Ways to Save Money at Home

So I think this is the big one. Everyone wants to save money at home. Leaving out things like groceries, saving money on household expenditures is rather easy. It's also one area that we don't always see immediate results. I think this holds alot of us back. We think doing little things won't make a difference. But- we are wrong. All those little things add up.

So here we go, easiest and Best Ways to Save Money at home.

Turn off what we don't use- or better yet- unplug it.
Yes, it's a pain. I am terrible about turning off lights. But, I am getting better about it. Once you make it a habit- it will stick. But turning off lights is just a piece of the puzzle. Did you know that everything that is plugged into an electric outlet, even if it's not in use, is still using energy. That's right. If you really want to save money at home, you need to unplug- not just turn off. Easier said than done. I know. So compromise. You don't have to unplug everything everyday. Unplug what you don't use on a regular basis or things you just use for a short time.
We now unplug the coffee pot after we are done every morning. I unplugged lamps that we never use. At night, we turn the computer off (we don't always unplug it) instead of putting it to sleep. Unplug the cell phone charger when done using it. The list goes on and on. Look around your house and see what you can unplug to save money.

Use energy efficient light bulbs
This is one of the things I meant when I said you may have to spend a little more in the beginning. These light bulbs do cost a little more, but they are worth it. When I first looked at these they cost about $8 each- that's for one bulb. Now, you can get a 4 pack for about $10 at discount superstores. Also, check your local dollar type stores. You can usually buy 1 bulb for about $3. I bought a couple out of each paycheck until I had them everywhere. They do work and I haven't bought a single light bulb in a year. I think this is by far one of the best ways to save money, long term, in your house.

Make the most of your water heater
Not all of us, even to save money in the long term, can afford to buy a new water. So make the best of what you have. Depending on where your breaker box is located, this may be a good option for you. Turn your water heater off for several hours a day. This is not complicated. You have to figure out when the best way to do this for your household. It will be different for everyone based on the number of people in your house, when everyone is at home to bath or do dishes and how big your water heater is. But it will save money for you.
You first have to understand that when the water in your water heater is hot- it will stay hot, even if you turn the water heater off at the breaker.
I am able to turn ours off about 12 hours a day. I turn it off at night about 2 hours after everyone has had a bath. I run the dishwasher over night- this uses the water that got hot water after our baths. I turn the water heater back on the next morning and we have plenty of hot water through out the day.
You just have to tweak it for your house. But this does work. It is one of the best ways I know to save money. I save about $30 a month on my electricity bill doing this. It's so easy!

Run Major appliances at night
Check with your electric company. In some areas electricity is cheaper at night (after 9 pm). I run the dishwasher and dryer at night. Yes, I could save more if I hand washed the dishes and hung the clothes to dry- But I don't want to.

Check the phone bill
Since everyone has a cell phone now, I'm assuming you do too. If you do, check your phone bill. You may be paying for all sorts of stuff you no longer need.

Check your cell phone bill
With the invention of roll over minutes- I can build up thousands of extra minutes on my cell plan. When I do, I can just go on the company website and drop my plan down to one with less minutes and use up my roll over minutes. When I'm out of roll over minutes, I raise my plan back to where I need it to be.

Are you gas or electric?
This is now one of my favorite ways to save money and I stumbled upon it by accident. We have a gas heater. I hate the central heat, so I already mostly use space heaters. We are in Louisiana, so even the space heaters only get used a tiny bit each year. One summer, the pilot light on our gas heater went out. I didn't bother lighting it back since it was summer. My gas bill dropped about $25 a month! Can you believe- all that from a pilot light! Now, if we are going to use the central heat, we just light the pilot light when we need it and put it out when we are done.

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