With our obvious fondness for ginkgo trees here at Winch Financial, we are big fans of Earth Day. We support efforts to protect our planet and to encourage its people to achieve a healthy lifestyle. We want our clients to enjoy long lives, fulfilling retirements and good health.

Toward those goals, we offer the following tips.

1. Buy locally. We live in a four-season climate that recently suffered through one of the longest winters on record. Still, we like to buy locally produced food whenever possible.  The shorter the distance from food source to table, the fresher the taste and the higher the concentration of nutrients. We also like the idea of supporting our local merchants.
2. Park the car. When possible, we like to walk or bike rather than drive. Our CEO Christina Winch starts each morning with a brisk walk around the free range farm she owns outside Appleton. Other employees walk or ride their bikes to work when possible. Not only does this save on fuel cost and emissions, it also allows you to feel a little sun on your face and breathe a little fresh air into your lungs during a busy work day.
3. Plant a little something. The gardens our employees plant grow in a range from large fields to patio containers, but they all encourage a connection between the earth and the consumer. I have an indoor herb garden that makes my family room smell delicious year-round. You can feel an extra sense of pride when you eat something you’ve grown yourself.  It’s also increasingly important to understand your food source and the fertilizing process used to grow it.
4. Educate yourself. We have a library of books on financial and physical health here in the office and we’re happy to share. A little research will help you decide which habits are healthy and which may be passing fads,
5. Turn off the faucet. You’d be surprised how much less water you’d use in a day if you paid attention. Don’t pre-wash dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. Don’t  run the dishwasher or washing machine until you have a full load. Don’t let the kitchen faucet run just to keep you company. Don’t linger in the shower. Break these few habits and you’ll save a precious resource for the planet, and a little extra money for your pocket.
6. Eat seasonally. Of course, nothing tastes better than strawberries fresh off the vine and asparagus right off the farm. Those are the easy choices. It gets a little harder to eat seasonally in January. We encourage the effort, though. Eat frozen berries when the fresh ones aren’t really available. Again, the trick is to shorten the distance from field to plate.
7. Recycle. Take an extra moment to rinse out your recyclables and place them in the appropriate bin. Also, re-use items in your home. It will save you money and decrease the size of local landfills.

These tips are designed to help you celebrate what has become the world’s largest non-religious public event in the world. But, they’re also here to encourage you to put more money in your wallet and more life in your years.

Happy Earth Day!