You can have more money to spend on vacations this summer just by following 50 simple tips guaranteed to fatten your bank account!
Many family budgets already feel the pinch during the recession, but financial consultant Carolyn McKinney says your family can save 10 percent on yearly expenses if you apply these simple suggestions:
ENERGY
1. Put a lid on pots when you’re cooking. Trapped steam cooks food faster, using less energy.
2. Don’t put hot leftovers in the refrigerator. They’ll heat up the whole fridge – and it will use more energy to keep things cool.
3. Clean your range and oven regularly. They’ll work more efficiently and cost you less.
4. For cooking and baking in small quantities, use an electric skillet, broiler oven or toaster oven instead of your oven.
5. When washing clothes, use hot water only for whites and hard-to-clean items. Cold and warm water are all right for the rest of your laundry.
6. Don’t pour too much soap into the washing machine. An over-sudsed machine uses more energy.
7. Clean the dryer’s lint trap after every use. A lint-free machine works more efficiently.
8. Don’t overheat your water. A hot-water heater setting of 140 degrees – or “medium” if your heater dial isn’t numbered – is adequate.
9. Turn off small appliances as soon as you’re through with them, including your coffeepot, iron, electric skillet and curling iron.
10. Whenever possible, use fluorescent lights instead of regular bulbs. They provide three times the light for the same amount of electricity. They also last 10 times as long and produce less waste heat.
11. Check your air-conditioner filter once a month during te cooling season. Vacuum or replace it as necessary.
12. Set your air conditioner to 78 degrees. For every degree you raise your AC’s thermostat, you cut your electricity bill by 3%.
Next: 13 – 19
Some of these tips are good, some a bit on the common sense side and some need a little tweaking like
Number 5 – you don't have to wash whites in hot, cold for all clothes works.
Number 10, use energy efficient bulbs because they will save you more than fluorescent lights, not only in energy costs but also because they last for years.
Number 14 – go vegetarian, it saves money, animals and your health which saves money on trips to the doctor (not to mention costly cancer treatments and bypass surgeries!)
Number 51 – don't buy bottled water, invest in a filtration system, even the pitcher varieties sold at major chain stores and use a reusable bottle.
Bottled water is a biggie and should be obvious. I'm trying to cut down on meat too. There are a number of ways not to 'buy in' literally….
Your guidelines are great – if just more people would do them!
Laundry can use a lot of energy if not done wisely. The new front-loading horizontal drum washing machines not only use less water, they then spin the clothes SO FAST that they come out almost dry!
Then just put those 'almost dry' clothes on a stylish laundry drying rack like this one (maybe set up under a ceiling fan?) and you will have saved a ton of energy by not using the clothes dryer at all.
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