If you live in an area where tropical plants can’t survive the winter outdoors you can turn your home into a winter plant storage facility to help offset your heating costs.
Many people love having the areas around their homes and pools look like a tropical paradise but it can become very pricey replacing the plants every spring only to have the plants die over the winter months. You can bring your tropical plants indoors into sunny rooms to spend the winter and in the spring bring them outdoors again. Doing this not saves you money. You can also earn money by doing this for other people. If a person has a tropical plant worth $100, charge them $50 for spending the winter indoors at your house. Caring for them takes minimal time and the money you earn can offset your winter heating bills.
So take that sunny room you have and turn it into a green house for your own plants and those of friends and neighbors. Not only does everyone save money by not having to replace items every spring, but the plants get bigger over the years and hence have a bigger impact in your landscaping. You can even start young tropical plants from cuttings yourself. Let them grow and mature with you for a couple of years and sell them at a very tidy profit to people looking for tropical bushes and trees of a good size. Then charge the same people to let them spend the winter at your house!