How to Save Money on Utility Bills

By Tamiera Vandegrift on December 30, 2016

In a perfect world, our energy and water would come to us in copious amounts, eradicating the need for utility companies and their incessant bills. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that kind of world.

Let’s face it: utility bills will completely suck your wallet dry every month if you’re not careful. Utility bills can cost you hundreds of dollars for just taking a few showers and using your thermostat. Fortunately for all of us, there are ways to be conservative and energy efficient that will save you money in the long run for more important things, like textbooks and impulsive Amazon shopping sprees.

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Not only is being conservative with your energy use good for your wallet, it’s good for the environment too. Thinking about your effect on the environment might only be a tiny blip on your mental radar, but it’s definitely worth considering. By consuming less power, less toxic fumes will be released into the air by power plants, which will help to conserve our planet’s natural resources and protect ecosystems from certain destruction.

Read on to learn ways to be conservative and efficient, and you’ll be able to save more than one type of green!

Be “In The Know”

Call up your utility provider and ask them for a free appraisal. An employee will come out to your house and apartment and evaluate the location for what is using the most power. After the appraisal, the worker will be able to inform you of what is taking up the bulk of your utility bill. Once you’re in the know, you can take further steps to reduce your usage, thus cutting down on your utility bill.

Depending on where you live, you might be able to compare quotes from different companies to see which utility plant has the best option for you. Unfortunately, if you live in a large city, which most college students do, you’re most likely limited to the official power plant of that city.

Be Conservative

Another good tip is to be conservative with your resource utilization. Take what your parents said into great account: Don’t leave the water running, turn the lights off after you leave a room, etc.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure everything that isn’t in use gets turned off. Before you leave the house, make sure everything is shut down and unplugged. Make sure that none of the faucets in the house are dripping water. Turn off the air conditioning unit before you leave, but only if nobody else is home. Unplug your cell phone charger whenever it’s not in use. Remember that while objects are plugged into the wall, they’re sucking up energy. Decide what should remain unplugged and what shouldn’t according to that logic.

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When doing laundry, make sure you’re not using more water than you have to by paying close attention to the diagram underneath the lid. Most washing machines will have an illustration indicating what washing settings are most appropriate for specific load sizes. Make sure you’re following those instructions to prevent using more resources than you really have to.

Instead of taking baths, take quick showers. Baths tend to use up more hot water, thus adding more money to your bill.

Be sure to educate your roommates on your new conservation plan as well. You won’t want to be the only one following your conservation plan when everyone else is still stuck in their old habits.

Be Efficient

Even though it might seem like your quality of living has been reduced by changing your power and water usage so much (No more bubble baths? C’mon!), there are ways to supplement your reduced energy usage. The key is finding energy efficient appliances and shopping green to save your green.

Use energy efficient lightbulbs or even candles if you’re dedicated. Purchase power saving televisions and entertainment products that utilize LCD screens rather than plasma screens. 

A good purveyor of energy saving goods to check out is EnergyStar appliances. EnergyStar sells green everything: washers, dryers, refrigerators, televisions, computers, central air conditioning and more. EnergyStar has saved $362 billion on utility bills since 1992, so check out their website and see what they can save for you.

By following these tips with discipline and dedication, you’ll find yourself with a less heinous bill every month and a much happier and healthier planet to go along with it.

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