I remember when I first heard about biofuel I was shocked. Up until that time it would never have occurred to me that you could run your car on liquid fuel made from plants. It did, for a time, seem like the solution to all of our problems.

It would be good for farmers around the world as they could finally earn a decent income from growing crops for fuel. It would be good for the environment as this was a truly renewable fuel that had a minimal impact on the environment. It would be good for countries that had no oil reserves of their own as they could grow their own fuel supplies and would no longer be dependent on importing oil. It seemed to be a win-win situation that everybody would benefit from.

Unfortunately, today, on the day the UK government enforces regulations that require that 2.5% of all fuel sold must come from renewable sources we are just starting to understand the consequences of this enthusiasm for oil from renewable sources and see the downside. The theory is correct. You can grow enough crops to turn into fuel to supply a whole nation with oil. However, the land you use for the crops to produce that oil might otherwise have been growing food for humans to eat.

We have all seen food prices rising dramatically over recent months and it is not entirely coincidental. There have been poor harvests in Australia and elsewhere but there has also been a lot of crops that have been bought for use as ingredients for fuel production. The demand for oil has led to massive rises in it’s price with the consequence that the economical price that can be paid for crops to make fuel has risen too. There will come a time when the growth in availability of biofuel means the price of oil will stabilise and perhaps even drop but in the meantime, people are starving.

There have been riots in several countries as people protest over the price they are having to pay to feed their families. When 50, 60 or even 80% of your income is spent on buying food for your family you are bound to be seriously affected if food prices double as they have in some cases. When you cannot afford to feed your children, the environment and the price of oil seem pretty unimportant. Your priority is to ensure you have food for your family.

We can all do our bit to help alleviate this problem. Biofuel does have its place as do wind farms, solar power and tidal energy but we have problems now and developments in alternative energy sources are coming along far too slowly. It will be twenty years or more before these alternatives are playing a significant role in our energy production and we need to take action now.

We can all do something right now….. USE LESS STUFF

It is a simple message but the effects of following that simple advice could be huge. We have all become voracious consumers in recent years. We have stuck our noses into the trough of goodies and greedily gobbled up as much as we could whilst stretching the flexibility of our credit cards to breaking point. The financial fallout is all around us now in the credit crunch and the physical impact is starting to make itself felt too.

Has all this consumerism made us any happier? Overall the answer is probably no. We may live more comfortable lives and we have all these ‘toys’ but are we content? I think most would have to say no. If we were content we wouldn’t be looking for yet more new toys, gadgets, gizmos and designer label this, that or the other. Content means being happy with what you have. Not wishing you had more.

There is an old and well used phrase — Less Is More. It applies to many aspects of life but in this case it means having less ‘stuff’ means you appreciate what you do have a lot more. You only have to think back to your childhood and remember a time when you spent hours, maybe days, playing with some simple thing that made you happy. It could have been an empty cardboard box, a hole in the ground or a bicycle but it wasn’t complicated. It didn’t need batteries and it challenged you to use your own imagination which was a large part of the fun. Gadgets that ‘do’ everything for you deny you any sense of satisfaction other than figuring out how to work the blasted things.

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The world seems like a small place these days. What each of us does has an impact on people in the next town, the next country or even in another continent. We can do helpful and beneficial things or we can do careless and thoughtless things that will have an effect somewhere else in the world. If we in the developed world all use a little more fuel to power some new and ‘exciting’ new gadget someone, somewhere may die for lack of food or fuel because those resources are either not available to them or simply unaffordable. You may say that this is just life and it is not your problem. Would you say that if you were in that situation of possibly starving through no fault of your own?

We all are part of the human race and we all bear some responsibility towards others. We can make a difference quite easily simply by using a little less ‘stuff’. Turn off that light that doesn’t need to be on. Turn the heating down a tiny bit and you probably won’t even notice any change. Walk to your local store rather than drive some of the time and eat less meat once in a while. None of these actions will have a big impact on your life but if everybody were to do these things it would have an enormous impact across the planet. It won’t solve the long term problems we face but it will save you money and it will help people who are living in difficult circumstances, to survive.

So, on this day when we are starting to use 2.5% of Biofuel as we drive to the store or to the park or to work. Think about the effects and the impact of what you do. Making these minor adjustments in your life will save you money and on the other side of the world they could save somebody’s life.

You can do something so significant, so easily and all the while YOU SAVE MONEY.

Money Magic: Seven Simple Steps to True Financial Freedom (Quick Reads)

I have always appreciated good tools. I may have paid through the nose for them sometimes but I still have many tools I bought 20 years ago and they will last my lifetime and beyond. They have proved to be a good investment but does the same principle apply to other products in other areas of life?

Food – The jury may be still out on the actual health benefits of better quality food though for most of us our feelings are that organic is better tasting than non-organic and if we feel the food is better for us then we may actually feel healther due to a placebo effect. If you enjoy good food then Organic will probably give you greater taste and texture experiences.

Houses – You can buy a great house in a poor area and get much more house for your money or you can buy a cheap house in a good area and you will get a lot less house for your money. So what makes for a cheap house? House prces are all relative to each other so if you can buy a house for less than similar houses in the same area are selling for then you have a cheap house. There is usually a reason why a house is cheaper than similar properties. It may be that it needs a lot of maintenence or updating. If you can do the work yourself you could make a lot of money once you have done the work and decide to sell up.
If you can find a house that is being sold by a forced seller you may well get a bargain. Forced sellers can be selling for many reasons such as difficulty repaying the mortgage or moving area for work. If you can buy one of these homes you may get a very good buy indeed.

Cars – Modern cars are build to much better quality control standards than they used to be years ago. These days most cars are reliable and will go on for years. Cheap cars may have lower quality fittings and fewer gadgets and powered accessories but if you want to save money then a car with basic features such as hand wound windows then you can save a great deal of money and possibly lose less money on depreciation than you would on the more expensive cars. So the answer is yes, the cheaper car will probably save you money and you will have lower repayments or more money left in the bank earning interest. Only you can decide if the lack of comfort and extra features matter to you.

Computers – Generally speaking most computers are capable of most of the ordinary tasks the average person wants to do these days. If you have specialist needs then a cheap computer may be lacking but for the majority of people a cheaper computer will do the job required. It may be that paying more means you get longer and better guarantees and the computer will probably have more powerful features but unless you make use those extra features you will be wasting money.

Sound Systems – If you cannot hear the difference between good quality hi-fi sound systems and a lower quality, cheaper system then you may be wasting money on a more expensive system. Reliablity of electronic products is pretty good these days so both systems will probably last you for some years so let your ears decide. If you like the sound then it should do the job for you.

So, it would seem that the simple rule is that if you have high standards in a certain area then you should buy better and more expensive products because you will appreciate the difference but if you are looking at things that you are not familiar with and you do not expect to use them a great deal then cheap is ok. If it does what you need it to do then it will be adequate and you should be happy with your purchase.

Money Magic: Seven Simple Steps to True Financial Freedom (Quick Reads)