These days being frugal is rather trendy. You probably already know how to save money on online shopping, cut down business costs, and get education for free, however it is the monthly utility bill that sucks up a pretty penny out of your paycheck. Start following these simple household money saving tips today and save at least an extra thousand dollar this year!
1. Fix your pipes and install low-flow water faucets
Did you know that 7 billion gallons of drinking water a day are wasted in the US? That’s enough to fill over 11,000 swimming pools! Make sure you conduct timely inspections of your pipes (at least once a year) and fix all the leaks. A dripping faucet adds extra 10% to your water bill. Moreover, consider installing low-flow faucets which cost around 10-20$ per item. Ask yourself: do you really need a fire hydrant flow to wash your dishes or would you prefer to drastically reduce your bills?
Money saved: up to 60% on water.
2. Keep the electronics unplugged at night
How many electric appliances do you have at home? Think TV, microwaves, all your cell phone gadgets, laptops etc. What you may not realize is that all of them still use electricity even when they are powered off. An average US household has around 40 electronic devices powered up at any given time of the day, sucking over 100$ a year without owners even realizing it! The solution is surprisingly simple: keep all your appliances plugged into a power strip and disconnect them by the end of the day.
Money saved: up to 5% on electricity.
3. Invest into Energy-star equipment
If you work from home at least once a week or even run a home office, investing into Energy-star devices will save you a few hundred dollars per year as they consume at least 50% less electricity compared to standard equipment. For example, merely switching to energy star-labeled laptops and computers will cut down your energy consumption twice. The same goes with printers, fax machines, VoIP phones and other equipment you need to keep your small business running smooth and efficient.
Also, think about installing access floors in your home office room to hide all the cables and wires, thus protecting them from mechanical damages (think riding with your chair over your laptop cord). Cables working at half-power drastically increase energy consumption and definitely will not help your equipment to last longer. Besides, you can use the extra space to store large items and avoid clutter. A clutter-free office looks better and makes you work harder.
Money saved: up to 65% on electricity.
4. Insulate your hot water heater
By adding an extra layer of protection to your hot water heater and water pipes, you’ll save an extra 40% of heat from being wasted during cold months. There are numerous options available – from buying a 10-20$ insulating blanket (up to 40% of heat loss reduced) to spray foam insulation that typically cost around 400-500$, but will save you much more in the long run.
Money saved: up to 9% on utilities.
5. Seal the windows and doors properly
Did you know that your household probably loses one-third of the heat due to drafty windows and doors? It’s the same with the cooling during warm seasons. Instead of paying extra, you can easily fix the issue by:
- Using insulated blinds and drapes on glass doors and large windows to regulate the heat. Also, cover up windows facing west, east and south on hot days and leave the shades up on sunny cold days, but do not forget to close them at night.
- Replace single-pane windows with storm windows for cold seasons. That will reduce heat loss by 50%.
- Use “low-e” transparent film to seal the drafty window for winter. It costs pennies, yet reduces the losses up to 20%.
- Fill up all the window, floor and door cracks with caulk.
Money saved: up to 40% on heating.
6. Switch to fluorescent light bulbs
Only 6% out of all consumed electricity is turned into light by old traditional bulbs. Everything else goes into waste heat you obviously don’t need. Fluorescent bulbs cost a bit more, however they last up to 25 times longer, plus transform more energy into actual light. For example, replacing 15 bulbs could save you up to 600$ over the life of the bulbs.
Money saved: up to 75% on electricity.
7. Stop spending on bottled water
Let’s do some simple arithmetic. Approximately, you pay 6$ for a standard case of water that is 0.40$ per bottle. An average family of four consumes up to 2 gallons per day which is 5.3 bottles per person a day and 2.13$. Multiplied by four and then by 365 we have over 3.000$ spent on plain water! The most basic model of a water filtration system will cost you roughly 20$ + a new filter required for every 40 gallons.
Money saved: 2.900$ per year
8. Get a programmable thermostat
If you work endlessly long hours, often go on business trips or have a lot of time to travel, getting a programmable thermostat should be your priority. It will automatically adjust heat/cooling settings according to the schedule you’ve set, thus reducing electricity and heat wastes. That’s extra 180$ saved per year.
Money saved: up to 15% per year on electricity
9. Use the right-sized cookware
Not only makes it your food cook faster and taste better, but using appropriately sized pans and pots can significantly reduce energy consumption. A 6″ pot placed on 8″ burner wastes 40% of heat. Depending whether you use an electricity or a gas cooker, you can save up to 36$ and 18$ respectively per year.
Money saved: up to 9% annually on electricity
10. Use the microwave to boil water
On average, it takes four minutes less to boil a cup of water in the microwave comparing to the same action done on the stove. Besides, the appliance consumes 60% less energy. Imagine that each time you spend 3 cents less on your bill. Multiply the number by 365 and get a pretty decent amount of savings to spend on a weekend trip.
Money saved: 6-10% on electricity.
11. Clean your dryer lint trap
It seems pretty obvious, yet you probably forget cleaning the lint trap anyway. However, you should realize that this simple action will make your appliance work at least 75% more effective (less energy consumed) and increase its overall lifespan. Also, consider cleaning the dryer vent completely once in a while and occasionally washing your lint filter to reduce the bills even more and let your appliance serve you well for decades.
Money saved: 4-8% on electricity.
12. Take shorter showers
Soaking in a warm bath requires 70 gallons of water on average, plus extra heating costs. While having a quick refreshing shower uses just around 10-25 gallons. It’s a no brainier that taking a shower is cheaper. But how much? Say, you like taking a 12 minute shower on average and your shower head pours around 2 gallons/per min. By opting for a 5 min shower instead, you’ll save nearly 3000 gallons per year. That’s from 10$ to 100$ saved annually depending on your current water rates.
Money saved: 25-40% on water.
