There are no reasons for us to think that the skyrocketing costs of essentials will take a nosedive in the near future. One thing is easy to predict: household expenses will continue to leapfrog with the passing of every month.
Consider the example of the job market. Do you see much opening for new graduates with no experience? No. Even experienced people are forced to compromise in salary just to get a job. I won’t say that this is happening to everyone, but most of us have felt the effects of this.
With prices surging and job opportunities dwindling, we are left with a single pragmatic choice – cost trimming. Easier said than done, I know. Let me share my personal advice though for how to cut costs. You can take inspiration from it, add to it, modify it or discard it in favor of a completely new one that suits your case.
It is never easy to part ways with whatever you have long been used to. I was at the same point and could not understand what to get rid of. There are several necessities to live a life of comfort. Let me first start with my own formula of cutting expenses in power bills.
Be Choosy:
Electricity is a must for us and is extensively used for multiple purposes. When it comes to lowering your power bill, you need to be more selective in deciding which areas are possible to do without electricity. In my case, I stopped using electricity for ironing, hair drying, washing and vacuuming immediately. Instead I started packing my worn clothes throughout the week and taking them to a local laundry mat.
I hired a maid to wash my clothes and clean my rooms. Both the washing machine and vacuum consume a great deal of energy and that reflects on the power bills. The same holds true for your HVAC and water system. How are you to enjoy a warm shower in chilly weather you ask? I have recently bought a heating stick that works on low wattage and has been serving me fine.
I made a list of daily used kitchen appliances running on electricity. I discovered that kitchen appliances starting from a grinder, juicer, and food processor to even a blender, ice cream maker, chimney, egg boiler, tea and coffee maker and many more, consumed a lot of electricity.
All of them don’t use electricity in a significant amount but with each individual appliance combined, you’ll end up paying a hefty figure. I have bought a micro-oven and got used to it for regular cooking. We have become more dependent on our muscle power while mixing ingredients for cake making or anything else and shelved the electrical appliances to one corner of my kitchen.
It is wrong to say that I don’t use them at all as I don’t like them to go idle and rot away! But I have refrained myself from frequent use of all of them. Restricted use of electricity is a way not only to save on household expenses, but also to contribute to the preservation of non-renewable energy for the future generation.
Solar panels are also a new and exciting way to conserve energy in the long run. Sure, you might spend a lot of up front, but the amount of energy you’ll save in the grand scheme of things is significant. Roof Worx LLC explains that “solar power can lower electric bills, but it can also be used to go off the grid entirely or to provide backup battery power.” I’m not sure I could go completely off the grid, but it is a nice option to think about.
Of course, there are other ways to reduce the cost of your electricity bills too. For example, some people find that switching energy providers can help them to save a significant amount of money. Moreover, shopping around is the best way to ensure that you are not paying too much for your utilities. Nowadays, saving money on your utility bills could be as simple as researching a few different Texas electricity providers online and then comparing the options to find the best deal for your needs.
Change in Habit:
Most of you won’t believe how a little adjustment and change in habit can help you save a lot on power consumption and that shows up on your monthly bill. It is my personal experience and I believe you will love to listen to what I did and even follow the same.
Air conditioners also consume a lot of energy and you are slapped with a tidy sum! I have three air conditioners at my small apartment – one at drawing cum dining room, another one at our bed room and the rest one at my son’s study cum bed room. When my son was busy at his room, I used to loll on sofa to watch TV and my wife was reading story books at our bed room, with three air conditioners running on simultaneously. At the end of the moth, I suffered a peculiar phobia while waging my glance on the power bill. And then I made a plan
I proposed to my wife and son that from now on, we would sit at the same room until it is time to go to bed. My son was not convinced at first but then came round to my plan. We agreed not to switch on the TV as long as he is studying. That adjustment has done a good saving on my power bill.
Negligence No More
I have seen many people incur high expenses on their power bill just because they are very negligent. Even I was one of them before. I used to leave rooms without switching off fans or lights. Even my wife and son had the same bad habit. None of us thought to simply check if we had turned the lights or fan off.
Such kind of negligence brings disaster and must not be allowed. We took oath to say no to such disastrous waste of electrical power. Now, every one of us checks if lights and fans are switched off before going out. If it is night and we have a plan to dine out, we make sure to keep only the night lamps on.
I had several bad habits and one of them was to switch on air conditioners while keeping my south-facing window open. It makes your energy bill rise and poses a heavy chance of damage to your machine. With floods of realization attacking me, I have completely gotten rid of such bad habits.
You may have some better or more ideas in this regard and I would love to hear about them. So please share your energy-saving tips and let us know what the other ways are to cut expenses on monthly power bill.