6 Ways To Get Your Home Costs Under Control.
6 Ways To Get Your Home Costs Under ControlWhen you first bought your house, you probably imagined that the biggest cost would be the mortgage. How wrong you were! It’s not the mortgage that’s the problem. It’s the rest of it. The costs of living never seem to stop mounting and often it can seem like there’s nothing we can do about it.
I’m here to offer some hope and advice. It’s just not true that there’s nothing that can be done to get the cost of living down. It’s like anything else: it just needs practice.
Turn Down The Thermostat
One of your biggest costs is heating. But do you need the thermostat turned to 21 degrees all day? Probably not. You certainly don’t need it cranked up at night, especially since we humans are meant to be a little cooler while we’re sleeping. Set it to 18 degrees and leave it there. You’ll be amazed by just how much your bills fall.
Compare Utility Prices
Everybody knows about the existence of price comparison websites. And yet there are still a lot of people out there who don’t save money when they could. Price comparison sites give you a bargaining chip to negotiate better prices with your suppliers. If they don’t reduce their prices, go somewhere else.
Use Ink Refills
Anybody who has owned a printer knows how expensive printer ink can be. But Dell, Brother, Kodak and HP printer ink refill cartridges are far cheaper than buying new cartridges. Save yourself a fortune next time you have to replace your printer ink, and choose a refill.
Beef Up Security
Home insurance can be a significant outgoing for the family home. But if you beef up the security around your property, you have a good chance of reducing the cost of insurance. Insurance companies love it when you do what they call “abatement.” It means that they’re are less likely to have to pay out, meaning you get lower premiums.
Install LED Lighting
Lighting uses up a lot of electricity. One sixty watt light bulb probably uses more energy than the whole of your PC while you’re checking emails. But now the market has produced something truly revolutionary: the LED light bulb. LEDs used to be the sort of thing you only found sticking out of a high school breadboard project. But now they’ve gone mainstream thanks to their amazing properties. LEDs use only a fraction of the energy of traditional light bulbs. And they last for years: many years longer than old halogen lighting.
Even though the entry price is still quite high, the fact is that you’ll still save money over the long run. You won’t have to replace bulbs every couple of years. And you’ll see benefits in your electricity bills immediately.
Cut Down On Cable
Cable is a big cost for many Americans. Some providers charge up to $75 a month, just for a basic service. Is it really worth it? Probably not. Especially when you consider just how much content is available for free on the internet. Ditch the cable and start entertaining yourself in other ways.
