Great Ways to Slash Your Electric Bill

I've seen and heard many comments lately about how impossible it is to save money, especially since people "can't save money on food, gas or utilities".

I beg to differ.

Over the next few days I'll be posting a series of blog updates on different ways to lower your electricity consumption and reduce that monthly bill.

First however, let me lead with the results. Here is my electricity usage for the month of February in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (in kilowatt hours per day, or kWh):

'07 - 9.9 kWh
'08 - 9.3 kWh
'09 - 4.5 kWh

That's right - I cut my electricity consumption in half, and my goal in March is to creep below 4.0 kWh. Two notes - this is in a month where I'm not running my AC and I heat my home with gas.

How did I do it? Stay tuned!

Your Dishwasher Is Running-Stop It!

How much is your dishwasher costing you?

After doing some research, I realized that my dishwasher constitutes over 10% of my monthly electricity bill.

I do about 3 loads of dishes per week. At 7 gallons for a normal cycle, that's 21 gallons of heated water. Considering that I have low flow aerators installed on all my faucets, I can get by with less than 3 gallons by handwashing.

I checked this website to get some idea of the cost of electricity and, after finding some basic data on my washer's specs, determined that it cost $3.41 per month.

Switch to Fluorescent

I recently completed the switch to all-fluorescent light bulbs. They use significantly less electricity and each bulb saves you something like $20 over its lifetime. The only problem is that they are relatively expensive when compared to cheap incandescents. So I compromised: rather than plunking down $70 on light bulbs, I've been buying one or two at a time over a year's time. My electricity costs have been gradually falling and I didn't have to devote a significant amount of cash toward bulbs.

As a side benefit, I have only changed one bulb in the last six months! Since they last a lot longer than traditional bulbs, I hope to be able to go a year at a time without having to futz with swapping bulbs from now on.

The First Rule of Personal Finance

It's easier to save $100 ten times than $1,000 once.

I first tried to save money by started with the biggest expenses.  And I did save money, actually, but that well quickly ran out. For most people, the biggest monthly expenses like rent/mortgage, taxes, car payments are hard to control without draconian measures.

But all hope is not lost!  In my case, I discovered that 30% of my income was spent on "small ticket" items of less than $100 per month. Yet these expenses added up to more than $15,000 per year.

This leads me to my first rule of personal finance: it's easier to save $100 ten times than $1,000 once. 

Becoming wealthy, or even free of debt, isn't a matter of winning the lottery or picking the right stock. It's the result of the hundreds or thousands of small decisions that we make day by day, every month. Unfortunately, this probably sounds a lot like work; then again nothing worth doing was ever achieved without effort.

How To Lower Your Bills - For Free!

A great article from the New York Times:

IF someone said that you could reduce your bills by a significant amount by taking one simple step — and this step would be neither time-consuming nor embarrassing — wouldn’t you want to know what it was? It’s as simple as this: Just call and ask.

I'm a militant believer in this. Over the past four years, I've switched car insurance 6 times (saving $1,500 per year), phone service 3 times ($80 per year) and cut back on cable ($100 per year). I've also switched credit cards twice (better rates and bonus plans) and set up four or five different bank accounts for better rates.

It's been some work but I've saved literally thousands of dollars per year.

Comed (Exelon) Customers: Save an Easy $40! Off Your Utility Bill

Sign up for Comed's air conditioner cycling program and save $10 off your electricity bill every month from June - September.  The catch?  On the absolute hottest days, Comed might turn off your air conditioner for up to 3 hours on weekdays between 11am and 8pm.

Hot tip: this summer, my air conditioner never shut down - it simply didn't get hot enough to drive electricity prices that high.

A chance to reduce energy, reduce pollution (because it prevents backline, dirty coal-fired plants from starting up) and save money!

Interested in other ways to cut your electricity bill?  Check out Comed's Smart Ideas page for more tips and resources!

Cook at Home

Cooking at home is a great way to save money. Even fast food is more expensive (and fattening, and less nutritious) than eating a home-cooked meal.

Not much of a chef? Check out cooking websites like Allrecipes.com. They have lots of recipes for people of all tastes and skill levels. You can even search by ingredients and rate recipes that you've tried.

My recent favorite: Waldorf Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette. I've modified it by tossing in an orange and diced roast chicken. It makes a perfect side dish, main course, and even a tasty on-the-go breakfast!

Skype: Save Money on Your Phone Bill!

I started using Skype to save money on my phone bill a few months ago and I couldn't be happier. The call quality is good, it's super-cheap and the Skype software helps easily manage my contacts!

What does it cost?
Well, you can get unlimited calls to anyone in the US and Canada for only $29.95 per year!
Or, if you prefer paying by the minute, you can use Skype to call anywhere in the US for only two cents a minute.

How does it work?
Skype is a VOIP service, which stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. It's a fancy way of saying that you talk through your computer.

Do I have to use a headset?
No! There are a wide array of internet phones and adapters that you can use with Skype. One well-regarded one is the Nexoteq Smart USB Skype phone; it looks and operates like a traditional telephone, but allows you to take advantage of low-cost VOIP technology.

Don't want to buy a new phone? The Eforcity Phone Adapter is a very popular (and high rated - 5 stars on Amazon) Skype adapter. The Adapter connects your phone to your computer, and allows you to use your own favorite wired or cordless phone with Skype. Installation is a snap, too.

Save Money On Auto Insurance: Esurance

You may have seen the commercials on television: the cartoon figure 'Erin Esurance' running around battling evil and proclaiming the virtues of online auto insurance quotes. Granted, an unlikely combination. But Esurance.com is owned by an honest-to-goodness adult company (White Mountains Insurance Group) and is one of the fastest-growing auto insurance companies out there. Why?

• Quote. Buy. Print. You can do everything yourself online. It's faster than submitting information for a quote, waiting three days to schedule a personal review and meeting with a salesman in person.
  
• Online Policy Management & Claims Reporting: Esurance policyholders can update their policies, access their insurance documents, and print new ID cards online anytime. Policyholders can also report minor claims online.
• Paperless Customer Experience: By making documents available online and communicating with policyholders by email, Esurance saves millions of sheets of paper every year (and the paper costs, and postage).
• Their cartoon spokesperson Erin Esurance: promotes the environment by fighting off villains such as tree-killing robots and Dr. Botanicus, who wants to reverse photosynthesis.

The result? Rock-bottom prices and excellent service.