a screened porch that spans the back of the house, and a tack room, tractor barn, and fenced paddock are included in the sale.
But be forewarned: The listing states the home needs “a little TLC.”
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Price: $710,000 Year built: 1700 The Henry Marshall Garrison: This three-bedroom charmer features many original details, including the hardware, fireplaces, and built-in cabinetry.
The newly updated kitchen has a cathedral ceiling, exposed beams, stainless-steel appliances, and custom cabinets. The cozy living room has a wood-burning stove in the walk-in fireplace. The dining room features built-in cabinets, an exposed-beam ceiling, and hardwood flooring.
Enjoy views from the screened porch or oversized deck. The 1-acre, wooded lot also has a finished barn with a garage and storage space.
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Price: $1,595,000 Year built: 1700 Pretty as a postcard: This enormous spread offers income potential or the opportunity for multigenerational living with five separate living spaces.
The well-maintained main house boasts stone fireplaces, wide-plank flooring, and exposed-beam ceilings. The updated kitchen has a cathedral ceiling, custom cabinets, a spacious center island, and French doors that open to an oversized deck. Ten bedrooms and seven bathrooms can be found throughout the 6,442-square-foot property.
The 30-acre lot also features a two-stall horse barn, expanded bank barn, and carriage barn.
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Price: $899,000 Year built: 1706 Historic registry home: This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features a stone section from 1706 and an addition made in the 1800s.
The well-maintained home offers three bedrooms and many period highlights, including exposed stone walls, a Dutch front door, wood-beam ceilings, and restored hardwood floors. The bright, modern kitchen features stone countertops, a farmhouse sink, and a center island with a prep sink. The cozy living room has a large fireplace with a cooking pot and wood mantel.
The almost 4-acre lot also features a pool, a gazebo, a two-bedroom guesthouse, and a building with a workshop and office.
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Price: $380,000 Year built: 1720 Affordable and adorable: This three-bedroom residence boasts original wide-plank flooring, three fireplaces, exposed-beam ceilings, and many built-in cabinets.
The 2,244-square-foot house features a family room with a cathedral ceiling and wood stove. The cute kitchen has been updated with stainless-steel appliances and a breakfast bar. The three bedrooms and one bathroom can be found upstairs.
The property also comes with a workshop with electricity, heat, and a half-bathroom.
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Price: $925,500 Year built: 1724 Elm Shadow Farm: This modernized, three-bedroom dwelling still features four fireplaces, pine floors, and oversized windows.
The kitchen comes with high-end appliances, an oversized fireplace with a beehive oven, and a butler’s pantry. The family room is surrounded by windows and has an arched, exposed-beam ceiling and hardwood flooring. The primary suite comes with a working fireplace and a walk-in closet.
The 1-acre lot includes a two-car garage with a home office above.
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Price: $339,000 Year built: 1736 Cape Ann Colonial: This four-bedroom home features wide-plank hardwood floors, custom built-ins, and two fireplaces.
The 2,628-square-foot dwelling offers an updated kitchen with many cabinets and stainless-steel appliances. A Dutch door opens to a back patio. The wood-paneled living room, study, family room, and dining room can also be found on the first floor. The spacious bedrooms are all located upstairs, and one even has a built-in office.
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Price: $1,100,000 Year built: 1737 Dunleith Estate:Thomas Jefferson is believed to have once dined in this four-bedroom farmhouse, according to the listing.
Historic highlights of the 4,358-square-foot home include pine floors, custom woodworking, exposed-beam ceilings, dormer windows, and several fireplaces. The updated kitchen features granite countertops, a farmhouse sink, stainless-steel appliances, and a spacious island with a cooktop.
You can enjoy views of the 42-acre lot from the covered porch or back patio with a pergola.
The property includes a two-bedroom cottage, a four-paddock barn, a tack room, and a regulation riding arena.
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Price: $985,000 Year built: 1739 Melding old and new: This three-bedroom Cape is said to be the oldest inhabited house in Stockbridge. It has been thoughtfully modernized over the years.
The 2,432-square-foot abode now offers an ultramodern kitchen with a cathedral ceiling and windows that overlook the private yard. Wood-paneled walls, numerous built-ins, and restored hardwood floors can be found throughout the home. The primary bedroom is on the first floor, and the remaining two bedrooms are found upstairs.
There’s also a studio with heat and custom cabinetry, and the 1-acre lot leads out back to the Housatonic riverfront.
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Price: $1,450,000 Year built: 1744 Built by Peter Wentz: This well-maintained farmhouse features original hardwood floors, custom millwork, exposed-beam ceilings, and five fireplaces with mantels.
The four-bedroom home spans 3,036 square feet of space. The cozy living room has built-ins and a stone fireplace. The family room has an original stone fireplace with a wood stove insert. The updated kitchen offers a walk-in fireplace, butcher block counter, modern appliances, and a coffee nook. The primary suite also comes with a fireplace.
The screened porch features a vaulted ceiling and a pass-through to the kitchen.
The 22-acre lot includes a 6,700-square-foot barn, several outbuildings, and a stocked pond.