Save on Your Christmas Bills
Your household bills can be a costly expense at the best of times but around Christmas when money is tight they can be a real nightmare. During winter when the weather turns cold you end up using lots more gas and electricity just trying to keep your home warm. This coupled with the fact that it gets dark earlier means it is usually the time of year when your bills are at their worst. Although those little sparkly festive lights might seem small soon they add up to a lot of power usage. I know Christmas is supposed to be a time of happiness and you don’t want to feel a scrooge but there are some real simple tips you can do to help save money.
Christmas Lights
Your festive lights and other decorations can soon add up to a lot of power usage. However there are a couple of things you need to do to make sure their usage to a minimum. One major tip that is often overlooked is to make sure you are only using them once it gets dark enough; I’ve seen lots of people putting them on before they look the most effective. As well as too early there are many people who are guilty of leaving them on too late and in many cases all night. There is no point in showing off your houses decorations after twelve as barely anyone will see them and it will cost you a lot of money in extra power. One great solution especially if you go to bed early but want them on for a few more hours is to buy a timer. A timer can be used to automatically turn them off and on when you want meaning you can get a couple of extra hours without having to get up to turn them off.
Heating Insolation
I know winter in general is a hard time of year for your heating bills but there are some ways to lessen the burden. Firstly make sure your house is properly insulated as the heat lost can quickly cost a small fortune. There are many ways to help isolate your house and although some might seem expensive the money you save each year can quickly outweighs the initial cost. Some important things to remember when trying to keep the heat in your house is to make sure your windows are covered by ether thick curtains or quality wooden blinds in order to keep the heat from escaping.
Heater Timers and Thermostats
Another major heat waste is from when you are heating rooms of the house that aren’t in use. For example there is no point in heating your bedrooms when it is the middle of the day and they won’t be used for hours. The easiest solution for this is by only turning the heating on for the rooms you want. Many modern heating systems will allow you to do this automatically and even set timer so your bedroom heating could turn on just before you go to bed. Heating systems almost always come with thermostats which allow you to control the temperature so you can stop the room from heating up too much and wasting more money.
Family time
Christmas is a time for families so why don’t you get yours together. Often in modern society the family unit is split up around the house doing their own thing. Getting them together with mutual activities will not only bring your family closer together but will allow you to save money by being able to heat and light one room at a time. Board games and family movies are just two examples. They might seem cliché, but when done right can really provide a lot of fun for the whole family.
Hope you all have a merry Christmas and hope you can save some money.
This post was brought to you by Wooden Blinds Direct a specialist in ethically sourced wooden blind
Thanks so much for the great and informative post! This is a great guide to save on bills, and be able to spend more on Christmas gifts! People in warmer states, especially need to remember to turn their air off completely if possible!
Very good points. Also LED lights cost pennies to run and they are very bright. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the tips. I especially love the ones about family time. I remember spending time as a family when I was younger and then when we got older it was only on christmas morning
Yes, winter time and Christmas can really make me have so much less money in my pocket. The winter heating bill can get so expensive! I have to turn down the heat at night, and I sit in a cooler house during the day. I sit with a blanket and a jacket on because I can not afford high electricity costs. I do not like winter at all.
thank you for all the great tips