3 Simple Ways to Save Money on Utility Bills
As of the moment, almost everything goes up. Even blood pressures of people rise because of high cost of living. A person earning minimum wage (which usually varies based on the state) really feels the burden of high prices. Minimum wage ranges between $7.25 to $9.19 per hour. Is this enough to feed a family? It’s hard to visualize how minimum wage earners budget their money to survive each day.
Budgeting is really difficult. Think of it this way: a worker’s salary is deducted with mandatory contributions, like taxes and other fees. The remaining amount will be budgeted to cover household expenses, such as food, personal needs and utility bills. Out from all these expenses, you are lucky if you can still save at least $5.
Minimize Expenses to Save Money
An effective technique to spend less and save money – even just a little amount – is by cutting back your utility bills. At first, it seems impossible to execute. But, you will be surprised how much money you can save in a month once you take action. All it takes is strong determination and self-discipline. For instance, if you can save $3 on electricity and another $3 dollars on water bill per month, you can put back $6 into your wallet. Now, the question is how can you minimize your utility bills?
- Use light wisely – If no one is around the house during daytime, it is advisable to unplug all home appliances. Unplugged appliances still consume electricity even if they are turned off. Thus, it is vitally important to unplug any electronic equipment when not in use. Switch off bedroom light every time leaving the room. The keyword here is “unplug” – unplug unused appliances.
Another efficient way to use electricity is switching on the cooling system until such time that the entire room is cold. Once the room is cold, turn it off. The room will remain cold – for like an hour – without using the AC . Hence, you are able to lessen electric usage.
- Proper water consumption – Do you use shower during bath time? Sounds great right? But, using pail every time you take a bath can help you reduce water bill. If you are using shower, chances are, water continuously flow even while you shampoo. On the other hand, if you stock water in the pail, you will only use the water when you need to wet or rinse yourself. Most importantly, you can estimate the amount of water you need for bathing unlike in using shower wherein you’ll be tempted to stay under the water until you feel like stopping.
When washing your clothes, it is sensible to reuse the water. Instead of draining it, you can store the used water in a pail for other household chores. Soapy water can still be used to clean up your rugs or wash the tires of your car. Meanwhile, water used for rinsing (clearer) can be used in the garden or in washing your car. How can you save from this effort? Rather than using water directly from the faucet, you can recycle the water used in washing clothes. This way you can save money, at the same time you are helping save the planet.
- Say no to cable – With hundreds of channels you can enjoy from getting a cable connection, undeniably, you only watch a few of them (approximately five to 10 channels). It is impossible to watch all these channels simultaneously. Painful truth is other channels are not really of your interest. So, why are you paying for these channels that you don’t watch? Okay, so you love to watch sports, TV shows and movies. If not shown on regular channels, you can still watch them using the Internet. Thanks to technology. Otherwise, you can just rent DVDs of your favorite films.
Remember, utility bill is controllable. Cutting back household expenses is feasible if you know how to manage electric consumption and water usage. You see, there are many ways to emancipate yourself from high cost of living whether you live in one of those small apartments in Atlanta or big houses in California.
Category: Budget, Saving Money
