Winterize Your Home AND Budget
As we talked about earlier this week, there are some great ways to lower energy bills in your home this winter season but can you also winterize your budget?
Saving money during the holiday season is always hard to do, just like cutting back on what we even trying to lose weight during Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it isn't impossible. Those that have really high energy bills during the winter may be struggling to purchase gifts or even put food on the plate. There are several ways you can "winterize" your budget.
Talk to your utility company. There are a lot of ways that they can help you save money during the winter months and they also have assistance programs. You might also ask if they have a yearly budget plan where you pay the same amount each month regardless of the energy costs. This works well if you have lived in the home for some time and are pretty consistent with how much energy you use. They can average out a price throughout the entire year that you know exactly how much your monthly energy bills will be.
Turning your thermostat down a few degrees can help cut on costs. You'll want to compensate for that my wearing warmer clothes, sealing up all of your windows and doors from any cold air leaking through and using extra blankets at night.
Programmable thermostats are a great way to budget your energy costs throughout the winter season as you can turn the heat down when you leave the home and then back up when you arrive home. This can save you hundreds of dollars over the life of your furnace simply by not using the furnace or heat source when you're not there. However, many people leave pets home alone so you may not want to drop it to low.
Opt for alternative heat sources. If you have a wood burning fireplace this is a great way to save money and you can usually find wood for sale or for free this time of year. Space heaters may actually save you money if you're only using them in a room that you’re utilizing. If you spend most of your day in one or two rooms, a small space heater can save you a lot of money over turning on the entire house’s heat source.
For more information stay tuned to our blog or for Portland real estate browse the website and call me for answers to any of your questions.