I Have to Save Money!!
by Jeff Mechlin
(Lousiana)
The economy stinks, my bills keep rising, my son’s tuition is about to double as he enters high school, and I have to save money. There are not a lot of bills you can control in the budget, but energy is one you can. Electricity, gas or water, are all things where you can control how much you use. The less you use the more money you save.
The biggest problem is where you start. When you are trying to cut your energy use the list of things to try is long. Some things you do are free others cost a lot of money and some fall in between the two extremes. Being on a limited income I chose to concentrate on the things that could be done for little or no money.
After checking various sources, I came up with a list of things to try. First was to replace all of my light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs. This involved changing about fifteen bulbs in the house and cost about fifty dollars. That was the most expensive thing to be done. After changing the bulbs, I put signs everywhere reminding people to turn the lights off. Next step was going around the house and unplugging any appliance that did not need to be left plugged in. This was probably about twenty different lamps, chargers, game systems and the like. The last two things I did were to lower the temperature of my water heater, and raise the temperature of the central air conditioning. Living in the Deep South, there is very little call for heat, but the air conditioner gets a mighty workout.
After all the changes, I started watching my electric bill. My usage dropped by about 25% over my previous year’s usage over the next few months. While this amount is not fully reflected on my bill due to fuel surcharges that have been added by the electric company, without these changes my bill would have gone through the roof. The changes I made are simple, but extremely effective, and I will continue to search for more ways to save on my energy bill. After all, college is only a few years away for my son.
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