Looking for ways to save money every month? Learning how to cut down on household bills can save you hundreds of dollars each year. Even if you already live frugally, there are many simple and creative ways you might not have tried yet to further reduce your monthly bills.
These 26 small, painless changes, like line drying your clothes instead of running the dryer, keeping your A/C filters clean every month, unplugging appliances and devices when not in use, or doing things as simple as changing a light bulb can reduce your household bills every month.
Whether you are currently struggling to save, or with overspending, here are some tips on how to cut down on household bills to keep your budget in check and/or help you reach your savings goals. Some of the tips on how to cut down on household bills will require some up-front costs for purchasing some household items but these costs can be covered pretty soon with savings you will be making.
Ways to Cut Down on Electricity Bills
One of the best ways to cut down on household bills is to reduce your electricity use. But cutting down on electricity consumption does not mean sacrificing your comfort level. There are many creative and simple ways to use less electricity while maintaining the same level of comfort in your home.
1. Unplug your devices and appliances
Did you know that your electronics and appliances still suck energy up when they are turned off? Electricity consumed by your electronics such as your TV, computer, mobile chargers, internet router, and kitchen appliances when they are turned off is known as phantom energy; but when they are unplugged they consume zero electricity.
You can use power strips to cut out phantom energy. If you use power strips, turn off your electronics and appliances when they are not in use to cut your electric bill every month.
2. Keep refrigerator coils clean
Refrigerators in households suck up a lot of energy, but you can decrease the consumption of energy by your refrigerator if you keep the refrigerator coils clean. Dirty coils make your fridge work harder. Cleaning them every three months can not only cut your electricity costs but will also lengthen the life of your refrigerator.
3. Clean your A/C filters
Cleaning your A/C filters every month and changing dirty, clogged filters will increase the efficiency of your A/C units or air conditioning system and reduce their energy consumption by 5% to 15%. By cleaning your A/C filters every month, you will be able to maintain good air quality in your home.
4. Use lids when cooking
A simple way to save energy and thus, cut your electric bill every month is to use lids when you cook. If you cook with lids, food will cook faster so you can save energy.
5. Turn your lights off
I’m sure you’ve heard this one. This is a must if you want to cut down on your electricity bills. Turning off your lights will also help cool your home, reducing your cooling bills.
6. Install and use ceiling fans
Air conditioner units or an air conditioning system consume a lot of electricity but you can reduce your energy bills by installing and using ceiling fans, or using the ones you already have. Ceiling fans can help circulate air throughout your home.
7. Upgrade your home appliances
When it comes to replacing broken or old appliances in your home, purchase the best energy-efficient appliances you can afford. You may even get tax exemptions for these kinds of purchases. While purchasing an upgraded thermostat (e.g. a programmable thermostat), a new low flow showerhead or any other new appliance you need to buy may cost you now, but they will save you a ton of money over time.
8. Buy energy-efficient appliances
When it comes to replacing appliances, make sure to buy ENERGY STAR certified appliances to reduce your electric bills in the long term. For example, when it is time to buy a washer, you can buy an ENERGY STAR washer because it can cut your water usage per load.
Look for an ENERGY STAR certified refrigerator, dishwasher, dryer, air conditioner, freezer, heat pump, and more household appliances. Many of the ENERGY STAR certified appliances usually come with tax exemptions and rebates too, meaning you could save more money.
9. Install LED light bulbs
One of the easiest ways to reduce your electric bills is to install LED or CFL light bulbs. LED light bulbs are cheaper, last longer, and consume less energy than incandescent bulbs. So replace all your incandescent bulbs throughout your home with LEDs.
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10. Line dry your clothes
Line drying your clothes in the summer or when it is nice outside instead of turning on the dryer to dry them can save a lot on electricity. How much you can save on electric bills with this saving strategy depends on how often you use the dryer to dry your clothes.
11. Switch your energy supplier
If you have been with the same energy supplier for a while, check out to see if switching to a new energy supplier could reduce your annual energy bill. There are lots of energy suppliers out there. If you can find a cheaper deal that you like, you can cut your monthly household bills by getting the cheaper deal.
How to Cut Down on Cooling & Heating Bills
12. Use a tankless hot water heater
Using a tankless hot water heater can cut your electric bill significantly. If your current hot water heater is old and you are thinking of replacing it with a new one, then think about replacing it with a tankless hot water heater to reduce your electricity bill.
13. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater
You can reduce your electric bill by lowering your hot water temperature. Set the temperature on your water heater to under 140 degrees to cut energy consumption by your hot water heater.
