Help! How do I reduce my household bills/expenses?

Question

eg gas, electric, water, phone. All genuine tips appreciated.

Answer 1

Turn down the heating, try to wash clothing less often, get a water meter, turn off tv etc at the wall and not leaving it on standby. And try switching service providers, it may work out cheaper. www.uswitch.com

Answer 2

During the winter
We turn our heat down to 63 at night, dress warmly in the house during the day, turning the heat up to 68, only if we are in the house for an extended period.
During the summer... we are out of the house most of the time so we leave the air conditioner off until we get home then turn it to 75-78.
I don't do any baking in the summer to cut back on the cost of cooling the house.
We have ceiling fans in every room and it makes a huge difference in comfort level and energy usage.
A lot of times unless it is above 98 outside at night we just open windows and turn on the fans.
Turn lights off when we are out of the room, make sure all appliances are running efficiently.
There are a number of ways to limit your water usage, things like putting a block in the toilet which reduces the amount of water running through the toilet. Tighten up all leaky valves, faucets etc.
When you brush your teeth and wash your face turn the faucet off instead of leaving the water running the entire time.
I just looked up this site and it could be helpful.
Wishing you the best, it can be a tough change to make but it is well worth it at the end of the year when you discover how much you've saved.
Also think about ways you can fix several meals at once. I haven't quite mastered this one but the times I have it really reduces my time in the kitchen overall.
frugalliving.about.com

Answer 3

Think about your habits and see if there is any way you can cut down, for example, turn your heating down a few degrees and put on a sweater, make sure you turn off any lights when not required, Buy fruit and veg from a local market rather than the supermarket, its better quality and half the price,, if you can pay bills by direct debit they usually give you a discount, use instant messenger as much as possible rather than the phone, small things like this soon mount up. Check your bank statement and make sure any direct payments are correct, you would be surprised how many people are paying for services they no longer use, but have never cancelled, like Internet service, etc. good luck.

Answer 4

a combi boiler may cut down your gas bills. Get plenty of lagging in the loft to help keep your house warm.

get cavity wall insulation

get a thermstat fitted and turn off the radiators in rooms you do not use much.

energy saving lightbulbs will save you a load.

for a long time option get some solar pannels and/or wind turbines (could take you 15 years to see any real difference after buying them -there not cheap.

keep a bucket outside so when it rains you will have water for watering your plants.

get new washers for your taps if they are leaking.

never leave your boiler on when you are out

share baths/bath water

shower more bath less

update your shower as the old ones can eat up electricity big time!

alwats turn of electrical equipment at the plug

if you ever get plumbing work done always ask to keep the old copper and lead pipework as there are ppl who buy it. And old taps

I could go on but i will leave it there. Hope some of the above helps.

Answer 5

Are you in the UK? There is a special website - I think it's 'U Switch' that will compare gas and electricity prices for you and you can pick which provider is best (cheapest) for you. You could also try switching stuff off around the house and perhaps turning down the thermostat a degree or two. Could you get a water metre fitted (believe it or not they do usually save you money). Basically you need to cut down on what you are using. If you search on the internet you are bound to find lots of useful information. Good luck.

Answer 6

Number of things.
1. If in an overdraft, try negotiating a better rate of interest.
2. visit the website uswitch.com they will compare different products any may be able to save you money.
3. pay everything by Direct Debit and not by transcash or just cash (you get extra discounts)
4. Order car insurance online, try moneysupermarket.com
5. If you are on a payment card meter, ask for a normal meter to be put into your home for electric and gas supply. This should save you £20-30 per month in rent fees.

Answer 7

Hi, first of all deside from ur heart that u wanna reduce bills then B4 u talk on phone make notes of all the points u wanna make.Talk upto the point with friends, use chating on net instead.inquire ur cell co about sp skims like group talk.
Use only required tube or bulbs in the home, use small wattage tubes instead. Keep AC grids cleaned often.
Water used in wash-machine can b used for Toilet,gardening,
B4 u start gas keep all the required food items ready, b4 heating refrigerated food let it come to room temp.
Follow these and b happy or otherwise start earning more as all Americans do.
Thnx and bye

Answer 8

Keep your heat set at 68 degrees year round, don't leave lights on in empty rooms, be sure you have no leaks in your plumbing, get a "water efficient" commode and washer/dryer, use a long distance phone card on a "land line", or get the least expensive plan on a cell phone. Check with your utility company on the least expensive time to run your washer & dryer (some rates go down later in the evening). Also see if it would be least expensive to pay a "flat rate" of the same amount every month on your power bill as opposed to paying lower rates in the warmer months and higher in winter.

Answer 9

Any electrical item that produces heat used a lot of power....that means hairdriers, tongs, straighteners, so if you use those every day you'll be adding to your consumption.
Don't leave TVs etc on standby.
Gas:- don't leave the heating on all the time. Turn it off at night and if you're going out all day. Try turning it down a bit when you're home, and put a sweater on if you're cold.
Water:- you'll only be able to save if you're on a meter. Don't leave taps on when you're brushing your teeth. Showers use a lot less water than filling a bath. If you're not on a meter and you're not a large family, you may save by switching to a meter.
Generally, you will cut down on your expenditure if you cut down on buying ready-meals and pre-prepared food. It'll mean a bit more work for you, but you'll save money.
Good luck

Answer 10

gas and electric company can and will put you on a budget which lets you know in advance how much your bill will be this helps plus you could rent out a room to elp with expenses or take on a part time job even if you have to stay at home there are jobs you can do from your home