Money Saving Tips for around the Home

Seems like everyone is looking for ways to save a few dollars these days. High gas prices at the pump are causing many families to make cuts in other parts of their lives. We wanted to provide a few easy ways to save a couple bucks a month and help make your home a little more efficient.

1. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs will use much less energy, last longer (lower replacement costs), and give off much less heat. The multi packs at Lowes are a great buy and I like the light produced better then some of the more expensive brands.
2. Install low-flow shower heads. For years I avoided this tip as a low pressure shower didn’t sound very appealing. Decided to add the low-flow shower head to our second bath as it wouldn’t effect me and test it. While low flow, the pressure is still good and we have since changed the other shower head.
3. Get a programmable thermostat. With how inexpensive these have gotten there is no reason everyone doesn’t have one. Now if you have one make sure to use it.
4. Open you windows at night during the summer. Think back to your childhood. Would you have had the A/C on when it was 70 degrees outside? This August each night has fallen into the 60’s at night and still hear the hum of A/C units running while taking an evening walk.
5. Weather strip your doors and windows. A 1/4 inch gap along the bottom of a 3 foot wide door is 9 square inches of open space. That is a lot of wasted money.
6. Balance your vents to achieve an even temperature throughout your house. The goal is to close or partially close vents in areas that don’t need as much air flow to increase the flow to other parts of the home. In the summer closing vents in the basement should be your first step, then reducing air flow to rooms that don’t have direct exposure to the sun as they naturally stay cooler. You will ahve to play with this a little, but in the end you will have a much more comfortable and even temperature throughout your home.
7. Insulate, Insulate, Insulate…. Everyone knows that your attic should be insulated but lets add a couple common areas that people skip. Insulate your attic access doors and insulate your garage door. For both of these tasks there are kits or just use the rigid insulation and cut to size. Don’t forget to insulate your hot water heater. This not only saves you money today but reduces strain on your hot water heater thus increasing it’s life.
8. Water your grass and flowers at night. Watering when the sun is down reduces the amount of water that evaporates, thus you need to water for a shorter period of time. Also look into soaker hoses for your flower beds as they deliver the water directly to the base of the flowers again increasing efficiency.
9. Turn the temperature down on your hot water heater. Anything above 125 degrees is typically not needed and you are wasting money. Not all hot water heaters are accurate so you will need to play with this a little, but every 10 degrees you dial down the thermostat can knock 3 to 5 percent off your water-heating bill. In addition, a lower hot water temperature reduces the chance of scalding.
10. Is your TV really off? Did you know that your TV and many other appliances aren’t actually off when you turn them off. They actually switch to standby mode and are using electric. I am to forgetful to switch the power strip off every time I leave the home, but anytime we will be gone for at least a full day the switch gets turned off. The TV, computer, radio, DVD player, and a few other items all get switched off or unplugged.

    Safety Tip: Power Strips and/or Surge Protectors have a limited life. Most should be replaced every 2 years. We had a client who’s home had a fire due to an old power strip and they lost everything. They actually were very lucky as the fire happened when nobody was home so nobody got hurt. Spend the few dollars and replace old strips.

There are so many more ideas that can save you money around the home. If you have any ideas feel free to leave a comment and help others save a few dollars.

Other resources:
Energy Saving Tips to Save More Money
Greening your Home
Going Green Can Save You Money