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Useful Tips on How to Keep Summer Energy Bills Low

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‘Summer Blues’

During the summer, the heat can spiral out of control!  Hot, especially HOT HUMID air can make you move into a cooler! Occasional trips to the swimming pool, combined with ice creams and ice cold shakes, are some of the things that keep us cool during the heat laden atmosphere. It is unbearable to be in a house without any cold air blowing; it’s almost as if you are literally baking in an oven!

The air conditioner is a wonderful, powerful invention and it is superb in supplying cold, splendid air, but it will run up a bill you can’t even start to imagine, so in order to keep Summer Energy bills low, one can implement some useful ways for saving energy, so that you don’t have to end up paying thousands of dollars in a mere season of summer. These are ways that also won’t compromise your ‘coolness’ and at the same time, help you in saving money.

What are some of the ways?

1)  Alternate the Air conditioner with fans

To keep Summer Energy bills low, don’t have the air conditioner on all day. During less hot days, you can switch it off and turn on a small fan or ceiling fan. Why?

  • Personal and ceiling fans are more effective and you will be able to remain cooler, as opposed to a huge fan sitting across the room. A box fan can also come in handy while sitting in the living room. 
  • The fan in general, uses less energy and that is the initial goal of why you are using it in the first place. It is not good for the air conditioner to be running all the time.

 

2)  Close you blinds or curtains on a hot day

Sunlight will bring make a room hot, so block out the sunlight by closing your blinds. This way, you keep the room cooler. It will also keep summer energy bills low by switching off the Air conditioner and opening a few windows. You are particularly lucky in this case, if you live in a storey house. You can open all the top level windows and shut off the air conditioner.  The higher you go, the cooler it becomes, so some good circulation will get going in all the rooms of the house.

Use the ‘light of day’

Similarly, you can let some of the light in, depending on where your window is situated so that you don’t have to switch on the lights to get on with your household chores. Let a few rays of the sun in which are enough to supply light. Fewer lights that are on in the house keep summer energy bills low as well.

3)  Turn off the Air conditioner at night

During night time, on some days, the temperature falls considerably, so it is during this time that you take advantage of Mother Nature and turn off your air conditioner.  Open your windows and you will save good money and energy in doing so. It is a great way to keep summer energy bills low.

4)  Have Cookouts every chance you get

The more you cook in your house, the hotter it gets, especially if you’re baking or broiling, since you have to use the oven. There is nothing worse than a house that is already hot to be inhibited by more heat. It also makes the air conditioner work harder than it normally would. Cooking outside would:-

 

  • Save a lot of air conditioner power if you had outside cookouts every so often.

 

  • Have fun time with your family while doing it. Cook foods that do not require the stove; just the grill. That will keep summer energy bills low since you and your whole family are outside.

 

5)  Using Cold Water for everything

To keep summer Energy bills low, use cold water for day to day chores. You don’t have to use hot water for showering neither, because it will be a relief to use cold water on a hot day anyway.

Have beverages and juices all in cold water. (Unless for far much greasier utensils that you have to wash) use cold water for washing dishes too.

6)  Let the ‘outside’ be your friend during summer

This is the most ideal way of conserving energy. The air conditioner will not be on if you are all outside. Take walks often, visit the museum or zoo. Have a go at having picnics every so often. You can find numerous outdoor activities that you and your family can do during the summer.

Being outdoors also helps in saving the lights and anything else that uses electricity. Before you leave the house, make sure that you turn off the Air conditioner and anything else that might be on.

Learn the Best Ways to Lower Monthly Bills

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With the cost of living constantly rising you need to take proactive steps to save money. The first step is learning the best ways to lower monthly bills so we decided to provide you with these helpful suggestions.

Ways to Lower Monthly Bills

Issue: The cost of cable service has climbed steadily since you first signed up.

Remedy: Pick up the telephone and call your cable provider and ask them for a better deal. There are many providers to choose from so double confirm the packages being offered by other service providers before calling, this will give you more leverage.

Do not make any drastic decisions, you already have an established relationship with your cable provider and believe it or not they do want to keep you as a client. Speak with one of their customer service representatives and ask them for a better deal. These cable companies have ongoing promotions but you need to contact them and find out what is available. There is an adage, “If you don’t ask you don’t get” so keep that in mind when calling the cable companies.

As mentioned earlier it is wise to shop around with other cable alternatives to find out what comparable packages cost. Do not tell the customer service representative you are speaking with that you have been shopping around until they give you their lowest possible deal. This way you have more bargaining power and your current cable provider may have a superior package at a lower pricing point.

Issue: High Cost Student Loans

Remedy: Refinance your student loan or consolidate them into one easy to manage payment.

Most of us had to borrow money to get a post-secondary education. One of the biggest challenges is the high interest rates being charged on these loans. With interest rates at all-time lows you need to refinance your current loan to a lower rate.  This may take some research but it will be worth the effort if you want to save money. If you want to keep your interest rates at the lowest possible level don’t borrow as much. There are government programs available that help you save money for college but you need to start saving even if it is only a few dollars a week. The more money you can save now the less money you need to borrow to pay for a college education.

Issue: Your Wireless Phone Bill Keeps Increasing

Remedy: Shop around for a better wireless phone package

If your monthly wireless phone bill increases or seems higher than usual you should look at the total amount of data you are using. The majority of us use our wireless phones to access the Internet which is very convenient but if you are not careful it could cost you a considerable amount of money.

You need to look for wireless plans that give the greatest amount of data for the lowest possible price. Even if the data plan offers a considerable amount of data you should use free Wi-Fi hotspots whenever possible to reduce the data consumption. If you are not under contract with your current wireless service provider you should shop around with all of the wireless service providers to find the organization that has the most competitive deal.

Issue: Being Gouged By Late Fees

Remedy: Sign in to your online banking and set up automatic payments so you never have to deal with another late payment.

For some of us we forget to make a monthly payment and get hit with a costly late fee. Instead of dealing with that hassle you should simply sign up for automatic payments that are taken out of your bank account or credit card by the due date. This should help protect you from late payment fees.

There are some people who do not like automatic payments but it teaches your fiscal responsibility. You know the funds must be available or you will be hit with a late fee and have to pay an over limit fee with your bank. These fees should provide you with sufficient motivation to make sure the payment is there in full and on time.

Key Points to Take Away From This

The most important thing to remember is you are in control. There are some individuals who feel helpless and don’t try to find cheaper alternatives. We live in a capitalistic, free enterprise economy where consumers have choice to take an assertive approach and follow the following points.

  • Is there a more cost effective alternative?
  • Does the lower cost alternative provide good value? (Sometimes cheaper isn’t always better)
  • Are there any hidden fees or costs? There are some firms that use what appears to be low prices to lure you in but then hit you with high fees so keep that in mind when you are screening prices and you will be fine.