Finances

One big cost in the summer is your electric bill. I am sure as the temperatures are on the rise you are watching your bill skyrocket as well with your increasing need for air conditioners and fans, but that does not need to be the case. You can take steps to help lower your power bill and save money over time. The best thing we did to help lower our power bill is to sign up for the power companies app that allows us to track out power usage and make smarter choices. How to save on your Electric Bill Hang your laundry out to dry. Let the sun and warm summer breeze dry your laundry as well as give it a fresh air smell. Installing a laundry line is easy and an effective way to save money on your power bill. In return you will be spending less money on running your dryer, the cooling bill from the added heat your dryer produces and making your clothing last longer. For larger families, this is a lot of work but the return is huge. Turn out the lights. Did you know your light bulb produces more heat than it does light? This raises your cooling cost as well as running that bulb for no reason when you forget to shut that light off. Train your family to turn lights off when they are not needed. Use blackout curtains Blackout the windows during the heat of the day using thick blackout curtains. Between 11 and 1 the heat is at its highest with the sun and your best defense is to keep the sun out. If you have more than one floor keep the upper floors blocked off all day. Cutting your electric bill is easy Take advantage of timed power pricing. Run your appliances in the late night or early morning for a lower cooling cost and your electric company may have a discount rate for use during nonpeak hours. Don't be afraid to wash the day's laundry after dark and hang out first thing. Run the dishwasher at night and unload it when you are cooking breakfast. Cook outside. Don't heat the house up cook outside. Use the grill or even a solar oven for even more savings on both cooking and preventing your home from heating up while you cook dinner. Try a grill with a side burner to make it easy to cook everything you love outside. Take advantage of power strips. Use power strips for your TV, toaster, and anything you do not need to leave plugged in all day. Just don't put your refrigerator on one. Turn them off when you leave a room and enjoy the fact your bill will drop with less use of phantom power. Not only will this save you money but in a power outage or storm, the surge protector can help to protect your electronics. In the event of power issues, this can save you a lot of money. Turn your water heater down and make it work less. Not only is it safer to keep it at 120 degrees or under to keep children from getting burnt. Plus it costs less to run it. Start your washer and dishwasher at the same time to empty the tank at once leading to less cost for it to reheat. If you have more than one bathroom take advantage by having the kids take baths and showers two at a time. You can help reduce heat loss from your pipes by adding pipe insulation to your hot water pipes. Give your freezer a boost. A full freezer costs less to keep cold. Fill any gaps in the freezer with bottles of water to help it stay colder without kicking on as often. Stockpiling food in bulk and on sale is a great way to save money and keep your freezer running with the lowest power drain. Upgrade your freezer to a large chest freezer for more savings. Try solar gadgets to lower your power bill A solar-powered generator is a great way to run more parts of your home on solar and gives you a backup should the power go out. For a cheaper option chargers that run on solar power to charge devices using the sun rather than your electricity. This is a great way to make a green change that will save you money.