How many times were you told to turn off a television or radio when you were a child living in your parents’ house?
Now, as the head of a household, there is no doubt you are telling your children to save money and energy by turning off a TV, a radio, a computer, a tablet… any number of gadgets use electricity and therefore cost money when in use.
How do you save money as a family? You trim a little fat from the budget. Here are a few things you can do to chop a little green from your expenses and leave a little cash in the wallet:
Store brands are good
More and more people are turning to store brands to save a little money. You may use a grocery chain’s laundry detergent, for example. But if you are one of those people that has to use a detergent from a heavyweight company like Procter and Gamble or Unilever, there are numerous store brands for everything from lunch meats to soups to aluminum foil and practically everything else in between.
Many times you pay for the company name. You might see a liter of your favorite branded soda go as high as $1.79 in some markets, yet the grocery store’s soda pop often goes for $1 or less. These “generic “ brands often taste just as good or do just as good a job getting clothes clean as the more familiar brands do.
Get your degrees!
If your house has a central air system, turn the temperature down in the winter and up in the summer. This makes the time longer before the air system comes on to heat the house or cool it down. Because the winter temperature is low and the summer temperature is higher, the system will not run as long. That saves a little bit on electricity and gas costs here and there.
How do you rate?
If you live in a state with deregulated energy costs, there is a very good chance other service providers can supply you with the needed juice to run your household appliances. If you live in Texas and need a way to cut your bill by several dollars, take a look at other providers and see how much they charge. Who knows? Bounce Energy Rates may save you several dollars a month over another leading brand.
If you live in a state where there is more than one choice, do your homework. Companies are jockeying for position every day and trying to get into a comfortable niche where they can help you stretch your utility dollars.
These and other steps can make it much easier on a family to put some money aside. Even if it is only $20 or $30 a month you are saving, that can go other places like more groceries for the family.
Maybe you could reward your children with a few bills here and there for keeping the family’s costs down. Chances are your lessons from the past will pay off huge dividends where your kids are concerned.