Help!! I need to save money at home not just the grocery store!!!!!
These days it seems that the cost of living has increased so much that saving money in every area possible is a pursuit of life. You may have heard of extreme couponing, there are shows, blogs, and websites all geared towards saving you money and some can even show you how to get money back on your purchases! If there are ways to save money on our purchases then there must be a way to save on electricity and water.
Let’s start with your electric bill. Did you know the setting you are using for the on/auto fan switch on your home’s A/C thermostat is an important part of your electric consumption? This means your bill can run higher if you are using the wrong setting. According to an article written by Craig Muccio on FPL’s website, “turning the fan switch to “on” will make the A/C fan run over 200 extra hours a month.” We can imagine what “200 extra hours” means. If you set your fan switch to auto, you are allowing the A/C to take a break and this will actually save you money on your electric bill and will give your A/C unit a longer life.
In addition to your fan switch, the temperature setting can also help save you money. FPL recommends a setting temperature of 78 F degrees and for even greater savings, a setting of 82F. Yes the summer is here and the heat is intense but when you are out of the house take advantage of changing the setting to save money and you will be glad you did!
According to an article by Familyhandyman.com, you can use these 10 tricks to lower your electric bill by 40%:
- Switch to CFLs: Save up to $35 a bulb
- Install smarter switches: Save up to $100 a year
- Buy Energy Star appliances: Save $35 to $600 a year
- Service your air conditioner: Save up to $65 a year
- Kill energy vampires: Save up to $100 a year
- Clean out the lint for dryer efficiency: Save up to $25 a year
- Change furnace filter: Save up to $60 a year
- Save on electric water heating: Save up to $25 a year
- Get smart metering: Save up to $140 a year
- Run your refrigerator for less: Save up to $60 a year
Saving on electricity is not the only area that will help save our pockets! What about that water bill? How do you shower, wash dishes, flush the toilets and water that dying grass without paying an outrageous bill? Frugalliving.about.com has some great ideas that can solve this issue. Here is another handy list that will help rescue your Benjamins:
- Use your dishwasher, don’t pre-rinse dishes, scrape food from your plates and let the dishwasher do the rest
- Install a faucet aerator
- Heat water on the stove/microwave then you won’t waste water while you wait for the tap to get hot.
- Switch to a low-flow shower head
- Take shorter showers and take showers instead of baths
- Replace your toilet flapper once a year
- Install an adjustable flapper and a fill cycle diverter to your toilet
- For lawns, collect rain water for plants
- Water with soaker hoses
- Use a wading pool instead of a sprinkler
- Mulch your garden
- Take your car to a car wash and you’ll eliminate 100 gallons or more
We hope these savvy tricks will help save you money this year but take those extra bucks to the savings account, you’ll never know when you will need them!
For detailed information on these list visit their websites at:
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/householdsavings/tp/Save_Money_On_Water_Bill.01.htm