Hey, guys.

It's Chelsea from The Financial Diet. And this week's video is brought to you by Squarespace.

And today, we are going to be talking about some items that can save you serious money in the long-term, despite costing $20 or less. And we have a lot of them so let's get right into it. With number one, a sewing kit.

Here's a fun fact-- and by fun, I mean terrible-- Americans throw out on average 81 pounds of clothes per person per year. And aside from the enormous impact that that has on the environment, over 26 billion pounds of waste annually that just sits in landfills, it also means that we are frequently buying things that we ultimately do not use or do not use to their full potential. Which is hundreds and even thousands of dollars of wasted money every year.

Aside from investing in higher quality items from the get go, which you can often find at competitive prices at outlet and thrift stores, you should also be pretty savvy when it comes to how to keep items fresh and wearable. And for certain things that might mean taking them to a tailor. But for everyday wear and tear, a tailor can also be extremely expensive.

Going to a tailor anytime an item of clothing needs a little bit of love, whether that's a small tear, a hem adjustment, or even a missing button, is going to cost you a lot. Those simple repairs can easily be $20 at the tailor. And a full sewing kit on Amazon with tons of different colors of thread, tons of different sizes of needles, plus all the things like the tape measure, and the scissors, and all the little stuff you need to fix it is literally under $10.

You can keep it in your closet at home or get a travel pack for when you go on the road. And most of those basic sewing skills you can use to keep your clothes up-to-date can be found easily on YouTube. While I am fairly incompetent when it comes to sewing, which is super sad because my mother is a prolific home seamstress who used to make a lot of our clothes, at least, I'm capable of fixing small things.

Which has not only saved me plenty of potential money at a tailor, but has kept me from throwing out items that I, otherwise, would have given up on. Get the a sewing kit, ASAP. Number two is reusable cleaning supplies.

A fun insight into my domestic life is that Mark is constantly getting on me about using paper towels like a stupid American. Not that Europeans don't sometimes use paper towels. It's just not their default the way it is for Americans.

And as a habit, it's an incredibly wasteful one. The average American family goes through about two rolls of paper towels every single week, which adds up to nearly $200 a year just in paper towels. And in addition to the money that it's costing you, it's also incredibly bad for the environment.

The vast majority of things that we disposably use paper towels for could easily be handled with a dish rag. And for more intensive cleaning, microfiber clothes are perfect. Plus, you can even get the kind of reusable cloths that come on a little spool and can be torn off, just like paper towels.

So you can satisfy that convenience button in your head, while not constantly throwing out unnecessary paper. The same goes for our other small, disposable towel-based addiction as a society, which is Swiffer pads. Disposable Swiffer mop pads are $14.99 for a pack of 24.

And say you use them to mop your floors once a week and use three pads for each mopping session for your entire home. That means you'll have to replace your pads about once every six weeks or eight times a year, costing $119.92 every single year. Or you can get a reusable sponge mop and bucket, which you can clean with bleach between every use.

And get the same amount of cleaning and arguably, a much more effective version. Because you can scrub way harder with a sponge mop for pennies on the dollar. And yes, of course, not be constantly throwing away more of those disposable cloths.

The point is, as a culture, we've made this assumption that anything that is used to clean must be disposable or semi-disposable. And that's simply not the case. And these small upfront investments can totally change the way we clean and how much we're throwing out.

Number three is a library card. And it's something that we've mentioned before on TFD, but I want to drive home the point, again. Because of how much money it can truly save you when you look at all of the different things it can bring to you, aside from just books you don't have to pay for.

Even amongst the people who already hold library cards, about 30% of them say that they don't really know anything about what their library card entitles them to. And for many libraries, it's everything from free movie passes, to online video and audio subscription services, to e-books, to even movie nights. Plus there are tons of free classes and workshops on all different types of skills.

The New York City Public Library System alone offers more than 93,000 annual courses. Libraries can also help you save money when it comes time for textbooks in school. Or they can be for continued learning.

Because while it may feel that libraries are something geared toward children, because we probably have so many memories of using them as a child, libraries are actually, in many cases, actively trying to get more adults and seniors into their facilities. Everything from the entrance fee to a museum, to your Netflix subscription, to the books that you buy on a whim in the airport could very likely be replaced by a simple and free library card number. Four is a domain name.

One of the biggest pieces of advice that I would give to any student who is very far from entering the professional field, but wants to give themselves the greatest edge is to do everything they can to squat on their name. And by that, I mean buy up any domain name that is easily associated with your professional title or just a variation of your name. Not only do you want to use this domain name as a great way to store all of your professional information like your bio, your contacts, your portfolio, a little mission statement, et cetera, it's also a great way to boost your results in search engines.

When you're applying to a potential job or looking for new clients, you can be almost certain that they're going to Google you. And you want to make sure that the top results for your name are things you want them to be seeing. Many domain names can be bought for literal pennies.

