Go online to your utility company's website and see if they have a link to an energy audit. Here's an example for the one in our area: https://www.peco.com/Savings/eAudit/Pages/default.aspx

Hi, thanks so much. I'm in a home. I'm just trying to save money overall with home expenses...but great idea about cold water washes!

Changing out all the bulbs in the home to low energy bulbs is a quick and easy way to reduce lighting costs by as much as 30%. You have a small amount of money for the bulbs but with quick rate of return. You will notice it on the next electricity bill.

Another thing that can be looked at is turning down your hot water heater. Most people have it on "high" which is rarely needed. If your tap water is "too hot" (just hot enough to burn) then you can benefit from a lower setting on the water heater. By turning it to a lower temperature you can save another 10-30% on your bill (either electric or gas). Many heaters have options for setting "A", (lowest), B or C (as hot as it gets). That requires HUGE amounts of energy to keep gallons and gallons of water at "almost boiling" for no reason.

weather-stripping can help too, if you're getting a lot of air leakage around your door, electric box, and other places where things come in and out...

Not sure if it applies, but we got rid of both cable TV and our landline. Bills Diwn by about $100 a month! We have fast internet and bought a cheap Chromecast at Costco to watch online shows.

Welcome to the club!

Programmable thermostat. Check your phone service and eliminate your Landline or cut back the services considerably. Caulk around your windows and doors.

http://www.conservationmart.com/p-371-tyz-all-38x64-white-plastic-interior-storm-window-kit.aspx

I am in the Northeast and my heat is turned down to 62 degrees at night(starting at 11pm) and during the day(from 8am to 6pm) on the days that I do not work from home, and this is a huge savings on my gas bill.

if you live in a cold weather climate you should check and make sure that your home has an appropriate amount of insulation in the attic. it's also a good idea to make sure your sills are insulated in the basement

Well, in CA we water savers only flush when we really need it. "If it's brown, flush it down. If it's pee, let it be."

And I really cut our bill by being the power nazi. Turn off all lights when you leave a room. Unplug all printers, chargers, anything with a little red light on it!

Wear sweaters and Ugg boots and turn the heat way down. Down comforters are great!

We had extra insulation put into the attic. That helped so much. And cover the windows as much as you can. The worse wall is better than the best window. Energy leaves thru those pretty windows.

We just went through this when DH retired. Analyze your auto and home insurance, subscriptions, cable, phone (got rid of landline), garbage pickup (switched to taking to the landfill), home cleaning, groceries (buy bulk at BJs), use points for gas purchase, have no credit card balances, even analyze the wine! But you need to have good current data to know where you can economize.

I am thinking do we really need that dish tv? And the fancy I phones? There are prepaid cell phones out there that allow for communication without the fancy extras. It is so easy to get caught up with new "necessities".

Cooking in is a huge saver over eating out.

I did exactly opposite with the phone. Magic Jack is often on sale for like $50-60. With it is often a plan for like 5 years service. You do need some sort of land provider, so phone or cable. I will tell you, in MD, we paid like $20, and they gave us a dedicated line, which locals could use. 20 miles away in DE, whole new thing, instant rise in cost, and now they just raised it to $75! Still Verizon. We are going with cable, because it saves about $30/month. magic jack gives you all the expensive options too. We do not do cable, we get our tv online. So cable/phone/internet/LD all provided by the one service, I think it will be $35/month now. Cell phones, Trac phones. Every 3 months $20. Search, you will find phones on sale for $10-20. And many come with Double minutes for the life of the phone! My DH works, uses more minutes - even though only i really have the number, before he mistakenly let everyone have it. anyway, they get lost broken, drowned, you know. He had 4 years of time, just little minutes. He gave it to my phone. My phone does not expire til 2021. I have now had 10 minutes on it for a year. Oh and he does the same for my mom. So now, neither has to get a card for years, only if we use up those few minutes.

Mariekylco, please explain how chromecast works, it looks like we have to buy amazon, etc.?

Oh and you can put a brick in your toilet. And wrap your hotwater heater, you can buy them, or just look at how to make your own. Biggest users of electric are in order Cooling, heating, dryer, oven. Reduce those and there will be a noticeable decrease in electric. Floor fans are better than ceiling. buy a new electric blanket every year and get a comforter of some sort, turn the heating blanket on full blast, then turn it off, the bed will be warm when you get in and stay that way. Hang out your clothes inside or outside makes a huge dif.

Chromecast works to stream from your computer or phone to a tv with hdmi port. You do need to have a wifi internet connection. You can put up anything you have streaming on the computer, laptop, or smart phone. we do pay for Netflix and Amazon prime shipping already, so we can stream those. But you can also find lots of stuff free on the net. We rarely watched any cable programs so paying for cable tv was not a value to us.

LIst what you spend. Set a budget, convert your monies for each bill expense to cash, when cash is gone, you stop spending on that area of the budget until the next month. This will show you where you are overspending each month and make you think of ways you can spend less or on budget for the next month.

Hubs goes around each season and adjusts the heat registers in our house to rooms we use often and closes down ones not used so much. We keep our thermostat at 72 in the winter and use our wood burning fireplace to keep cozy warm and flannel sheets on the beds in the winter.

