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How to Save Money On Utilities
Learning how to save money on utilities is a great way to slash your budget and be even more intentional with your spending than ever before. Reviewing the ins and outs of your electric, gas, water, and trash bills is the ticket to discovering how to save money on utilities for good.
Let’s face it, no one wants to waste money on things they barely notice throughout the day. While utilities like electricity, gas, water, and trash all play an important role in providing us with a comfortable lifestyle, they’re certainly not as exciting as some of the other things we pay for on a monthly basis, like food and new clothes. And a lot of times, we’re so accustomed to flipping on a switch, lighting a burner, turning on the faucet, or rolling a bin out to the curb that we take our utilities for granted.
Most people would much rather save money on their utilities so they could afford to take a family vacation, start an FU fund, or pay off their mortgage early because family is important and financial independence is cool.
Whatever the case may be, the tips and tricks I’m sharing with you today are the smart strategies for how to save money on utilities so that you can start saving more of your hard-earned cash or use it any other way you’d like.
Brooke’s Top Pick for an Electric Bill Challenge
Electric Bill Savings Challenge Printable by ZodiakPrintableFun
• Instant digital download
• 8.5 x 11 inches
• Color in as you save
• Save and invest the rest
How to Save Money on Electric Bill
Learning how to save money on your electric bill is far easier than you may think. By taking advantage of technological advancements in your home and in the products you buy, you can use less electricity and watch your electric bill shrink in no time.
Here are 17 tips for how to save money on an electric bill:
- Switch to LED bulbs in all light fixtures.
- Install dimmer switches.
- Turn off the lights whenever you leave the room.
- Install motion detector lights outside.
- Install a programmable thermostat.
- Program your thermostat to turn the heat down or the air conditioning up at night and whenever you’re not home.
- Change your air filter every 90 days.
- Purchase energy-efficient appliances.
- Keep your refrigerator and freezer full as often as possible.
- Use smart plugs so you can turn appliances off by tapping them or using a voice command.
- Unplug small appliances you’re not using and store them away.
- Use the lowest dryer setting possible so you don’t overdry your clothes.
- Clean out the lint trap in your dryer after every load.
- Use the air-dry setting on your dishwasher.
- Keep doors and windows shut while running the air conditioning or the heat.
- Install ceiling fans to circulate air in living rooms and bedrooms.
- Have your air ducts inspected for holes and leaks.
With these 17 hacks, you can learn how to save money on your electric bill like a pro, and it really doesn’t take that much effort after all. Before you know it, you’ll be coasting toward financial freedom.
How to Save Money on Gas Bill
There is no time like the present to learn how to save money on your gas bill. By simply sealing up your home, the amount of money you spend on your gas bill will be reduced, no matter how often you use your gas-powered appliances.
These 17 handy tips will help you air-seal your home and lower your gas bill once and for all:
- Close off any unused rooms in your home.
- Upgrade the insulation in your home.
- Install energy-efficient windows.
- Seal all window and door drafts.
- Purchase thermal curtains or insulated window panels.
- Close all the curtains in your home at night.
- Purchase energy-efficient appliances.
- Install a continuous water heater.
- Stay on top of appliance maintenance like furnace tune-ups.
- Dress warmer instead of turning up the heat.
- Don’t preheat the oven.
- Look through your oven door to check on food instead of opening it.
- Turn your oven off a few minutes before the timer goes off.
- Turn the stovetop burner up based on the size of your pot or pan.
- Close both the flue and your glass doors when your fireplace is not in use.
- Insulate all of the hot water pipes in your home.
- Take short showers instead of baths.
Saving money on your gas bill is pretty simple with these 17 tips. Once you’ve made the appropriate upgrades and changed a few of your habits, you won’t even notice the difference—until you pay a much lower bill every month that is.
Brooke’s Top Pick for a Water Bill Challenge
Water Bill Savings Challenge Printable by ZodiakPrintableFun
• Instant digital download
• 8.5 x 11 inches
• Color in as you save
• Save and invest the rest
How to Save Money on Water Bill
If you are wondering how to save money on your water bill, the easiest solution is to be more intentional with your water usage and upgrade to low-flow appliances. Advancements in technology have made saving money on a water bill a much simpler process.
