Save Money Easily With Small Household Changes

You’ve heard of the big rebates being offered for changing out water boilers and heaters to energy efficient models, but who has a spare couple grand to spend right now, right? What you may not know is that there are plenty of small changes that you can implement to your house that are easily budgeted, that cost very little upfront and produce a great return on their investment over the course of a year. They can include changes in your daily habits, how you obtain a service, and/or simple household fixes that change your consumption habits without too much trouble.

Examine Your Habits

Everyone knows that turning off the lights when you leave a room is going to save you money on your electricity bill, but there are less well known habits people can implement that will lower their expenses over time, for a minimal upfront investment.

• Replace your light bulbs - The new energy saving light bulbs use only a fraction of the electricity as old carbon bulbs, and they last longer.
• Grow your own food - It’s not as hard as it sounds, and can even be done in an apartment. It just takes some soil, some sunshine, some water, and seeds. Once you get hooked on growing a portion of what you eat, you’ll wonder why you bothered to spend so much at the grocery stores anyway.
• Wait to turn on the heat or air - Some people naturally turn on the air conditioning, once the winter is over, without waiting to see how long they can go without it. Similarly, you can wait a few months to turn on the heating and enjoy the cool air outside during some months of fall. If you live in certain areas like the Southeast, it’s possible to not use any heating or cooling for four months out of every year, quite comfortably. This can impact your usage and help you acclimate to changing seasons.

Examine Your Services

If you haven’t looked at what you’re paying for cable, Internet, phone, and other household services, get into the habit of doing it yearly. Even reviewing your insurance needs can save you money by lowering premiums at certain points, just for asking. In particular, stay ahead of technologies that can replace more expensive services with free or low cost alternatives. You may find cable isn’t even necessary anymore, if you’re quite content to watch recorded DVDs, tapes, and/or use Hulu.tv to watch reruns. Land lines for phones are quickly becoming obsolete as more and more people use cell phones. Get a prepaid phone, and keep tight control of those costs too.

Examine Small Fixes

• Add low flow shower heads - For $15 to $40, you can get a low flow shower head for each of your bathrooms. Shorten the time in the shower, and you can impact both your water and your gas or electricity bill at the same time.
• Check the toilet tank - You can add a few bricks or even a water-filled 2-liter soda bottle (recycling!) to your tank to make it an instant low-flow toilet. If it works, no reason to replace. If it doesn’t, consider getting a new toilet. There are rebates for this right now in many states.
• Re-caulk and winterize windows and doors - Every winter get the house ready by recaulking areas that can cause loss of your heating. Check for drafts and winterize to keep your home warm and cozy.