Oh and have a big Garage Sale to get rid of your stuff that takes up space in your home.

If you are making payments on cars, sell them, and buy older ones for cash. Save on insurance and probably gas.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

thanks mariekylco, we were getting mixed messages, one part said what you said, but then it listed all the pay channels, we do pay a small fee to hulu every few months, will not upgrade, and often let that membership lapse if we don't need it.

Yes, op, many years ago, some economist said that the one thing we pay too much for is services, reduce those and eliminate as much as possible, we get to thinking we need them, but we really don't. Like special phones, HS internet, cable, additional insurance on things. One example is for years we had AAA, then when we looked to cut, we discovered, we were paying for same services on insurance. rang true with me and I check those out on a regular basis. Packaging too. Individual servings cost a lot more than a tub of cottage cheese or yoghurt and you divide it up.

Analyze where every single dollar is spent for at least a month so you can set a budget or plug holes in your spending. Phone/cable are easy places to cut back services without feeling much pain. Food is another budget item that's easy to trim. If you eat out at all, stop. Learn to cook if you don't know how. Use all parts of the meat you purchase. Chicken thighs are much cheaper than breasts. Eat vegetables that are in season. Shop at the day old bakery. Learn how to get creative with leftovers. Soups, pot pies, and omelets are good ways to use up leftover tidbits. If you are a coffee drinker, brew it at home and stay away from Starbucks.

Get to know your public library. They usually have new release DVDs available so you can still binge watch some of your favorite shows. You may need to wait a bit, but hey, it's free.

When we were trying to save money to pay off some bills, my husband would each have a no spend day once a week. It became a friendly competition for us, so we'd actually try to stretch it out for more than a day a week.

I used to use my credit cards everywhere just out of convenience and pay off the balance every month, but sometimes I'd lose track of the spending and have an unpleasant surprise when the bill came. I switched to pulling a set amount of cash each week, and I felt more accountable to myself. If I got a five dollar bill back as change, I'd save it for weeks when I knew the cash would run short, such as needing to buy a gift for someone.

I'm not a big fan of spending money to save money (i.e. replacing perfectly good light bulbs or toilets with newer, efficient ones). The only exception is the thermostat. If you don't have a programmable one, get one. There is no point in heating a house at 72 degrees when it's empty. Put on a sweater and lower it when you are at home. Throw an extra blanket on the bed and really turn it down at night. Good luck!

Don't change all your lightbulbs. No sense going to the expense (albeit smallish) to put new bulbs in fixtures you never use (cellar once a week, closet, etc.). But do put them in the fixtures that are on a lot--outdoor lights, kitchen, etc.

And don't go nuts unplugging the stuff that's asleep but has a little light on it, That energy use is so low that it's not worth the hassle. But turn stuff off when not in use.

And do NOT put a brick in the toilet! Not even a wrapped one. If your toilet isn't designed to flush properly with less water (the point of using the brick or a plastic bottle filled with water), then it won't flush properly and will clog more often or need double flushes.

Programmable thermostat is great.

But keep in mind, if your energy company splits out the different costs (for generation, distribution, etc.), you will not save 10% of your bill if you cut your usage 10%. You will only save 10% of the part of the bill that pays for the actual energy used. The distribution costs, etc. remain the same, so your savings will be very much less than you might expect.

Buying soda and chips: total waste of money! Not even real food.

maggie, we have said many things. And believe me, we are great at rambling on with more and more, but you have not replied, do you disagree, have you done these things? you have to direct us so we can help you better.

Hi, I think they are pretty much all great tips and I'm so appreciative - thanks!

Every time we leave home the money leaves our wallet. Stay home and have friends over for a potluck, watch a movie instead of going to the cinema, buy your books at the Dollar store or head to the library.

you know, you can get all kinds of games and puzzles at the charity thrift, $1-2 each. I mean like $30+ games! make some popcorn in the microwave, have someone bring soda, have a mystery night or another game night.

If you have a gym membership...consider cancelling it and, instead, just go for walks, ride bikes, get a couple of exercise dvds.

Do your own nails.

If you have kids, realize it is very easy to get caught up in too many classes, sports, etc. Cut back and add in family game night instead. Most of our kids are way too over scheduled!

Call cable and phone companies and renegotiate; it's amazing what they will adjust. Lower house temperature, add brick in tank of toilet, lower water temperature, use cold water washes, if you have peak/low periods use optional electricity needs at the least expensive time. Seal windows and outside doors, add insullation behind light switches to reduce drafts, use coupons/watch for weekly grocery sales, buy in bulk and freeze, change eating habits, grow a vege garden and spice garden if you can, turn off lights and tv when not in use. Track your spend for a few months and see where you could save. Walk instead of driving short distances, water garden smart (look up), plant trees to help with shade/cooling in summer and protection in winter. Read up on home made alternatives to expensive cleaning solutions. Look at your long distance costs and use Skye instead when you can. Combine house and car insurance for a discount. Don't pay full price and wait for sales. Good luck.