As we all spend more time at home during the cooler months and continuing social restrictions, you may have noticed your utility bills and spending increasing. The experts at A-Absolute Plumbing, Heating & Air in Roselle, NJ, have a few life hacks you can implement around the house to help you save money during this season. Your family — and your wallet — will thank you!
Make a budget
One of the biggest life hacks for saving money is to set a budget. Use a spreadsheet or a budget-making app to determine your monthly (or weekly) income against your regular bills and expenditures. Then divide the remainder of your income amongst savings, paying off debt or on other important things.
Seeing where your money really goes each month can help you curb possible bad habits (like getting takeout too frequently) as well as help you plan for the future and set aside emergency money. While you can never be totally prepared for a home HVAC or plumbing emergency, like a furnace breakdown or clogged pipes, having an “emergency fund” can make the burden a little easier.
Set a thermostat schedule
… and stick to it! If you don’t have a schedule set on your thermostat, you’re practically throwing money away. You can set your home’s temperature to lower when your family leaves for work or school and to rise before you return. If you’re working from home or doing e-learning these days, you can still set the schedule to adjust a few degrees lower when you go to sleep. Experts say a few degrees above or below 65º F is the ultimate sleeping temperature.
Smart thermostats, like Nest, can even learn your schedule based on thermal sensors or geofencing your phone’s location to determine when you are away or sleeping and adjust temperatures accordingly. Not heating an empty (or sleeping) home will help you save big on your winter energy bills.
Create a meal plan
… and stick to it! Many of us are eating at home more these days and creating a meal plan can help save you time, effort and money. With a weekly or monthly meal plan, you won’t have the nightly debate on what to cook until it’s too late, and fast food is the easiest solution. And you’ll save big on your grocery bill by only buying ingredients for the meals on your plan, rather than purchasing random ingredients without a plan in place. You can also stretch the meals by making a little extra for leftovers the next day or two.
Save on water
Spending more time at home can also mean using more water. Hopefully your family still sees showering and brushing their teeth as an essential task, but there are ways you can continue to save water every day. Make sure to turn off the water while shaving (women, too!), brushing teeth and washing hands and consider setting a timer to shorten showers. You can also check for leaks in your pipes or toilet with the help of an A-Absolute plumbing expert to ensure you’re not wasting water without even knowing.
If you’re looking for more money-saving life hacks for the plumbing or HVAC system in your New Jersey home, contact us or schedule a consultation online today.