And you don't have to use them right away. Just having that domain name ensures that when you need it, it will be there for you to use. Because if you wait to buy a domain name and have to eventually buy it from someone, you're probably not going to get it for pennies.

There's actually an entire scammy as hell market of people who buy tons of domain names under people's names and then price gouge them to sell them back. You could end up paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a domain name that you could have gotten for mere pennies if you'd thought ahead. And even if you never end up using it, it's better to have played it safe.

Number five is tech protection. Allowing a laptop to get overheated can cause a number of problems, from data loss to blue screen crashes. And if it's an older computer, the soldering could even melt away.

And dust on the machine can even catch fire. Overheating laptops are no joke. And not just because they might shut your computer off when you're in the middle of doing something really interesting.

Especially if exposed to prolong periods of overheating, it can seriously damage the life of your computer. So what's a solution, particularly if you're often in places where this happens, like working outside in a warmer climate? A laptop cooling pad.

You can get one easily for $20 or under. And it simply is placed under your laptop and prevents it from getting too hot. One of those things that you don't think about until it's too late.

And on a very similar note about protecting your tech before you have to replace it is reinforced charger cables. According to the Atlantic, there were over 200,000 forum discussions on Apple's website dedicated to how bad the lightning charger cord was as of 2014. As they say, the road to being a trillion dollar company is paved with dongles.

And while we may all currently be mercilessly stuck to the teat of Steve Jobs and his intentionally self-destructive products, we can do things in the short-term to protect ourselves. And one of those things is investing in a cable upfront that is reinforced and won't need to be replaced every six months. Number six is a hand-washing laundry kit.

So in order to make your house your own little at home laundromat, especially in summer when it's very easy to air dry clothes, you just need the following items-- safe hand-washing detergent, which you can easily buy on places like Amazon for a few dollars. A basin in which to wash the items and a bathtub works perfectly fine, as long as it's clean. And a hanging rack to dry them, either outside, if you're lucky enough to have private outdoor space, or by an open sunny window.

Another thing that Americans tend to do quite a lot, more than many other cultures, is machine wash and dry everything. Many, many homes around the world don't even have dryers. And, for example, when I lived in France, one of the things I really had to get used to was having to dry everything manually.

Even wealthy people's houses had those little drying racks that you left by an open window. And you can get them for 10 bucks. And yes, while it does take a little bit of extra work upfront, it A, makes your house smell like beautiful clean laundry.

But B, has a lot of tangible financial and environmental benefits. You're no longer spending the money and consuming as much water and electricity on machine washing and drying or laundromat services. But for delicate items, like bras and underwear, you can extend the life of these items by three to even 10 times, depending on the individual item because hand-washing is so much better for the delicate elastic and fabrics in these items.

And as any woman knows, good bras are hella expensive. So you want to minimize how many times you're having to buy them, again and again. You don't have to start hand-washing everything.

Lord knows having to do it for all your sheets and towels would be a nightmare. But setting a personal challenge to hand wash maybe half of your items could be a great way to start. And especially in the spring, summer, and even early fall months, you should just be drying them by sunlight and breathe.

Lastly, number seven is LED light bulbs everywhere. So LED light bulbs are more expensive upfront, around $13 for a pack of four. But they can last up to 10 times longer than traditional light bulbs.

And while in use, they use way less electricity. By switching all the light bulbs in your house to environmental and energy-conscious LED light bulbs, you can save literally hundreds of dollars a year, if you're someone who uses a lot of light. Which, statistically, if you're American, you probably do.

And there are way more variations in the kind of light you can get from an LED light bulb than there used to be. You don't have to worry that going to an LED light bulb will automatically mean you have super ugly harsh lighting in every room. Plus, these light bulbs tend not to give off as much heat as traditional light bulbs, which will help you not have to cool your house so much in the summer.

Another thing that Mark likes to get on me about is my love for fairy lights. Which, despite being very, very cute, are very energy inefficient and give off a ton of heat in the summer. But whatever, marriage is about compromise.

So we do use LED lights in many of our fixtures, but I won't give up my fairy lights. Ultimately, being savvy with money at home is all about finding the little places where you can easily swap in strategic environmentally and financially smart choices, without losing what you love. And for less than $20 in many areas of your life, you can swap in something that will save you hundreds in the long-term.

And once you've gotten that domain name, you're going to want to put a great website on it, which is why you should check out Squarespace. If you're looking to make your next move on a business idea or want to launch a creative project, check out Squarespace. With award-winning templates and 24/7 customer support, you'll have everything you need to create a website, build a portfolio, design an online store, and more.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, musician, artist, or designer, make your next move by visiting Squarespace. And use the code FINANCIALDIET for 10% off your first order. So as always, guys, thank you for watching.

And don't forget to hit the Subscribe button. And to come back every Tuesday and Thursday for new and awesome videos. Bye. [MUSIC PLAYING]