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Purchasing groceries is one big area where you can save loads of money each month. The next big area where you can save extra money deals with household expenses. Everyone has these and everyone can use all or just a few tips to save money each month.

If you can, change out all your light bulbs (or all the light bulbs that you can) with new energy efficient light bulbs. These light bulbs can cut your electricity bill by ten to twenty percent each month just by changing the light bulbs out. These bulbs are meant to use less electricity than older light bulbs.

When possibly, don’t run the heater or air conditioner. This only works if you can go a few days in a row without having them on at all. This will save you money plus if you can open the windows and be comfortable, you’ll also be getting fresh air in the house. Another tip is to turn down the heater in winter and turn up the air conditioner in summer.

During winter, you can easily get away with setting the thermostat between sixty-eight and seventy degrees. During the summer, set the air conditioner to between seventy-five and seventy-eight degrees. The temperature you choose is determined by what you can comfortably handle. Don’t forget that you can put on clothing in winter and shed clothing in the summer.

While still on the subject of heating and cooling, purchasing extra ceiling fans or table fans for the house will help with cooling the house in the summer and purchasing safe space heaters for winter will help keep heating costs down. Putting an extra blanket on everyone’s bed in winter is helpful and sleeping without comforters can help during the summer.

Next, take a look at your appliances. Look at your big items that you use often, sat the washer and dryer for instance. Are these two items using more energy than saving? Sometimes the older models run longer when they don’t need to.
You will save money in the long run if you purchase an energy efficient washer and dryer. Also, if you have a large family, purchase the larger washer and dryer that will hold more so you are actually washing less. If you are washing less, you’re saving electricity. The same goes with the refrigerator and dishwasher. New appliances save more energy.

With dishwashers, it costs less to use energy at night, so set your dishwasher to run overnight if you can. A dishwasher with a timer is essential for this. If you can get away with washing or drying overnight, you’ll use less energy as well. Check that your refrigerator is sealed properly so you aren’t losing energy by the doors being opened just an eighth of an inch.

When you are drying your clothes, some dryers have a damp clothing setting. Be sure that is on and when the clothes are damp, the dryer will beep. Stop and take the time to pull the clothes out and pull out all shirts to be hung up. If you hang up your jeans, pull them out too.

Go ahead and hang the clothes up, but hang them on the shower curtain rod in the bathroom or if you have a drying rack, place them on there. Then put the clothes back in the dryer and finish drying them. They will take less time to dry now that there aren’t as many clothes in the dryer. It’ll just take an hour or so for the other clothes to dry on the hangers and they are already hanging to be put up later.

Even though it doesn’t take much electricity to iron, it does take some and it takes up time. If you’d like to save some time, but also save some electricity, here’s a tip that works for some articles of clothing.

Simple tips around the house include turning off lights that you don’t need, open blinds or curtains to bring in natural light instead of using lamps, try and condense your cooking to one pot to save on electricity when using the stove and conserve water while brushing your teeth or washing your hands.

Set timers on the televisions for when you might fall asleep watching them. Small things like turning off a computer each night can save a few dollars each month. Open the curtains and blinds when you can to offer natural light into the house. The lamps won’t need to be turned on and you’re saving electricity.

It’s good idea in each change of season to go around the house and check out your windows. Make sure there aren’t any gaps where heat can go out or cold air can come in. You can purchase a small tube of caulking to plug up the holes or place towels around windows to help keep cold air out. Also double check the amount of installation in your attic so cool air or heat isn’t escaping that way.