These days we all know that every penny counts. My friend Angela and I have been discussing all the the little things we do to save money and really make our dollar count. She suggested that we blog about it, and we can all track how much money we've really saved over the year. I think it's a great idea....so here we go!
Gas and Electric (G&E) – It’s not sexy that’s for sure, but it’s the fastest and easiest save you’ll ever accomplish. My G&E bill was over $225 a month when I finally decided, there had to be something I could do to lower that amount. I logged onto my G&E website and lo and behold…there they were…energy saving tips. Additionally, I did some homework, searched the internet and found more ways to save on G&E. That whole process took me about 20 minutes.
Here’s what I learned:
1) If you aren’t using your electrical devices, unplug them, PERIOD. Devices that suck energy even when you aren't using them are called energy vampires, and they can account for up to 20% of your electricity bill. See link below for a flyer concerning energy vampires.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/DocServer/energy_vampires_tips.pdf?docID=3421
2) Run the washer and dryer with full loads only. AND don’t use them until after 9:00 pm. (or whenever your peak electricity time is over). You can find out your peak electricity times on your energy providers website.
I tried only these two tips and here is what happened:
The first month my G&E bill was reduced from $225 to approximately $145...but we only used the money saving tips for a little over half the month.
The second month, an entire month of applying just these 2 tips...my G&E bill was a little over $100. NO JOKE!! It’s not a fluke either, ever since we’ve applied these two tips, our G&E bill has hovered around the $100 mark.
That’s at least $100 savings every single month with just these 2 small little tips. That’s an annual savings of over $1,000.00 a year. Whooooo Hooooo!!!!