Saving on the Electric Bill the poor man's way.

Not only does shutting off lights when you leave the room help cut down on the electric bill but so does buying lower wattage bulbs. I know that when you are poor you can't afford to buy those energy saver light bulbs at nearly $10 for a package of two. So in my home I use lower wattage bulbs, night lights, and you will LOVE this one, Christmas lights!
Tip #1 Use lower wattage bulbs. The Hallway- You don't need a lot of lighting here so a 15-25 watt bulb works great! How about The Bathroom? Aside from shaving and doing make up you don't need much light here either. So here is a really neat trick and it looks beautiful! Use a 25-40 watt bulb here, and line your mirror with a string of white Christmas lights, you can even get creative and make designs around it with the lights. You can use it all the time, as it only uses about 8 watts, or you can use it only when applying make-up or shaving. The Kitchen- Using two 25 watt bulbs here instead of 1 or 2 75-100 watt light bulbs, you can still see what you are doing and you save a bunch. This is a pretty good spot for those Christmas lights, simply line the underside of your cabinets for a kind of beautiful track lighting, it's not just for the rich, and its cheap & easy! The Bedrooms- Cutting back to 40 watt bulbs here makes quite a difference, this is another place to get creative with those Christmas lights, and you can even use colors! Line the headboard if you like to read before bed, it provides good soft light that won't hurt your eyes or keep your partner awake. Get creative with outlines of animals and things in the kids room!
The Livingroom- If you have lamps this is a good place for 5-15 watt bulbs, you don't need a lot of light here. The main light should be cut back to a 40 watt bulb, this creates a soft light as you should feel relaxed here. If you don't have lamps this is somewhere else to get creative with those Christmas lights. You can wrap around the photos on your wall for lighting up those special memories for display and help light the room for less!
Tip #2 Unplug Appliances that you are not using. Even if you only do it before you leave to go to work or whatever, it will make a difference. Even if you are not using them some appliances still use electricity. Before going to bed or leaving home or even anytime you are not using them. Unplug things like the TV, microwave, toaster, coffee pot, computer, computer speakers, lamps, VCR, DVD players, game systems, and regardless of your phone being plugged in to it or not your cell phone charger will use electricity too, so make sure it is unplugged when not in use as well. And don't forget those Christmas lights, they don't use much but it can still add up.
Tip #3 The Refrigerator- Most refrigerators these days have energy saver settings you should use this. If your fridge doesn't have one no need to worry. Simply turn it down. The ideal spot for this to be set is between 5-6 for your fridge, and between 4-6 for the freezer, though all appliances vary so you might have to play with yours a bit to get it just right.
Tip #4 The hot water heater, even if it is not electric this will save you money. Wrapping your water heater in an insulating blanket can reduce its consumption up to 25 percent! They cost between $25-$50 and can save you a lot of money. Turning it down and shortening your shower time or how full you fill the bath can reduce the energy consumption of your hot water heater as well, and costs nothing.
Tip #5 Limit time spent on the computer, TV, game systems, etc... Make it fun and have a lights out family day! Once a week or even once a month, turn off everything that is not necessary in the house, including lights. Spend your time during daylight hours doing outside activities or playing board games and reading stories together inside. This will save you money and it won't cost a thing!
Tip #6 Summer time! Keeping those Blankurtains (blankets used as curtains) on your windows during the summer time will help keep your home dark and cool. This time though we are going to reverse their use (see post, saving on your heating bill the poor man's way). Instead of having our blankurtains that open up, on the side of the house with the most amount of light, we are going to put them on the side with the least amount of light during the day. And we are going to take down those trash bags or black contact paper and trade them in for some aluminum foil, or if you have the money to spend, some reflective contact paper. Simply tape the Aluminum foil on to the window. You don't want to cover the window completely because you don't want to block out all of the light, we want to save money so turning on extra lights to see during the day defeats the purpose. Tape it to just the top of the window, just the bottom of the window, or you can get creative and cover the entire window and use a sharp knife or exacto knife and carefully cut out neat designs in the foil, you might have to tape down the edges of your design, this will allow sunlight in and still reflect a lot of the heat! If you want to use reflective contact paper instead, which is usually easier, simply apply it to the top of the window, bottom, or the entire window and use a sharp knife or exacto to cut out your design, you won't have to do the extra taping if you use this method but it can cost a little more. Using this method looks really neat at night, when the lights shine through your designs!
Tip #7 Mirrors! That's right, mirrors. Hanging mirrors through your home can help reflect light within your home reducing the need for more lights. Placing mirrors on the wall across the room from windows will help reflect and add light to your home during the day. And placing mirrors close to light fixtures will help this also. Remember those Christmas lights? Put them around a mirror in your living room, it looks beautiful and helps with your inexpensive lighting!
Tip #8 Candles. Everyone loves candles. And they are inexpensive. Just use with caution please. Schedule a lights out time in your home, and if you need light after this time use candles. If you are in your living room. A nice center piece for your coffee table of votive candles floating on water in a clear shallow bowl on top of a mirror is absolutely wonderful and calming or forget the votives and the bowl of water and use regular candles placed directly on the mirror. A great before bed ritual of hot tea and this lighting will definitely get you in the mood for slipping between the sheets. This piece is great for use on the dining room table for those family fun lights out days!
Tip #9 Air Conditioning. Keep your air conditioner at a set temperature of no less than 72 degrees. And use those ceiling fans to circulate the air. Also a box fan or , better, an oscillating fan placed about 3-4 feet away directly in front of your air conditioner helps cool the air even more and helps to circulate it through the room. Make sure you have those blankurtains hung up where you need them.
Tip #10 Remember those door insulators from the post saving on your electric bill the poor man's way? They work just as good at keeping heat out as they do with keeping heat in. Make sure you keep them in place though.
Well, there you go. Ten easy, cheap or free ways to save you a bundle on your electric bill. And give your house some style. Enjoy!

