Saving money on things you use every day is the most effective way to add money to your checking account on a monthly basis. So, where do you start?
The first place I started was with my power bill. I searched high and low and did lots of research on my power company’s website. I took a few classes on how to save energy and implemented all the tricks. Very simple things can save you a LOT of money. I’ve been able to cut my power bill approx. 35%. So, if your electricity bill is $150, you just earned yourself free cable for life!
Small changes add up to BIG savings!
1) Do your laundry and dishes in off-peak times when the prices are lower
Usually its in the evening, but you can check your local company to see when their off-peak hours are. Watering your lawn during off-peak hours is also a great idea.
2) Change your sink faucet head aerators
All you need is a pair of pliers and you can quickly and easily unscrew your faucet heads. Most bathrooms are equipped with 2.0-2.5. You can read those numbers engraved on the side of the head itself. In bathrooms, you can use as low as 0.5! What this means, is the amount of water ratio to the amount of ‘air’ to make the water come out goes a lot slower. So you won’t notice a difference when you turn on the water faucet, because the lower number faucet heads are using more air than water. So you’re using less water and getting the same results! It’s REALLY a neat trick! For kitchens, it’s usually 2.5-4.0 standard and you can go as low as 1.5 without noticing a difference. These heads cost about 50 cents for bathrooms and about $2 for kitchen heads at Lowe’s.
3) Use Fluorescent lights
You can get a great deal on fluorescent lights at Lowe’s. At the top of the shelves, they have them, singles, for 99 cents each! It will take some upfront investment. There are 34 lightbulbs in my home, so for me, it would cost $31 to replace. Side note: do NOT purchase these bulbs at Walmart. There is a lot of controversy over Walmart’s fluorescent light bulbs causing fires and if you follow me for any length of time, you know how many times I’ve shopped at Walmart in the last 4 years, 1 time! But, I’ll leave that for another time. 🙂
Another great idea is if you have those bar lights in your bathroom (a long strip of 4-8 bulbs above the sink), try putting a bulb every other socket. Your still getting light, but really, it’s a bathroom. Save your good lighting for other areas of the home. 😉 If this drops your bill even $15/month, in two months, your light purchase will be covered. And fluorescent bulbs last for YEARS!
4) Use a programmable thermostat
Especially at night when you can get away with turning the heat down lower. In the class I took, one of the quiz questions was:
Does it take more electricity to keep your thermostat lower when you sleep in the winter (because when you wake up in the morning and turn it up, it takes energy to get it back within range) or more energy to keep it steady. The answer is to turn it down low. Most people sleep on average 6-7 hours a night. This means that the electricity is not working at all for 6-7 hours. Not only does it give it a break, but it only takes maybe 30 mins to get it back up to temperature. It is much more cost-effective to turn it down at night. Same principle applies to air conditioning.
5) Change your air filter pad in the air conditioner and/or heater
Changing those pads when recommended will save you money over time and keep your furnace and air conditioner working longer.
6) Set your water heater temperature lower
Not only does it prevent scalding burns to yourself and your little ones, but it saves money too, since the water heater doesn’t have to work as hard to heat up the water. Keep it as hot as you need it to thoroughly clean your dishes and sterilize your laundry. Each home is different, so keep adjusting the temperature until you find what’s right for you. Another great idea is to wrap your water heater with a special blanket to keep it warmer longer.
7) Turn off lights when you’re not in a room
I think it goes without saying, don’t pay for unused electricity, however, if you ARE using fluorescent lights, it’s actually better to keep them off if it’s only going to be 4 hours or less of the light being off. Since CFL’s are not like normal lights, they suck up a lot of energy when you first turn them on to get up to full lighting capacity. For that reason, I leave my living room light off all night and then all day until the kids get home. There’s enough light from the kitchen in my home. Your home may be different, so just use your best judgement.
8) Weatherize your home
Air escapes your home through cracks and small holes throughout your home, such as door frames, windows, and the like. weather-stripping places where air can escape will keep your home warmer in the winter and colder in the summer, thus keeping your energy costs lower.
