Power bill make you want to live in the dark?
When our power bill came last month, I wanted to return to the dark ages. We live in a modest sized house, with just 3 bedrooms, but our power bill was well over $300!! There was a great little note included in the bill assuring me that they were troubled by the increase as well, that it wasn't the hourly rate, but the cost adjustment (HUH??) that had gone up, and it would continue to climb over the next several months due to the increased cost of fuel.
Living in the deep south, we can't survive without the a/c. It runs nonstop in the summer months. Having three children, all home all day because school wasn't in session can also cause the costs to go up. I've started doing a little digging looking for ways to cut the costs. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Switch to Compact fluorescent light bulbs. These typical burn at a significantly smaller wattage than traditional light bulbs and can save quite a bit over the course of a year.
2. Install ceiling fans to keep the air circulating, to help the A/C run less. Don't know if this actually works, but if you live in an area where it's cooler than it is here, you can probably get by with just the fans.
3. Tint your windows. A roll of window tint at Lowe's costs about $45. Blocking the sun's rays will drastically reduce the temperature, and also let up on the A/C. Tight on money? Cover the windows. Back in the day, it was nothing to see aluminum foil on every window in the neighborhood during the summer months. The same thing could be accomplished by hanging heavier drapes or vinyl roll up blinds.
4. Check your windows and doors for leaks. You may need new weather stripping.
5. Have unused rooms? Close the vents, shut the doors, and put rolled towels at the bottoms to reduce air leaking out under the door.
6. Keep the refrigerator and freezer full. The less empty space, the easier it is to cool down when it's opened constantly by small children. Don't have enough to fill it? Add bottles filled with water to both the freezer and the fridge to take up space.
7. Take advantage of the sunshine and heat, hang your close out to dry instead of running the dryer.
8. Put all electronics, like the entertainment center and computer stations on power strips. When they aren't being used, unplug them. Many electronics, especially those with a clock, like the DVD player use a little electricity, even when they are turned off.
9. Don't forget the basic one, turn those lights off when you leave the room! Install motion lights in rooms like the bathroom, that come on when you enter the room, and go off when there is no more movement for a specific length of time.
10. Have sandwich night, where you aren't using the stove and microwave.
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Budgeting Doesn't Mean You're Broke!
Every time my husband hears the word Budget, he starts to panic. He wants no part of it! Don't get me wrong, he doesn't throw our money away on frivolous stuff. But somehow, living on a budget has come to mean that you are poor, when it shouldn't.
Successful, wealthy people got that way by spending less than they make. The best way to do that is to create a budget and stick to it. Whether you make less than $20,000 a year or more than a billion, you should always know how much money you have coming in, and how much you have going out.
There are many ways to create a budget. Whether you choose to do it the old fashioned way, with hand written ledger sheets or a notebook, create your own spreadsheets or use one of the many software options on the market is up to you. I prefer using a software program for keeping track of my budget. Most are relatively easy to use, and you can create up to the minute reports, balance your check book with the click of a button, keep track of your networth, do nifty pie charts and more with some of the better ones.
Recently I began using a free software program called AceMoney Lite for my budgeting needs. (you can get it from www.mechcad.com or www.download.com for free)It's simple to use, and very straight forward. My banking info downloads right into it, and I have needed no tutorials to use it so far. You can only use it with one account, so if you have multiple accounts, you may want to go with their paid option, or with something like Microsoft Money, which I have used and really liked, or Quicken.
If you're in a financial rut, you can't get out of it until you know where your money goes, and how to stop the leaks. Spend a day figuring out what you owe, where your money is actually going, and if your current income is doing the job. It's most important to figure out where your money leaks are so you can stop them. Mine were going to WalMart, happy meals, and Dt. Mt. Dews at the convenience, store, lol. Then you can figure out where you need to cut costs to put more towards paying down your debt or increasing your savings.
Sonya Smith
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Feeding an Army?
Or does it just seem like it? With summer in full swing, groceries are costing me an arm and a leg. Do they really eat this much at school? It seems they are constantly hungry! Here are some simple tips to keep the grocery bill down, and your starving bunch satisfied:
1. Plan ahead and make a list. Planning your meals for the week or two weeks or even the month will keep you from becoming frazzled trying to figure out what to cook, and cut down on last minute trips to the store where you always end up spending more than you meant to.
2. Cooking casseroles a couple of times a week makes for an easy meal, and they are usually pretty cost effective as well. Not only that, but they usually freeze well too. There are lot of good easy recipes for these out there. Check our recipe section for some tasty ideas!
3. When shopping, go early, and check out the marked down or manager's specials on meats. I generally buy all my meats this way, as they are usually half price. Last month, I managed to pick up 9 slabs of ribs for around $5 a slab. I keep my deep freezer stocked this way, and when planning my meals and grocery lists, I work around this.
4. Coupons can save you a great deal of money, if it's something you would buy anyway. Always make sure it's a better deal than the store or other name brands though, and watch the sales papers. That way, if it's on sale, and you use the coupon, you can really rack up the savings. Take advantage of grocery store rewards cards, and check out the back of the receipt for additional coupons for other stores. Today, I got a $20 off coupon on the back of my receipt for a local shoe store, just in time for back to school shopping.
5. Shop the "always a dollar" stores for snacks and canned goods. Things like vanilla wafers, pretzels, etc, are always a dollar here, vs $2 at the grocery store.
6. Shop farmer's markets. The produce is usually fresher, and you can get a whole lot more for your money. I got a HUGE sack of silver queen corn for $15 at ours recently. It was about 50 lbs, I split it with my mom, and we had fresh corn for freezing and canning that will last a while.
7. Push yourself. Try and get creative with what you have on hand. Many times I've stared at the cubbards trying to decide what to cook, and decided to call and order pizza instead, when there were plenty of things to cook, if I had just thought outside the box. Not running to the store every day or ordering takeout can save you a ton of money!
8. Have breakfast for dinner. Eggs, pancakes, french toast, grits, hash browns, etc, are all extremely cheap to cook, and most people love them. Who says you have to have them just for breakfast?
