Tag: finances

4 Easy Ways to Use Less Energy For Lower Household Bills

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date February 25, 2021

save money, household bills, save money on bills, finances

More of us are aware of our impact on the environment and are making changes to our homes to live a more environmentally-friendly life. To make it even more enticing, being more environmentally-friendly can save you money, too. You can use less energy to lower household bills and do your part for our environment.

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How to Lower Household Bills

1. Turn Down The Thermostat

You don’t have to be cold, but turning down the thermostat for your furnace or boiler by even a small amount makes a big difference. Lowering the heat by only one degree saves energy and money, and you won’t notice the difference. If you can, try turning it down even further as you become accustomed to a cooler temperature.

There are thermostats you can buy that allows you to schedule times for the heat to be lower, too. Then, if you aren’t home, the heat won’t be up so high.

2. Add Insulation

Proper insulation traps heat inside during the winter and helps keep the house cool during the summer. Find out what insulation is in your walls and attic and see if it could be replaced with something more efficient.

With proper insulation, your heating and air conditioning don’t have to work as hard. Since they don’t have to work as much, it lowers the costs and could save you from calling out 24 Hour AC Repair to an overworked A/C unit.

3. Save Water

Water waste is a serious problem, and using more water than you need will be pushing up your water bill. Saving water is easy with some small changes. These changes include avoiding the following:

leaving the water running when you brush your teeth
overfilling the bath
leaving the shower running when you’re not in it
running the water continually while shaving
long showers
running half loads of laundry

4. Block Out Drafts

Drafts make a house feel cold, so you spend more on heating. Draft excluders can help keep rooms warm. You could also hang a heavy curtain over doors to the outside to keep the heat in.

Seal up cracks in floors, walls, or skirting boards. If you have a chimney but don’t use it, get a chimney excluder. It will help keep even more heat in the house, saving you money on household bills.

Lower Household Bills

These are just a few of the ways to lower household bills. There are many other ways, too! Can you think of any others? Let me know in the comments!

Tags adulting, finances, Home, How to, Life

Adulting Finances For the Home How To Life

5 Of The Best Ways You Can Save Money On Household Bills

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date February 5, 2021
2 Comments on 5 Of The Best Ways You Can Save Money On Household Bills

Household bills can quickly add up, and you may feel like there is no way to reduce the financial burden. We tend to let the payments leave our accounts each month without a second thought because the bills must be paid. While it is true that the bills must be paid, there are ways you can save money on household bills each month.

How to Save Money On Household Bills

1. Meal Planning

Groceries are a big household expense each month (or week). Sometimes, if we don’t spend time thinking about it beforehand, we can spend more than we need to. This is where meal planning can save you a fortune.

It’s all about investing a little time into planning your week. You have to think about the ingredients you already have and which meals you can make out of them, and then writing a list for the rest.

That is the key point. The list is what helps you spend just what you need to. Doing this each week could save you a small fortune over the course of a year.

*Click here for a FREE meal plan printable.*

2. Making Your Home More Energy Efficient

Energy bills can be astronomical at certain times of the year. Check your house and consider if it is energy efficient or if it is costing you extra money each month.

Check out things like insulation and whether your windows are energy efficient. This is when you may want to update your windows with replacement vinyl windows to help you keep heat in.

Even updating some older appliances could help save you some money. This is because, in theory, having an eco-friendly home should reduce the amount of energy you use.

3. Considering an Eco-friendly Life

You could take the whole eco-friendly thing one step further and try to reduce your outings. This might mean setting up a vegetable patch and growing your own food. Or, it could mean trying to generate your own water supply.

If it’s something you want further information on, then seek out some advice. Other things to consider would be saving your rainwater, generating a supply for things like watering your garden.

4. Switching Suppliers

We all know there are good deals out there, but some people have the impression that switching suppliers takes time, effort, and could even cost more.

But, there are websites to compare deals that can help you out. They compare all the suppliers and work out the cost based on your usage. Do this often to make sure you are not overspending.

5. Reduce Luxuries

Things like TV packages and the highest speed internet can be costly over time. If you aren’t using what you are paying for, then reduce those packages.

Reducing the packages might mean reducing the download amount on your internet or getting rid of channels on your TV package. If you don’t use it, you won’t miss it. You will enjoy the extra money in your pocket, though.

These changes could make a huge difference and help save money on household bills. You work hard for your money, and you should save as much as you can. What are some ways that you have learned to save money on household bills? Tell me about it in the comments!

Tags adulting, finances, Home, How to

Adulting Life

7 Smart Things You Can Do Right Now To Plan For Retirement

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date January 31, 2021

Financial security in your retirement will need some advance planning, and you’re never too young to start planning. If you prepare in advance for your retirement you can better manage your finances to make your money last as long as possible and plan ahead in case of illness or another incapacity.

1. Start saving as early as you can

The earlier you start saving for retirement, the more money you can save. Even saving just a small amount every month can be enough.

Put aside a small amount and stick to it. It’s never too early to start saving. If you start now, you can spread out the cost of setting up your retirement fund.

2. Pay into your employer’s pension plan

If your workplace has a pension plan, pay into it so they will make contributions, too. You might pay less tax on your contributions, and over time, this can help you to save a lot more. Ask your HR department about any 401k plans they have that you may be able to join too.

3. Don’t spend your retirement savings

Don’t touch your retirement savings unless it’s an emergency. Once you’ve started saving, don’t be tempted to use any of the money for something else, unless you truly have no other option.

If you dip into your retirement fund, you’ll have less to live on later. If you struggle to leave your savings where they are, a financial advisor can help you to manage your funds better.

4. Take advantage of different kinds of retirement accounts

If possible, increase your contributions to the maximum allowed in your 401k, IRA, or other retirement plans. Try to get enough into your 401k to qualify for any contribution matching your employer will make. The more you can pay in, the more they’ll pay in, giving you more retirement savings.

5. Consolidate your accounts when the time is right

As you get older, you could consolidate accounts to make it less complicated to manage them. Combine any IRAs of the same type with one institution. Find any old 401k you have with former employers.

Organizing your money into fewer places will make it easier to track how much you have and where your money is.

6. Shrink your debt

Pay more into your mortgage payments now if you can afford to. Aim to pay it off before you retire, giving you one less thing to pay for. Then, if you decide to downsize when you retire, perhaps to one of the over 55 patio homes that so many people are enjoying, you will be able to put the entire sale of your home toward something that suits you, without having another mortgage.

Avoid running up new debts on credit and instead, try to pay cash for any big purchases you make. No new debt means your retirement income doesn’t need to be spent on interest payments or paying down debt.

7. Set aside some money for your future care

If you’re worried about how your children will afford your care, set aside some funds. Think of medical bills, funeral costs, or nursing home bills. Emergency funds for paying unexpected health care emergencies or moving to a retirement home are also a smart idea.

7 Smart Things You Can Do Right Now To Plan For Retirement

Recap: Plan for retirement

If you plan for retirement now, it will make your life much easier in the long run. You won’t have to worry about finances, and you won’t have to spend your later years working.

What are some of the ways that you are planning for retirement? Let me know in the comments!

Tags adulting, finances, Life, Plans