I've finally realised that having the latest handbag, buying into the latest must-have trend or visiting the latest fancy spa won't fundamentally make me any happier. Even if you can't afford organic vegetables and don't know the first thing about solar panels, you can get way ahead of the pack - and save money - simply by making often tiny adjustments to your daily life. Small actions such as putting on an extra sweater instead of turning up the heating, switching off lights, lagging the hot water tank to conserve heat, switching your electrical appliances off at the mains, reducing meat consumption, drying your clothes outside rather than using the tumble-drier (a quick solar solution!), and avoiding buying unnecessary, expensive and over-packaged goods will help the planet, your health and your finances. On the contrary: being truly green saves money and enhances your quality of life in countless ways. It doesn't mean wearing a hair shirt, or giving up all the material things we love best.

We have been conditioned to think that progress is necessarily about doing things - spending money, going to places and acquiring things But being green is as much about not doing as about doing. Green is now mainstream, aspirational, fashionable and increasingly glamorous. Manufacturers have woken up to the power of the green pound, and there is an ever-increasing range of eco-friendly goods and services. This is largely good news. But many of these products - organic vegetables air-freighted from distant lands, "natural" beauty creams, eco holidays in gorgeous far-flung places - continue to buy into our rampaging consumer mindset that has created so many environmental problems in the first place. Anything that reeked of environmentalism was seen as uncomfortable, eccentric, unfashionable, more about giving things up than enhancing one's life Now, however, it is a wonderful time to be green In the past few years, we have witnessed a sea change.

Back in the 1980s, Kermit the frog used to lament: "It's not easy being green." Until recently, he was right. Producing your own flowers saves you money too, as bunches of flowers can vary in cost from a pint of beer to four or five bottles of wine.AVOID DISPOSABLE RAZORS: USE A TRADITIONAL ONE WITH REPLACEMENT BLADES A mainstream brand of blade costs a little less than a disposable razor.USE A SHAVING BRUSH INSTEAD OF FOAM SPRAY CANS. This causes severe health problems for many workers in the industry. Much of these flowers are flown in from great distances causing heavy transport emissions. There are plenty of other organic alternatives on the market to choose from (in addition your own home-made household/garden compost), while peat-free compost can be bought for almost exactly the same price as the habitat-destructive peat moss.DON'T BUY CUT FLOWERS The cut flower industry is often a source of very heavy herbicide use due to the vast unnatural monoculture of single flower varieties. Even if you don't have access to your own garden, a tiger-worm compost bin will fit in your kitchen, and the soil they magically produce can be donated to a suitable local, green open space.DON'T WATER YOUR LAWN Grass only needs watering if there is a really prolonged drought, and even then only once a week.USE THE COMPOST FROM YOUR OWN COMPOST HEAP RATHER THAN ARTIFICIAL FERTILISERS This saves you from spending money on potting compost.SWITCH TO ORGANIC GARDENING METHODS, WHICH DO NOT USE CHEMICAL WEED-KILLERS Organic methods are just as good - and save you money.DON'T BUY PEAT MOSS AS A GARDEN FERTILISER OR FOR YOUR POTTING PLANTS It may be natural, but peat moss is produced from precious yet fast-disappearing wetland wildlife habitats. Check on the web for local schemes.RECYCLE YOUR OLD CLOTHES, SHEETING ETC If they are not good enough for the charity shop, drop them off at a charity-recycling collection point if one is available.

They are able to reuse the fibres as a raw material for other products if the clothing itself isn't good enough to be sold.COMPOST ALL KITCHEN AND GARDEN WASTE AND THEN USE YOUR OWN COMPOST RATHER THAN ARTIFICIAL FERTILISERS FOR YOUR GARDEN Using compost instead of bought fertilisers saves not only money but also the pollution involved in a trip to the garden centre and the unnecessary transport involved in removing your waste from your home by garbage trucks. Try having one cosmetic-free day a week and see how it feels.DON'T BUY ANY UNSUSTAINABLY-PRODUCED MAHOGANY Often over an acre of precious habitat-rich rainforest is destroyed to get at one mahogany tree.DO NOT BUY ANY UNCERTIFIED RAINFOREST PRODUCTS FOR YOUR HOME International certification schemes such as the FSC ensure that the wood that you buy is from sustainable sources and is not the result of rainforest or ancient woodland destruction.USE ORGANIC PAINTS IN PREFERENCE TO OIL-BASED CHEMICAL PAINTS Organic white paint costs about twice the price of chemical-based paints per litre, but as the paint is only required every four years or so it is worth the extra amount to ensure you are not breathing in noxious fumes any time you occupy the room being painted.DON'T BUY BIN-BAGS FOR RUBBISH - USE OLD PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS INSTEAD This saves money as well as reducing the use of petrochemicals in plastic bag manufacture.RECYCLE ALL YOUR TIN CANS, PLASTIC BOTTLES, OLD CLOTHES, GLASS, PAPER, CARD ETC This can reduce your waste stream by up to nearly two-thirds.RECYCLE YOUR OLD MOBILE PHONE Over 100 million mobile phones are thrown away each year in the US and over 2 million in the UK. Honest reporting is essential.COLIN LEACHHOUSTON, TEXAS, USANo rightward shift for the Lib DemsSir: While Diana Wallis is right that the next election will be fought on Labour's record in office, she is wrong to suggest that the Lib Dems' current policy review represents a shift to the right (letter, 19 September). A wash at 60°C uses over 30 per cent more electricity than a wash at 40°C. Shoes can often be resoled or re-heeled and last up to another year for a fraction of the cost of a new pair of shoes.