Saving money on home expenses can mean the difference between making ends meet and seeing a big gap in the financial situation. The good news for home owners comes from a few simple tips that will reduce expenses and make keeping a budget one step easier.
Tips to Save Money on Home Expenses
Turn out the lights – the amount of heat that one 60 watt light bulb can raise the temperature of a typical bedroom about five degrees per hour. Multiply that by all of the light bulbs around your home and you can begin to understand why it can be so difficult cooling your home. Turning out all of the lights in rooms where they are not necessary will help you cut down on the cooling expenses of your home.
Change the way you do your laundry – run all of your loads of laundry back to back. The dryer will still be warm from the last load and it will not require as much energy to dry the clothes. You might want to consider doing laundry during the coolest times of the day or night to help reduce the need to run the air conditioning while you are doing laundry.
Keep the freezer full – a full space will stay cooler and will use up less energy. Most people only think about the foods they buy frozen or maybe meats. You can also freeze chopped vegetables, sauces, cooked meats and casseroles, and even fruits to keep fresh foods from going bad. These prepped foods will also make it easier for you to fix meals in the days to come (which will save you from eating out at restaurants or bringing home take out meals).
Eat out more often – on the grill. Cooking out will do more to reduce the amount of heat you produce in your kitchen then just about anything else that you can do. It can also be a great way to spend some time with friends and family. When you do eat in, use a toaster oven for smaller amounts so that you do not have to heat the whole oven to cook.
Turn up the electric (in summer) or down (in winter) – keeping the thermostat below 67 or above 74 will save you hundreds of dollars each year on your electric bill. Change the temperature by one degree every few days and your family may not even notice the difference.
Home expenses can eat up a big portion of the budget each month. Tightening economic times make finding ways to save even more important for most home owners. The little ways to save money on the ordinary costs of your home can start adding up to extraordinary savings.
Written by Peter “Van The VA Man” Brady is A Veteran’s Administration Home Loan specialist based in Southern California who helps veterans get VA home loans and VA refinance loans.
One thing I noticed once I started trying to be more eco-friendly and financially conscious was that I leave my lights on all the time! Even when they didn’t need to be so now I totally turn off my lights whenever possible.
At night, I go around turning off all of the power strips around the house. The little red light of the bar that means there is power connected eats up a little bit of juice, and so do the electronics that have a light on them that show that the power is off.
That is an excellent way to save money PLUS you get a little bit of ab exercise from bending over to turn off the strips. I only have one smart strip that stays on and it has my internet connection and the computer on.
m 21 and I’m sick of living with my mom.
I really want to move out and I would like to know what kind of expenses I should worry about.
I don’t have a job cause I quit mine to focus on school but I’m going to be working again in the summer.
I have around 5000 saved up.
What should I be making in order to cover rent and expenses when I get my apartment?
It depends on what things cost in your area. If rent is high then you will need a significant amount of money to pay for that and then need to cover transportation, electricity and food. Check out different apartments to get an idea of what they cost and then you can see if it makes sense to move out now.
I like the tip about doing laundry back to back. That makes total sense, but it’s not something I would’ve considered. While you’re at it, switch to cold water detergent and save a lot more on laundry. Also hang dry what you can to further cut down on dryer expenses.
I hang everything I can and now that it is summer that makes it even easier. I will be using the dryer for sheets since they are so large and I cannot find a reliable place to hang them. I used to hang them over the doors in the apartment but I am getting sick of that. Other than that shirts go on hangers and everything else goes on a drying rack.
I usually put my bulbs off while sleeping. This has given me results in my bills as well as room temperature. Another thing is that just to save gas, you need not eat out regularly as it costs too. One’s in two weeks is a good option.
I am having some inhibitions on #3 tip. I don’t think you can save money when you eat out so often. Although you can really save on home expenses, but overall, you are spending more.
Ya if we keep these things in our mind, we will definitely reduce our home expenses….
This has given me results in my bills as well as room temperature. Another thing is that just to save gas, you need not eat out regularly as it costs too. One’s in two weeks is a good option.
One light bulb does not raise the temperature 5 degrees per hour. If it did, all of us in cold winter locations would heat our houses with light bulbs very cheaply.
Using CFC light bulbs will save large amounts of electricity and they put out much less heat than regular bulbs. But the “heating” of typical light bulbs is very small from the perspective of the temperature in your house.