Celebrating National Cut Your Energy Costs Day

January 10th is National Cut Your Energy Costs Day. It’s about sustainability. It’s also a day to think about energy consumption and how you can reduce costs while being more eco-friendly.

If you’re looking for ways to save money, then January 10^th should be a big day on your calendar. This is a great opportunity to take stock of your energy consumption and come up with a strategy to help bring those costs down.

How to Celebrate National Cut Your Energy Costs Day

One of the best ways to celebrate this holiday is to take the time to assess how much you spend on energy. You can even have a professional to do this for you since there are many things that you might not think about. Some things to consider are:

Your appliances
Considering the state of your wiring
Looking at the kind of bulbs you’re using
Inspecting your insulation

The results of this assessment can help you decide the kind of changes you want to make. Doing so can help you use energy more efficiently and cut costs to help you save money.

How to Cut Energy Costs in Your Home

Have you ever noticed that your gas bill tends to be higher during winter? And that your electric bill is higher in the summer? Weather is one of the biggest factors of energy usage. The lower temperatures in December and January will most likely increase your February and March gas bills, even if you never adjust your thermostat.

The colder the weather, the harder your HVAC system has to work, and this means that it uses more energy.

Here are some things we do that can affect our electric consumption during winter:

We tend to take long hot baths and showers to get and stay warm
We tend to use space heaters and run furnaces to warm up the house
We tend to stay inside watching TV, working on our computers and using other electronics to avoid the cold outside

Insulation is important too. If our homes aren’t well insulated, most of the energy used to warm them up goes to waste. Hot air seeps out and the cold seeps in making HVAC systems work harder for longer.

Here are some ways that you can cut energy costs in your home:

Use LED Bulbs

Lighting is important. The kind of bulbs you use determine just how high your electric bill will be at the end of the month. LED lights are energy efficient. They about 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. They can also last up to 25 times longer than the usual incandescent bulbs.

Unplug Idle Electronics

Devices like microwaves, TVs, printers, computers and scanners still use electricity even when they’re turned off. Idle electronics use a very small amount of electricity. But when you add up how much energy that is throughout the year, you may be surprised at how much money you’re wasting.

Turn Off the Lights

Many people keep lights on during the day. Or they forget to turn them off when they leave the room. What they don’t realize is this is actually driving up their electric bill. Keeping lights off during the day can help save you money. Form a habit of turning off the lights during the day and when no one is in the room. It never hurts to let natural light flow through your windows. Besides being good for your finances, it’s good for your health.

Do Your Laundry Differently

One efficient way to reduce energy is to do your laundry differently. Washing your clothes in cold water can save energy. You should also wait until you have a full load of laundry to wash your clothes. A full load uses about the same amount of energy as a small load. The energy savings of waiting until you have a full load is about 25%-50%. Washing clothes in cold water can save $60 a year.

Make Sure Your House is Properly Insulated

Bad insulation is a huge energy waster. An improperly insulated home drives up your energy bills. It’s can also be an inconvenience since you may never get the ideal climate setting in your house.

What Should I Do with My Savings?

There’s so much you can do with the money you save on your energy bills. Putting these savings into a savings account can help your savings grow even more. Online bank accounts like the ones offered through our partners at Credit.com have bigger interest rates than regular brick and mortar banks. Maybe you can use these savings to invest even more in your home and continue to cut your energy costs. The savings can grow even bigger!

Taking the steps to save money can help your finances and cut your energy costs. A risk-free savings account is the perfect first step to take to build a more secure financial future.