9) Electrical outlet plug insulation
I tested this one out myself. I didn’t really believe it would make that much of a difference. Boy does it! It translates to about $5/month = $60/year. $60/year = another bill one month you just got FREE!
Use these electrical outlet insulation covers for all outlets, ESPECIALLY the outlets that are on a wall that are facing the outside of the home! Usually right before winter and after winter, you can find these super cheap on clearance at Target. I have found this package for 49 cents before at Target on clearance. Not on an end cap, but with the other like products.
Use these plug covers for all plugs not being used
10) Use stand alone or wall-mounted fans rather than the air conditioner whenever possible, and keep your vent fan (if you have one) running continually
This will keep your air conditioner running smoother and will last longer, thus saving you money in the long run. According to the power company, it only costs a couple of pennies a day to run, and is well worth the maintenance of your heating and cooling.
Usually, every city has some sort of electrical help outreach program. Some programs will even come out and weatherize your home for free (there is usually a waiting list) and there is also a program that once a year, the company will pay anywhere from $100-$300 one time payment toward your electric or gas bill due to grants your state gets. Your power company will know more about this. On the west coast, it is called the LIHEAP program. You can also search the internet for your state’s energy assistance program. It is usually for low-income households, but the thresh holds are pretty high in my opinion. At least they are here.
What do you do to save money on your power bill?
Robin says
My dad has been an energy management specialist for decades — so I grew up with all these things being totally normal, including 82 deg. AC in the summer (I keep it at 78 though, lol) — these are all great tips. We saw the biggest difference when we switched to high efficiency bulbs. I still use regular bulbs in a few areas (above the bathroom mirror, for instance), but there are lots of very normal looking options now — not the blue humming lights of 20 years ago.
Sandra Smith says
great info thanks
Forest Rose says
Thank you Sarah for all this great info! We definitely try to conserve around here and this post has a lot of new ways I’ve never even heard of…Great!! Your site is packed full of tips to save! I’ve been zooming around here just trying to take it all in..hahaha! I really like your 7 ways to save $400/yr on Christmas, it all seems like a no brainer, but why didn’t I think of it? LOL!
Blessings,
Forest Rose
Sarah says
Thank you Robin, Sandra, and Forest for commenting! It’s a lot of fun creating these posts for you guys. 🙂 I think we all tend to take our knowledge for granted sometimes Forest…..Proverbs 27:17
@Robin – That is so awesome. I love all these tips. At first I thought they wouldn’t really save me much money, but boy do they! My first month, I saved $25. I was hooked. 🙂
Serina Rockwood says
These are amazing tips and I’m definitely going to be trying them as soon as I can! Energy costs are very high where I live and I just hate seeing how outrageous my bill is. I really need to trim it down.
Sarah says
@Serina – Yes, I love to save money on things I absolutely have to pay. One time, long before I started implementing these tips, my bill reached $350 in the winter! I was so stunned how they could charge that much. Not only did I move quickly, I started learning how to weatherize, etc. The power company teaches courses on this stuff locally, usually through community centers. In the classes, they give you the things you need as well for free! You might check locally to see if your community action agency does that. Usually, its the same office as the LIHEAP program that helps people with their power bills.
Sarah says
Thank you Kirk for your comments. It is 100% my own writing, none of it has been copied from anywhere else. I have taken some courses with the power company over the years, and use these things to save our family money. Out of all the things I have learned about saving money on our power bill, these are my favorite tips that I have seen save the most amount of money. Most bang for the time invested to do them sort of thing. Glad I can help. 🙂
Janna says
Saving energy is the priority our family is doing, since electric price wont go down any time soon its necessary for us to save even its little.. and thanks to this article it made a lot easier for us to save now.. great article!
Miss Millennial says
Thanks for sharing these! I’ve been looking for more suggestions on how to save money on electricity and utilities. I love the idea of the faucet head aerators!
Watson5608 says
What do the outlet seals do to help?
Thanks for the tips!
