Top Ten Ways to Save Money Around the House

Most everybody wants to save money around the house–because it’s the smart thing to do! Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to do it. Here are the top ten ways to save money around the house. You’ll see that all these money savers are pretty quick and easy to do. Check them out!

1. Guess what? Even if your appliances aren’t turned on, as long as they are plugged into the wall, you’re using electricity! So the first way to save money around the house is to unplug your appliances when you aren’t using them. Perhaps the easier way to think of it is to change your mindset to plug them in when you do need them, and unplug them again when you’re done.
2. You can actually cut your water bill by as much as 60% if you change out all of your water faucets to low-flow models. In cities where the culinary water isn’t cheap, this adds up to real savings!
3. There are better ways to light up your home at night then there used to be. Invest in long-life light bulbs. They cost more at the outset, but when you can get years out of one bulb? It’s a no-brainer!
4. If you’ve got curtains and blinds in your home, use them to help lower your heating and cooling costs during the coldest and hottest months of the year. Use reflective blinds to keep heat out when the sun’s rays are hottest, and close your curtains on the coldest days to help keep heat inside. These methods do help people save up to 10% on their heating and cooling bill.
5. If you invest in a water heater blanket, you will save some of your hard-earned money you have to spend on the cost of hot water. A water heater blanket helps keep 40% more heat inside the water heater, where it belongs. That equates to an 8 or 9% reduction in your hot water cost.
6. A programmable thermostat is another efficient way to help you save on the cost of heating and cooling your home. It can actually save you an average of $140 per year!
7. Do you clean your dryer’s lint trap regularly? If you don’t, you need to start. Forgetting to clean it can cost you as much as 75% of your dryer’s efficiency. Lower efficiency equals longer drying times and more money spent. It also can equal a house fire. So don’t forget!
8. So you’re cooking dinner, and it doesn’t really matter what size pan you use, does it? Yes, it does! Use the right size pot for the burner, because using a small pot on a larger burner wastes almost half of that burner’s heat. If you use a gas stove, make sure the flames aren’t licking around the sides of the pot. That’s a heat-waster too.
9. Are you paying too much for cable? Do you even need it? That’s the question these days. The average family pays around $65/month for cable. If you switch to Netflix, that’s about a $50 savings per month, depending on the plan you choose. That’s a lot of savings!
10. Life is crazy when you go home from work and have to feed the family. How often do you end up in a restaurant drive through? Instead, use a crock pot to prep your meal in the morning and cook it while you’re gone. Trading in a take out meal for a crock pot meal just once every week can save you a couple thousand over a year’s time. Definitely worth doing!

What other ways have you found to save money around the house? Leave a comment!

Resource: Business Insider