14. Use a programmable thermostat
You can really save money using a programmable thermostat. Turn it up in the summer and down in the winter one or two degrees while you are asleep, at work, or away from home for several hours or the weekend.
If you turn your thermostat down by just 1°C, you could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. For each degree of temperature, you raise or lower using a programmable thermostat, you can save up to 3% on your electric bill.
15. Use more blankets
Your heating costs can really climb up during those cold days of the year. But one of the easiest ways to cut your heating costs is to simply use more blankets instead of cranking the heat while sleeping during the winter months.
Keep blankets draped on your couch or near your favorite sitting areas to make it easy to snuggle up. I keep a blanket basket stocked with cozy throws and wash the ones I use weekly.
16. Wash your clothes in cold water
Using cold water for laundry is not only easier on your clothes, but it also saves money on your utility bill. If you use hot water for laundry, you will pay higher electric bills.
Cold water requires less energy to wash clothes so you can reduce your water bill when you wash clothes in cold water. So use cold water instead of hot for laundry.
17. Use weather-stripping
If you identify any gaps between windows and doors around your home, then weather-stripping is a creative tactic that can help you reduce your electric bill. You can seal any gaps between windows and doors with weather-stripping to reduce your heating and cooling costs by up to 20%.
How to Cut Down on Water Bills
There are many ways to reduce water consumption so you can cut down on household bills to save money every month. Here are a few ways you can reduce your water bill:
18. Use a low-flow showerhead
You can reduce water consumption during showers by using a low-flow showerhead. So if you have a traditional showerhead, replace it with a low-flow showerhead that flows less water per minute.
19. Do not waste water
There are very simple ways to cut your water consumption daily.
Here are some very simple ways to stop wasting water:
- Taking a quick shower instead of a bath
- Turning the tap off when you are brushing your teeth
- Fix leaking taps
20. Run only full laundry and dishwasher loads
One easy way to cut your electric bill is to run only full loads in the dishwasher and washing machine, as doing this will decrease the number of loads you do, and thus reduce energy consumption.
More ways to cut down on household bills
21. Cancel your unused subscriptions or memberships
If you have been paying for unused subscriptions or memberships, you are overpaying on your household bills. Maybe you have got an unused gym membership or paying for an online streaming service or unwanted club membership. All of those subscriptions add up.
Billshark is an app that can cut your household bills by canceling your unwanted subscriptions.
22. Downgrade your services
One of the most creative ways to reduce your household bills every month is to downgrade various services, like your cable package, internet package, cell phone package, and so on.
If you are paying for an unlimited internet package but only use the internet a few hours a week, downgrade your internet package. Are you paying for extra TV channels, but don’t watch them? Then stop paying for those extra channels. You can also downgrade your cell phone package to save some money every month.
23. Renegotiate your contracts
You could save a lot of money every month if you can get a better rate on your cable, internet, car insurance, landline phone, or other contracts. Contact your service providers to negotiate a better rate on your contract.
You can use comparison websites to compare prices on everything and find the best rates on your contracts. Or you can use a great app called Trim to do it on your behalf. This FREE app will find the best rates on your contracts and contact your service providers to renegotiate your contracts. You can also use Billshark to lower your cable, internet, and phone bills.
24. Cut the cord
Cut the cord if you are not watching TV much anyway. You can reduce your household bills if you are paying for services you really use. Besides, cable packages are expensive. Instead, you can use an online streaming service that provides your favorite movies, TV shows, and other programs you want to watch at a much lower price than the cable package you are currently paying for.
Netflix, Hulu, SlingTV, and Amazon Prime Video are some of the best online streaming services cable replacement services offer a lower price than cable.
25. Get better insurance rates
You could save several hundred dollars a year on insurance rates if you switch to another provider that offers the best deal on insurance rates. Shop around every few years for home, car and other insurances to make sure you aren’t paying too much.
I recommend Gabi, a company that will shop around for the best car insurance rate for you. It’s free, and they’ll break up with your old car insurance on your behalf.
26. Automate bill payments
If you automate bill payments, you can always pay your bills on time to avoid late payment fees without having to remember to do it. Set up automatic direct debits from your bank account to automate bill payments.
Find out more ways to save
Small habits, big changes
As you have seen, there are many ways on how to cut down on household bills. If you follow some of these creative ways to save money, you can easily save hundreds of dollars every month. Some of these tips on how to cut down on household bills require you to change your habits, not your lifestyle. Just start by trying one or two of the strategies above to start cutting down your household bills each month.
Let’s talk!
Which of these are you going to try or what have you used to help cut household electricity costs?
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