It may be a struggle to save up the money for these moderate investments, but putting the effort in now will reward you well in the future by reducing your expenses. Here are four things you can do:
This idea is the easiest to budget and do, even if you're working with a shoestring budget. You can sometimes find these on sale at $8 for a 4-pack.
This is a larger investment, but it lets you stock up during sales and really cut down the grocery bill over the long run.
If your air conditioner is more than a few years old, you're probably paying too much to run it.
Appliance manufacturers have made tremendous strides in energy efficiency in recent years.
Replace Your Incandescent Light Bulbs
This idea is the easiest to budget and do, even if you're working with a shoestring budget. You can sometimes find these on sale at $8 for a 4-pack.
A 60-Watt equivalent LED bulb uses 11 Watts, meaning that each one can save you over $500 over its lifespan.
Lighting is about 40% of your electric bill, so this small investment starts keeping money in your pocket right away.
Get a Chest Freezer
This is a larger investment, but it lets you stock up during sales and really cut down the grocery bill over the long run.
When you can start buying quarters or sides of beef, you'll eat far better cuts for not much more than you're paying for hamburger now.
Store gallon or 2-liter jugs of ice in your freezer to keep it full to minimize electric use.
Upgrade Your Air Conditioning
If your air conditioner is more than a few years old, you're probably paying too much to run it.
Look at the energy efficiency of your present unit, and then the energy costs of the models available now. As Seliga Heating and Cooling explain, you may recoup this investment fairly quickly if your AC is even moderately old.
Heating and AC can be as much as half of your electric bill. All of the savings after your investment is recovered are profit.
Trade In Your Appliances
Appliance manufacturers have made tremendous strides in energy efficiency in recent years.
Go through your house and make a list of all of your electric appliances, noting their model numbers and energy ratings. Then look online at the current models and their energy ratings.
Rank your appliances by annual energy savings and start with the biggest one. It's not uncommon for a refrigerator's savings to be over $50/year.
Don't forget to ask dealers for trade-in allowances and look for rebates and tax credits when you're figuring your costs.
Hopefully, these tips have been useful to you and will help you save in the years to come. You don’t have to do everything all at once, though, just start with one at a time.
Hopefully, these tips have been useful to you and will help you save in the years to come. You don’t have to do everything all at once, though, just start with one at a time.
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