Do you want to live greener but worry about the cost? You are not alone. It is common to find green products priced at a premium to their less green counterparts. But frugal green living is doable. Here are 5 easy things you can do now to enjoy the benefits from living greener and save money at the same time.

1. Use a clothesline: An electric or gas clothes dryer is an enormous energy hog. Along with air conditioning and the refrigerator, the dryer is one of the most energy-intensive appliances in your home. Hanging your laundry to dry on a clothesline will both green your lifestyle and save you some green (as in greenbacks: about $100 per year.

2. Set your thermostat: Maintaining the temperature in your home a little cooler in the winter and a little warmer in the summer will cut down on those utility bills as you reduce energy consumption. Savings will also result from adjusting your thermostat so that you are not heating or cooling your home unnecessarily when you are gone. A programmable thermostat makes these adjustments for you automatically, but even if yours is not programmable you can make the necessary adjustments manually in about thirty seconds a day. And you could save several hundred dollars per year this way.

3. Plan meals with more veggies: Fresh vegetables cost less than meat (average price of 64 cents per pound compared with $4.15 per pound for beef and $2.93 per pound for pork, according to one source), so by eating more veggies and less meat you will save money. Vegetables also are less stressful on the environment, according to Planet Green. Savings could easily add up to $100 per person or more each year.

4. Use water wisely: Fix (or have fixed) leaks from the toilet, faucet, or sprinklers as soon as possible. A running toilet can waste a surprising amount of water in only a day, with dramatic effects on your water bill. And there is no reason the faucet should run while you are brushing your teeth or shaving. That water is simply going straight down the drain, along with a little of your money to pay for it.

5. Make your own green cleaning products: Green cleaning products sound great, but unfortunately they usually cost more. Why spend five bucks on a green household cleaners when you can easily make your own for about 90% less. Baking soda can clean many things. For a simple, cheap household cleaner, mix about 25 cents worth of baking soda and 25 cents worth of white vinegar or lemon juice in water. You can put in a few drops of an essential oil to create a fragrance as an optional upgrade. Want a green toothpaste, but balk at paying 4 to 5 dollars a tube? Mix one teaspoon of baking soda with a two to three drops of hydrogen peroxide. Put this on your toothbrush and use like toothpaste.

Just doing a few simple things like these will allow you to save money as your live greener.

Steve Stillwater is passionate about developing a greener lifestyle, and he wants to help you incorporate easy-to-implement green living ideas into your life. He offers ideas and tips on easy ways to create a greener lifestyle that can also save you money at http://www.livinggreenandsavingenergy.com. Sign up for his free newsletter and get 2 Free Reports: 1) 10 Easy Ways to Save Gas and 2) 2010's Top 20 Fuel Efficient Cars.