You don’t have to be in AP History to know Benjamin Franklin was green, that’s how he got his face on the $100 Bill. Ben Franklin didn’t have Google Maps or GPS, or even an alarm clock, and yet, he knew time was money. Think: electricity, refrigeration, and more. He also invented the odometer. How else would you track the Miles Per Gallon of your carriage in 1790?!

In 2011, everyone in our family needs a little more “Benjamins” and practical, eco-economic wisdom. A good way to start is to be prepared, organized and informed. Simply leaving early with a clear plan, so you don’t have to speed or get lost, saves money. How much? Well, it could be a few “Benjamins” a year for the average family. Factor in the cost of increased risk from accidents, tickets and missed opportunities, and you’ll be asking your history teacher who was on the $1000 bill.

So this year, refresh the family on Benjamin Franklin. Help mom and dad leverage those new gadgets to finally get organized. Pack lunch and pick clothes the night before to avoid the morning scrammble. Not only because it will make them less stressed, but because you are going to help them save time and money.

And if you missed the MythBusters on how Franklin “discovered” electricity, it’s worth checking out.

Resolution #4 Go “Off Gridding” for a weekend with your family. It’s the first real week-end of 2011. Try to get everyone on board and off the grid. See what happens by not using any resources from the “grid” or the systems that normally support your lifestyle behaviors, toys, getting around town, or keeping in touch.

Think about the following:

• What toys require power: TV, games, iPod
• How do you get places: car, bus, bike, legs
• What heats and cools things: the water, your home
• Most importantly, what does all that cost?!

Go off grid with as many as you can, and just chill at home with family and friends. All of these can be shifted towards renewable sources, in the long-term, but in the short-term, changes in behaviors can result in major savings in each category. But it YOUth ideas, good planning, strong leadership, a pinch of visionary creativity, and your passion to get started. Go for it! Once a year, a quarter or every month.

Assuming he makes it through the new aggressive TSA screening, when my Uncle Ronnie arrives at our house for Thanksgiving, he is going to be in for a few surprises. Inspired by GreenMyParents, I decided to help Uncle Ronnie understand that my passion for changing the world is NOT a fad. Maybe you have an “Uncle Ronnie,” who mocks sustainability but loves talking about the economy. Well, this year, I have been planning for his arrival, enlisting my mom & sister, and most importantly focusing on ways to change Ronnie’s behavior that WILL actually save him money. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

1. Curbside Service
   Ronnie is the kind of guy who automatically rents a car every trip, usually premium class, which means way big or bigger, so that it can sit in our driveway for the week. It took a few emails, but this year I insisted that my Dad and I pick him up at the airport. This thrifty tip will save a few hundred dollars at least $50 of which will be gas!
2. Thanksgiving unPlugged
   First thing that Ronnie does when he walks in our house: plug in two cell phones and a laptop. He usually he leaves the chargers plugged into the wall all the time. This year, I designed a way to kill the energy vampires travelling with my uncle by putting a surge strip in the family room so that he can plug in all his devices easily, and he knows we welcome each of them. He also will know that it is “brain-dead” easy [one of his favorite phrases] to switch all of them off with a single finger. If he killed vampires at his house he could save $150 a year.
3. Blue is the new green.
   When Ronnie gets upstairs to “his” room (which is normally my bedroom!) he will find a University of Michigan, sweatshirt I got for him, his alma mater. The note reads: If each of us tries to heat the house to our individual preferences, we waste a lot of energy. This year, we are keeping our thermostat a few degrees lower, and if you get cold, put on this sweatshirt. Go Wolverines!!”
   Annual Savings at home = $180!
4. Game ON!
   All week-end, cousins, friends and family gather in the basement to play my PS3. This drives my mom a little bonkers because I think she has a vision of us sitting around the kitchen telling stories or the living room playing board games together. So this year I suggested we have 1 specific tournament night. Instead of a few people playing scrabble and the a few others gathering around the PS3, this year we know that Friday night at 8pm everyone is expected to loosen up their opposable thumbs and break out their latest cheats to see who will be the reigning champion of our house – the individual winner and the winning team gets to decide what movie we will go see on the weekend! Who knew slaying vampires was a team sport!
5. My Uncle is “Clark Griswald”
   Uncle Ronnie LOVES to decorate his house for Christmas. So this year, I am getting a jump start on decorating our house. By inviting him to help me, he’ll see our new LED bulbs. He’s going to have a difficult time claiming that the bulbs from “before I was born” are better. I am sending him home with a couple boxes which could save him $20-30 a year – plenty to cover his favorite holiday treat, traditional Fruit Cake.
6. Black Friday is for Charging:
   For “black Friday” instead of racing to the mall with credit cards in hand, we are going to be trying the latest electric vehicles. I researched Teslas, Chevy Volts, plug-in Prius, Nissan Leaf, the Bammo electric motorcycle too, even a few bikes from Best Buy.
   
   

   Uncle Ronnie: How does 99 MPG sound?

   A bunch of us, including Uncle Ronnie, are going to be tooling around the block in quiet comfort in electric cars so new, we may not even know where to put the key… if they even have keys. I predict that this little outing will be very popular, in fact my Aunt Stephanie from SFO, has announced that she would be rather see what the hybrid Ford Focus feels like, instead of spending the day at the mall changing outfits and battling the crowds. We are going to see what charging cars is like, for a change!

An unexpected benefit of Uncle Ronnie not parking his rental car in the driveway: my sister Jessica can pull him off the sofa to teach her how to ride the bike he got her for Christmas, that way he wont be able to make annoying comments about her training wheels. While he may miss a touchdown or two, remembering this experience, will be priceless (for them both).

Milo
Age 15, Tampa, FL