Here a five easy ways to go green and pad your pocket with more green at the same time. These simple things will surprise you!

1. Change to the spiral bulbs. While it may seem like a large, upfront expense, but by planning on buying one or two new bulbs every time you run into town will spread the costs out over a few months and change your house completely over before the next season. Then, monitor your electric bill. It could be as much as 20% less! Not only that, but leaving lights on while you're away won't cost you much at all.

2. Walk or ride a bike. Plan your travel in advance and decide when and where you can walk or ride your bike instead of drive. While the commuters certainly notice the gas prices, those who use their cars frequently over short distances actually use much more gas proportionately. I recently traded four wheels for two and I've saved over $25 in just two weeks!

3. Get your bills switched to paperless. Some companies are really getting on board with paperless bills, as you may have noticed. But, many are going even further by offering customers $5 or 5% off of their monthly bills as long as they're getting their statements electronically.

4. Reuse, reuse, reuse. It usually isn't the first choice for most, but it can really save the billfold if done right. Try washing out used Ziploc bags or trading paper towels for cloth rags. Give up the disposable coffee filters for the permanent ones. Save egg cartons as small containers instead of buying plastic boxes. Reusing things to cut costs was good enough for our grandparents during those tough times, so why can't it be good enough for us?

5. Garage sales, pawn shops and eBay. It's like reusing, but you're not reusing your own stuff. Convenience has tricked us into thinking that Wal-Mart or other big box stores have the best deals, but the fact is that gently used will beat retail 100 times out of 100. Consider stopping by some sort of thrift shop once a week and check out their bargains. Who knows? You might find a great pair of jeans or a hedge trimmer for super cheap.