5 Ways We Save on Utility Bills {with some other ideas to consider}

Welcome back to another week of The Teacher’s Salary series.

Feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email if you have any suggestions for future topics.

Click HERE to see links to some of my previous posts from this series.

Today’s topic is ways we save on utility bills.

Next to our rent or mortgage payment each month, the largest expense is our monthly utility bills.  And when I say utility bills, let me first define what I consider a utility bill: gas/electric, water, phone/internet/cable, cell phone, and trash.

Using that as my definition, here are the 5 main ways we save on utility bills.  There are probably thousands of ways to reduce your costs, but these are the ways we see the most savings.

1. Keep our thermostat higher/lower than usual and add layers or utilize ceiling fans

We don’t go crazy with this, but we do try to keep our thermostat slightly lower in the winter months and slightly higher in the summer months. In the winter, we dress for the colder weather {except for The Teacher who wears shorts year round!} and layer with blankets when we sleep. When the kids were really little, we opted for warm pajamas and/or sleep sacks so we didn’t have to worry about some of the hazards of blankets.  In the summer, we opt to keep the house cooler with ceiling fans. It works great and can make the house feel much cooler than it actually is.

2. No cable

We have not had cable since we have been married. We were dirt poor when we got married, so it wasn’t even an option back then. While both of us were working, we probably could have afforded it, but had other financial priorities and decided against it. Now that we’ve been without it so long, it’s really not a huge deal to us and doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice {I also don’t live with a sports fanatic, so most of the games we do want to watch are on network TV}. There are a few cable shows we’d love to watch, but we can usually catch up on shows online or when we visit family or are on vacation.  We do get excited when we have free access to cable – it’s almost childlike that it’s funny.

3. Old cell phones with no data plans

We are still living with our 5 year old “dumb” phones. I have nothing against smart phones and would actually really love to purchase one at some point, but we can’t bring ourselves to take the plunge yet. We have a limited texting plan {that I sometimes go over at $.10/text so it’s not too bad}, so we are able to text with people when necessary. We have not been able to find a way to purchase smart phones and not dramatically increase our cell phone bill. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! And I’ll certainly post about any ideas if we come up with something.

4. Have a small house

One of the biggest ways we save on utilities is by living in a small house. Our home is approximately 1500 square feet, so there’s really not that much space to heat and cool. Our upstairs does not have heating or cooling either, which saves us a lot of money. If we have the money down the road, we will probably add heat/central air upstairs but we are doing fine without it at this point. We do use window units in the summer to keep it cooler.  I know many people aren’t in a position to make a major housing decision, but it is a perk for smaller homes if/when you are looking to downsize.

5. Shop around for providers when we can

In our area, there are some providers that you have no control over – gas, electricity, and water. All of our other utilities are through private sector with competitors in the area.  For our other providers, we shop around until we find the best rates that will suit our needs. When we first moved into our current house, Kev was adamant about finding a trash company that would provide yard waste pick up free of charge. He called a lot of companies and most did not provide this service without an extra charge.  After about 5-6 different calls, he finally found one. And they even provided the trash can without an extra fee either. As I’ve said before, saving money is a job and it sometimes means working hard and making lots of calls to find the best providers for your budgetary needs.

Here are some other smaller ways we save, along with some ideas I brainstormed or ideas we’ve read about in the past, or heard about from our friends or family.  Though the savings might not seem huge, overtime they will certainly add up!

Other Ways to Save

Gas/Electricity
-Winterize/insulate your home to maximize efficiency.
-Utilize a wood stove or fireplace to heat naturally {you can find free wood on Craigslist}.
-Turn down your hot water heater and turn it off while you are away.
-Turn off lights when you leave a room.
-Dry clothes for 5-10 minutes in the dryer and then air dry.

Water
-Run your dishwasher/washing machine only when you have full loads.
-Take shorter showers.
-Don’t water your lawn or alternate days.

Phone/internet/cable
-Drop land line altogether or consider an internet phone {OOMA, Vonage, etc.}.
-Consider Netflix instead of cable.
-Call a competitor and see if they will offer you a better deal.

Cell phone
-Reduce your cell phone plan.
-Consider a pay-as-you go plan.

Trash
-Drop trash pickup altogether and take your trash to the landfill bi-weekly.
-Recycle more so you generate less trash.
-Search for a start up company who has cheaper rates.
-Provide your own can.

 

 

photo source