Everyone needs a few tips for keeping utility bills under budget, and in any financial freedom plan it is easy to manage. Being able to cut back on basic mandatory bills makes more room in your budget for other expenses. That money can be used to help you get out of debt, or could be put toward a vacation your family wants to go on, but couldn’t afford. These tips are basic and help year round to keep your expenses down. Check out all of our Spending Freeze posts.
Tips For Keeping Utility Bills Under Budget
Use a digital thermostat. Setting your in home thermostat to change digitally according to the time of day is a great way to regulate the temperature in your home and save money. You can set your night time hours or warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter, as well as setting the thermostat similarly if you are going to be out of the house during the day. A digital thermostat may also be easy to program from an app on your phone when away from home if needed. Check out our recent post on our Nest Digital Home Thermometer from Best Buy. My husband is now able to control our home thermostat from an app on his phone.
Use fans to circulate air inside your home. During the winter and summer months, a ceiling fan can be an amazing tool to help circulate air inside your home. Not only will it give a breeze that cools things off and keeps your thermostat set higher in the summer, it can help the warm air circulate easily in the winter months.
Dress appropriately inside your home. You can easily wear shorts and a t-shirt inside in the summer, and always add as sweater, warm socks or a blanket and throw in the winter to warm things up a bit. Dressing for the season can make a huge difference in how you feel while indoors.
Use alternate energy sources. Solar panels are a large up front expense, but they are well worth it in the long run. The same can be said about utilizing an upgrade in insulation, window and door seals or even investing in a fireplace or wood burning stove. While the initial investment may be large, over the course of a few years it results in big savings.
Use the right window coverings. Sometimes pretty sheer curtains may look beautiful, but they aren’t enough to properly insulate from the heat or cold. Add thicker or darker window coverings to keep the glare of the sun that would raise temperatures out in the summer, and the draft of the cold out in the winter.
Use Proper Insulation. Newly built homes are often insulated well, but older homes tend to be more drafty, allowing air to travel more quickly than desired. Adding insulation has been proven to reduce utility bills, and is a great DIY project that you can do for less on your own. You can also buy insulation kits for draft windows as well, and many people use the shrink wrap on drafty windows. The Department of Energy has some great tips and information to help you with this process.
These simple tips for keeping utility bills under budget are basic methods of cutting back on spending and helping you to manage your budget with ease. These tips along with learning how to coupon effectively, ways to save on menu planning and even keeping your older car in good shape instead of buying new can all be great choices toward finding the financial freedom you and your family seek.
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