Bank finance articles and tips

There are many ways you can cut costs to your home and stretch your dollar every month. Below are 17 tips you can start doing now to help get you on the road to frugal living!

1. Turn down your thermostat when you're not home and when you're asleep at night. You can replace your current thermostat if it doesn't have a programmable timer.

2. Run your dishwasher when it's full. You can opt to skip the heat dry feature.

3. On your washing machine, choose warm/cold or cold/cold wash feature. Always remove lint from the lint catcher in your dryer before drying each load. It's also a safety precaution that your dryer doesn't catch on fire.

4. Weather strip doorways and caulk windows to prevent heat loss. Go through your house and make repairs now and prepare your home before winter comes.

5. Use a light timer when you know you won't be home to turn on the light.

6. Turn off unnecessary lights in your home. Use a desk or table lamp. Install sensor lights outdoors.

7. In winter, when there's sunlight open up the drapes to let the heat in and in the summer, close your drapes to keep your house cool.

8. Use your fireplace instead of your heat.

9. Using your oven in the winter will also warm up your home, but don't use your oven often during the summer months.

10. It doesn't matter whether it's summer or winter, if it's possible hang your clothes to dry inside or outside your home and use your dryer less often.

11. Older homes usually have single paned windows and you can buy a window installation kit that uses plastic to insulate the windows, but you'd be better off to upgrade and switch to Energy Star certified windows.

12. Make sure you have clean furnace filters by changing or cleaning them at least once a month. Dirty filters restrict airflow thus increase energy.

13. Ceiling fans work both in summer and winter. In the summer, when the ceiling fan is moving counter-clockwise, it pulls up the warm air. If you reverse the action and use a clockwise motion, it will move warmer air down.

14. Use the recommended temperature on your water heater. Usually this is the default temperature setting from the manufacturer. Increasing the hot water temperature has its risk of scalding young children and adults alike.

15. When the temperature dip lower outside, don't turn up your thermostat. Instead wear a sweater, socks and slipper, use a quilt, fleece blanket or wear a snuggie for extra warmth.

16. Add more insulation to your home especially in the attic, basement or between walls.

17. Insulate your pipes and prevent them from freezing. Make sure your water leading outdoor is turned off to prevent freezing and bursting.

Copyright ? Lara Velez, All Rights Reserved

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About the Author: Lara is a professional blogger, wife and homeschooling Mother of two. She is a published writer ( http://proverbs31wifehandbook.com/blog/ ), web designer, business owner, brand ambassador, reviewer and Mom of Faith ( http://momsoffaith.com/ ). She enjoys cooking, writing, scrapbooking, and web design.

By Lara Velez
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