Saving on the heating bill the poor mans way!

I know that being poor costs more. We can't afford certain things that help cut costs for others. Things that cut down on heating bills for instance. Things such as shrink-wrap window coverings, winter storm windows, weather stripping, energy saving blinds, insulated curtains, etc....
Tip #1 I use blankets as curtains (we will call them Blankurtains), it helps to insulate the windows so less cold air gets in. Another way to do it, is to tape up black trash bags to the windows, the dark color attracts the heat and helps to warm your home. Or do both. Try to keep the trash bags off the windows that get the most sun during the day, you will want to be able to open the curtains to help let the sun's heat in, plus you don't want your electric bill to go up from having to use your lights during the day. Using a blankurtain in the hallway can help keep rooms you use the most from losing their heat.
Tip #2 Use an old pair of pants or a shirt that you won't wear anymore, cut the leg/arm off to the length of the base of your front/back door leave room for sewing/knotting the ends, stuff with old pillow stuffing, other old clothes, newspapers, etc... close up the other end and place inside in front of the door. This will help keep cold air from coming in under door.
Tip #3 Keep your heater set at 68 degrees and when you are not home turn it down, but not below 62 degrees, it takes longer to heat your home back up and the things in it, thus costing you more.
Tip #4 Buy a small electric heater, they can cost as little as 15 dollars, and use it in your bathroom on a low setting, it is THE room in your house used the least you shouldn't have to heat it 24/7, and safely cover the heating vent for that room. A small piece of wood or something. You might consider using tip2 for this door as well.
Tip #5 If you have a dryer in your home. Block the vent going outside. Get a vacuum bag and tape or clamp it on to the end of your dryer's vent pipe. Make sure that you check it at least 2 per month. An alternative to the vacuum bag is panty hose. Make sure you check it often and clean it out to avoid fire hazard.
Tip #6 Cook more meals that require the use of your oven, like casseroles. This is a good way to add extra heat to your home without buying extra heaters and turning up your thermostat.
Tip #7 Keep heater vents free from furniture and other obstructions.
Tip #8 If you have a ceiling fan use it to circulate your heat down to where you need it. Heat rises, cool air falls keep the heat circulating. The fan should be kept on the lowest setting in reverse, or it defeats the purpose.
Tip #9 Keep your furnace and vents clean. A lot of people can't afford to hire someone to clean out their furnace and vents. But that is OK. A regular vacuum with detachable cleaning hose will do just fine for you. If you need extra length for the vents just use your garden hose. Using duct tape, simply attach the hose to your vacuum hose and feed it into your vents a little bit at a time work your way in going by the sound of the dust you are sucking up when it sounds like you aren't sucking up anymore move in a little bit further. Pretty easy and doesn't cost you a thing. It shouldn't hurt your garden hose or your vacuum any unless your kids are like mine and hide things in the vent. When you are done just run some water through your garden hose to clean it out if you are worried about the dust. Roll up the hose and put it in storage.
Tip #10 Check your heater vents for cracks. Using duct tape might seem like it costs less but it will wear and fall off quicker. Instead use a metallic adhesive tape. It costs less than $10 and can help save you a bundle!
Well, there you go. Ten things you can do to save on your home heating bill that cost less than ten dollars. Living in these hard times we need to save money anywhere we can. For some of us it means the difference between a starving belly and a warm place to sleep. Hopefully my tips can help some have both. Good luck and check back for tips that can help you save money in other areas as well.