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8 Simple ways to lower your budget
Are you struggling with your budget every month? Do you have to buy cheaper things in order to stay in the budget? Saving money doesn’t necessarily mean purchasing cheaper alternatives. There are so many ways to save money and lower your budget by doing little things on a daily basis. Let’s get started from your house and find out what we can make it more energy efficient and save some money at the same time. Here are some simple tips to get you started -
1. Wash clothes in cold or warm water – To save energy and money, using cold water to wash your clothes with cold-water detergent is actually better for your clothes. If you really need to use hot water to remove some stains, switching from hot to warm water or presoaking them overnight can help you lower the energy costs as well. Best of all, check your washer settings to see what you can do in order to be more energy efficient.
2. Dual Flush Toilet – Dual Flush Toilet can help a family of 4 to save about 10 to 13 gallons a day. Dual Flush Toilet used to be quite expensive back few years ago. Fortunately, there are few alternatives that are available on the market with a lot lower price. You don’t need to replace your whole toilet system. Instead, you can find a kit that turns any regular toilet into Dual Flush Toilet for about $30. To install it, simply place it into the tank and hook it up with the water system. Water amount can be adjusted by pushing the level to different sides.
3. Insulate Water Heater – The typical water heater has 20 to 60 gallons of hot water ready whether you are at home or away for a week. You can feel the tank and check to see whether it is warm outside. If it is, that means the tank is losing heat and you are losing money. In order to save, you may insulate your water heater by wrapping an insulation blanket around it. However, depending on the manufactures, make sure you consult them before installing for safety issues. Normally, adding insulation to your water heater tank can prevent heat losses 25% - 45%. Furthermore, lowering water temperature can help you save as well.
4. Plant Trees in The Backyard – Planting trees in your backyard is one of the cheapest ways to cool down your house during summer. If you couldn’t find bigger trees, you can plant some small ones around the house. Trees trap CO2, make carbohydrates and release oxygen in return.
5. Turn off the water during brushing your teeth – Based on the advice from dentists, you should brush your teeth at least 2 minutes. Normally, a regular faucet flows at about 2 gallons per minutes. You can save at least 4 gallons each time you brush. So if you brush 3 times a day, turning off water will save 12 gallons a day and 360 gallons a month. If you can’t remember to turn off the water, you may install a sensor faucet.
6. Reuse the same paper towel until the job is done – How many
rolls of paper towels do you use per month? Most families choose to use paper towels, because they are more convenient and cleaner than mobs. In order to save paper towels, make sure the towels you purchased are strong enough for at least few times of use. For instance, if you spilled the milk on the kitchen counter, one piece of paper towels properly isn’t enough to clean it up. You may wash and dry the same piece of paper towel until the job is done.
7. Energy Star Electronics – Energy Star-label was created by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency for energy-efficient products. In an effort to lower your energy bill and reduce pollution and emissions, Energy Star-labeled products can save up to nearly 40% on your annual energy bill.
8. Showerhead - As you all know, shower takes lots more water than bath. Using low-flow showerhead can help you conserve the water while showering. Normally, a showerhead without low-flow feature uses up to 6 gallons of water per minute. Here are some preferences in terms of flow rate(s) and price(s) –
a. 1 gallon/minute at $40
b. 1.2 gallon/minute at $12
Even though these tips seem pretty simple and small, but they become a big thing once you add them up. Going green doesn’t have to be expensive. Doing what you can do to help our environment and lower your budget.
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