When I'm not hosting this podcast, I am writing books, but it is really hard for me to write when I'm at home, so I like to find remote cabins in the middle of nowhere to just hang out and write. But I hate the idea of my house just sitting empty, doing nothing but collecting dust and definitely not collecting checks. And that's why I'm an Airbnb host. It's one of my all-time favorite side hustles. Other popular side hustles are awesome, too, don't get me wrong, but they often involve big startup costs. By hosting your space, you're monetizing what you already have access to. It It doesn't get easier than that. And if you're new to the side hustle game and you're anxious about getting started, don't worry, because you're not in this alone. Airbnb makes it super easy to host. I mean, if I could do it, you could do it. And your home might be worth a lot more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb. Com/host. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. Happy Earth Day, money rehabbers. Because of the reason of the season, of course, we have to talk about ways to help the planet today.

But because it's money rehab, we have to talk about how to do that without hurting our wallets. And the bias is that sustainability and affordability are mutual. Financially exclusive. And that's not always wrong. And if you're like me, you might start to feel a little guilty and you convince yourself that this exact coffee cup or whatever is going to get stuck in a whales' blow hole. But the thing is, us money rehabbers are on a spending plan, and there's a whole opportunity cost for increasing our expenses. So where does that leave those of us who also want to do some good? Well, as it turns out, there are a lot of ways to help your bank account and the planet at the same time. Here are five of my faves. Number one, invest in the market, minus the oil. I typically recommend investing in index funds that mirror the S&P 500. And I'm not the only one. Warren Buffett also makes the same money moves, I should say. And as O. G. Money rehabbers will know, the S&P 500 is an index that tracks 500 of the top publicly traded companies. But among those top publicly traded companies are some that are not so easy on the planet.

Among the S&P 500's top 20 stocks over the past year, 10 of them are energy companies. And while a few of those are renewable energy companies, most are in oil and gas. So to make a more eco-choice, I have an alternative for you. Check out the fund that has a ticker symbol, ES GU. It's a fund that tracks the S&P 500 but excludes companies that get their revenue from producing for selling fossil fuels, weapons, tobacco, or other controversial products. It also mirrors the market really well. The S&P 500 is up just over 71% over the last five years, and ES GU is up 70.9%, so basically same, same. You get almost all of the gains without any of the sacrifices to the environment. And while you're making these savvy investing moves, check your 401(k) if you have one through an employer. The investing allocations for a 401(k), of course, are decided by for your employer, but that means you could be heavily invested in companies that are hurting the environment and not even know about it. Research coming out of Yale estimates that Americans are investing 46.5 billion dollars in oil, gas, and coal expansion through their workplace retirement plans.

Many many of them unknowingly. So check your 401k allocation, and if it goes against your values, talk to HR about your options. Number two, take the VB6 challenge. Vb6 is a popular diet and nutrition program that stands for Vegan Before 6, and it's exactly what it sounds like. Under this diet, you're vegan until dinner, and at that point, you can eat whatever you want. I was vegan for a long time, and I know how difficult it can be to ignore those intense nacho cravings. But what I like about this diet is that it doesn't actually cut anything out of your diet that you want. It's just helping you eat more fruits and veggies. This diet has been shown to help people live healthier lives by reducing your meat consumption and are also helping the planet be healthier as well. And I can say firsthand that being vegan not only lowered my carbon footprint, but it also lowered my grocery bills a lot. At Whole Foods, non-organic chicken breast is 6.99 per pound, organic chicken breast is 7.99 per pound, and steak is almost 28 bucks per pound. You know how much tofu costs? $2.56 per pound.

And before you roll your eyes at me for the mere mention of tofu, if you don't like the taste of tofu, you're just doing it wrong. Seriously, it is one of the most flavor-absorbent foods of all time. So if you don't like the way it tastes, that is on you, boo. I'll share one of my favorite recipes in in the show notes. And I am not being preachy here. I am not saying that everyone needs to be vegan, and I'm not mad at you if you love your chicken nuggets. I am just saying that if you swap out your chicken breast at lunch with tofu just at lunch, you have already saved yourself over 150 bucks a month. And you've done Goodby Mother Earth, too. According to the Humane Society and Forbes, the production of one hamburger, that is one single hamburger patty, requires 3,000 liters of water and produces 3 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions. To put that into perspective, 3,000 liters of water is more than an average American uses over the course of 15 showers. Number three, make Uncle Sam pay. As you may have seen when you filed your taxes this year, the IRS is giving some tax breaks when you decide to make your house more eco-friendly.

There are qualified purchases for insulation, window replacements, heating and cooling systems that the IRS lets you write off come tax season. And oftentimes, replacing a fixture in your house with an energy-efficient alternative saves you in two ways. First, you got that tax break. We love a tax break. Second, your utility bills are probably going to get a break, too. For example, if your home isn't insulated tightly, it's essentially like leaving a window cracked. If you have a window cracked open when you heat your house in the winter, you're going to have to turn on the heat higher and leave it on for longer just to make up for the heat that's getting out the window. Obviously, that extra energy usage really hurts the environment, but also, you're literally throwing money out the window. I'll include a link in the show notes to where you can read more about how much Uncle Sam will for your new green life. Number four, optimize your kitchen. There are a lot of small tweaks you can make at home that can seriously add up to benefit you and the planet, and some you might not even know about. For example, using a dishwasher is actually more environmentally friendly than handwashing because you end up using more water when you handwash.

This is great news for anyone like yours truly who does not love handwashing greasy dishes. But dishwashers are still one of the top two home appliances that use the most energy in the home, second to the washing machine. So if your dishwasher has an eco-setting, use that and only run your dishwasher when it's truly full. That saves on water and your utilities bill. Also, check your refrigerator temperature. Your fridge should be 37 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is too warm, your food will actually spoil faster, which means you're going to have to buy more food more often, which generates more waste and costs you more money. Number five, Nix buying Bridge furniture. We all move around a lot more than generations before us. I've lived in tensities in the past as many years, so I know this firsthand. A lot of us are making moves that we know are going to be temporary, whether it's moving to a dorm room that will only be in for a year, an apartment we're subletting while we're job hunting, or a rental that we're in while we're saving up to buy. Many of us are not in our forever homes, so we may not think it makes sense to buy forever furniture.

So instead, we'll get the crummy, flimsy stuff from the usual cheap furniture suspect, and we'll throw it out when we to move. This is a huge waste of money and a huge source of material waste. So instead of buying furniture, you know you're just not going to keep, you can also rent furniture on sites like Feathr, or you can always buy second-hand. Facebook Marketplace is a beautiful place. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. Your new green mission starts at home, so pay extra special attention to how much water and energy you're using on a daily basis. Whenever I say this, I've always got one guy in the back of the room that goes, Okay, so Nicole Lappin doesn't shower and she wants to take away our bubble bath. No, that is gross. I just mean that I know we can all do better. When you turn on the shower and wait for it to get warm, do you scroll on Instagram and kill a little too much time? Or do you keep your AC on when you leave your apartment? These are all things that are bad for the environment and your utilities bill.

So do yourself and our planet a favor and do less, but still shower. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan LaVoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your moneyquestions, moneyrehab@moneynewsnetwork. Com, to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Moneynews and TikTok at Moneynews Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for investing yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.