You can learn how to use less water and save money on your water bill quickly and easily with these 17 hacks:
- Install an efficient showerhead.
- Take shorter showers and skip baths.
- Install faucet aerators in all of your sinks to reduce the amount of water that comes out of the tap.
- Don’t let the water run as you brush your teeth.
- Fix leaky faucets and appliances as quickly as possible.
- Purchase an energy-efficient wash machine, dishwasher, and water heater.
- Skip the permanent press cycle or extra rinse cycles on your washing machine.
- Wash all of your clothes with cold water.
- Only run full loads of laundry.
- Run the dishwasher when it’s full.
- Don’t hand wash dishes.
- Reuse water whenever possible, such as emptying a water bottle into your pet’s dish or using ice cubes that dropped onto the floor to water your house plants.
- Install low-flow toilets or dual-flush toilets in your home.
- Fix running toilets right away.
- Plant drought-resistant landscaping around your yard.
- Water your lawn in the early hours of the morning.
- Place a rain barrel outside and use the collected rainwater to hydrate your garden and hanging baskets.
Saving money on your water bill doesn’t require a lot of time or strategic planning. Just be intentional with your water usage every day and watch your savings add up.
Brooke’s Top Pick for a Utility Bill Tracker
Utility Bill Tracker by MBCDigitalCReation
• Instant digital download
• Created in Google Sheets
• Keep track of due dates, amounts paid, and pay frequency
• Progress chart and bar chart included
How to Save Money on Trash Bill
While your trash bill is typically the least expensive utility you pay for on a monthly basis, there are still ways to produce less trash and cut that bill down even more. Learn how to save money on your trash bill today and use that money elsewhere.
Taking these 17 steps makes it easier than ever before to save money on a trash bill:
- Call around and price-check trash service at least once a year.
- Call your current trash company and ask if they have a discounted rate for fewer pickups or smaller bins.
- Share garbage service with a neighbor.
- Gather all of your neighbors together and negotiate a group discount.
- Take advantage of free trash pickup days in your city or township.
- Use the dump for larger items that need to be disposed of.
- Utilize any free recycling programs in your area.
- Contact scrappers then set metal items at the end of your driveway to be picked up and sold for scrap.
- Avoid over-packaged, convenience items at the store to produce less trash.
- Use reusable produce bags that can be washed instead of the plastic bags at the store which have to be thrown in the landfill after one use.
- Buy dry goods in bulk and bring them home in reusable bags or glass jars.
- Use reusable grocery bags and reuse or recycle any plastic or paper bags that you still end up with.
- Compost food waste as often as possible.
- Bring your own reusable to-go containers to restaurants.
- Cancel junk mail.
- Donate or sell unused items instead of throwing them away.
- Recycle old electronic devices.
No bill is too cheap to pay for without thinking it through. You can learn how to save money on your trash bill even though it’s pretty low already, and you should.
Saving Money on Utility Bills
Bills are a necessary part of life, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be intentional with the bills you take on or how much you end up paying for them. Discovering the secrets to saving money on utility bills is a surefire way to become more intentional and take control of your finances in the process.
There are always new and creative ways to lower your bills no matter what they’re for. Doing so can help you save more, invest more, and play more. And who doesn’t want that?
Don’t work hard your entire life just to pay bills. Use these tricks to save money on your utilities starting today.
FAQs
1. How can I save on my monthly utility bills?
The easiest way to save on your monthly utility bills is to familiarize yourself with your current usage, be more intentional with your usage moving forward, and upgrade to energy-efficient appliances.
2. How do you cut utility costs?
Cutting utility costs is as simple as learning how to cut back on your electric, gas, and water consumption and produce less trash. There are many techniques out there and brushing up on them is your ticket to cutting the cost of your utility bills.
3. What bills can I save money on?
You can save money on all of your utilities, including electricity, gas, water, and trash.
Sources
- Energy.gov: Air Sealing Your Home
- Energy.gov: Reducing Electricity Use and Costs
- The Nature Conservancy: Eight Ways to Reduce Waste
- United States Environmental Protection Agency: Start Saving
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What can you do today to start saving money on your utilities? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.