Sarah says
Great question. When I first learned that the outlet seals would help, I laughed, but when I tried it, it really DID help quite a bit. You’ll want to put them over every outlet you possibly can that leads to an outside wall. This means phone jacks, everything. Any wall that the other side of the wall leads outside your home. The ones inside your home, for example from a bedroom to a hallway or a bedroom to another wall inside your home, you need not worry about. Sockets are a place where air escapes your home quite a bit. Putting the seal over them “locks” in the air so you keep your cool or hot air inside your home and it doesn’t just escape through the holes. Weatherizing is so important. I remember one place I lived in many, many years ago, our power & gas bills were $450/month! It was a 2 bedroom, not a huge house, about 2/3 the size of my home now. It just wasn’t weatherized at all. Believe it or not, this months’ bill for both power and gas was a whopping $67.48. I keep my A/C at 74 almost all day and night. I’m also home, so lights are on, etc. more than before. Probably the biggest different in power costs is the fluorescent lights. You’ll see a good 25-30% off just for that change alone.
One of the other things that the power company suggests in a few of the classes I took with them was that we have some sort of shower timer. Set a shower to 5 mins and you can save a lot of money. That is too big of a sacrifice for me, lol, but a great tip as well for those that don’t mind it, as well as using low flow shower faucet heads. Again, not my personal cup of tea. I very much like my two heads. lol.
Mollie says
I suggest that in the section about lights you mention LED bulbs.
I suggest that in the section about fans you mention that ceiling fans running in an empty room is a complete waste of money because fans cool skin but they don’t cool rooms.
erin says
Do you mean that Walmart’s brand of lights have caused fires?
Sarah says
Yeah, it was online about a year ago, I think. They suggested staying away from their brand in particular. Can’t remember where I saw it though. Online on some major trusted site.
Dee says
I have lived in my quirky old house for 40 years, and like you there was a time when I had very little income. Even when things improved I continued to live frugally. 1 way I have learned to hold the heat in my house is by using the seemingly endless amount of plastic shopping bags. During a particularly bad cold spell, here in Iowa, I happened to go into my basement. The cold air coming down from the uninsulated sill plate was awful. I looked for something to block that cold, and I filled the space all the way around with bags. I filled one with several and stuffed them up there. It is years later and they are still doing the job. I also cut them into strips, and using a butter knife, I stuff them down into the sill cracks in my double hung windows, where the window meets the sill. It blocks an incredible amount of cold! Strips of cloth, or paper towels have been used also.
Jennifer Roberts says
Cutting down on “vampire power” by switching off/unplugging electronics when you’re not using them is another free and effective move. Everything on standby, with a light or clock, or that feels warm when it’s plugged in is drawing power. A little here and a little there really adds up!
Elizabeth says
Never heard of Socket Sealers! Excited to grab some!
Sarah Titus says
I was really skeptical they wouldn’t even make a difference, but they really do! 🙂
Rhonda Grice says
We have changed all out light bulbs out for the better ones and they last longer as well as save money. I never thought of doing laundry when times of electric was cheaper so thanks for that tip!
One tip that saves money as well has to do with the stove oven. If you are going to heat up the oven be sure and cook two or three items at the same time. You are burning the same amount of electricity or gas so why not make it go further.
Sarah Titus says
I’m glad you found a tip to help you save money, Rhonda. I like the tip you shared as well and I definitely do that myself. 🙂 Cooking several items at once is great and you can have extra meals in the freezer for later.
Kate I. says
Your blog is my absolute favorite on Pinterest!!! Some of these things we already do/have at home, but some things I would never have thought of! And most of them are not costly or even work intensive! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sarah Titus says
Absolutely Kate. So glad you like the blog! <3
Sharon Brown says
As always, great information!! As a mom and solo parent, I’m always looking for ways to cut costs. There were several things on this list that I haven’t thought of, so thank you, Sarah! I’m looking forward to implementing the changes and letting you know how much I’m able to save. Stay encouraged and keeping on doing what you do, Sarah! You are a Blessing <3