Reducing the estimated 38 billion plastic water bottles discarded each year will obviously have a huge environmental impact. Those environmental benefits may be leading this effort to switch from bottled water to tap water, but the finances of making the change should also not be overlooked.

Cindy Crawford has joined the effort by teaming up with PUR Water Filtration Systems (PUR) to promote a limited edition Thirsty for Change water bottle. The aluminum water bottle is manufactured and sold by SIGG, the Swiss Engineered Water Bottle company. The idea is to reuse the bottle and fill it with filtered tap water instead of buying bottled water. The Thirsty for Change website claims that PUR filtered water is 1/10 the cost of bottled water, which will save an average of $600 per year. Filtered tap water is being promoted because PUR is the co-sponsor of the initiative but depending on where you live, you may be able to drink unfiltered tap water to save even more.

Any reusable bottle will allow you to make this change, but if you order the limited edition Thirsty for Change water bottle, all proceeds from the sale will benefit Procter & Gamble’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, which helps reduce water-related disease in many developing countries around the world.

Personally, I use a Nalgene bottle that cost about $10 less than the SIGG bottle.

Chrysler recently announced the Let’s Refuel America program which locks in gas prices at $2.99 per gallon. Here’s a clip from the press release followed by an analysis of whether the deal is worth it.

From the press release: “In response to direct customer feedback citing the prospect of rising gas prices as a top concern, Chrysler LLC today announces its own economic stimulus package: an exclusive gas price protection policy that eliminates the risk of further spikes in fuel prices. With the U.S. purchase of eligible Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, customers can enroll in the “Let’s Refuel America” program and receive a gas card that immediately lowers their gas price to $2.99 a gallon, and keeps it there for three years. The offer is available at 3,511 U.S. Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealerships through June 2, 2008, and is available on vehicles ranging from popular new compacts, crossovers and minivans to full-size diesel-powered pickup trucks.”

The analysis:

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Postage rates will increase on Monday, May 12th. I previously covered why Forever Stamps are a Losing Investment. For the next few days, it does make sense to buy enough forever stamps to cover a few months worth of your postage needs. You can buy forever stamps at $0.41 each through Saturday, May 10th and they will be valid for first class mail that would normally cost 42 cents after that date.