Author: ChuckLin1

Are you spending too much on your electricity bill? Face it, you probably just pay it every month without giving it much thought. But the simple fact of the matter is that lowering your utility bills is a great way to put money -- a lot of money -- in your pocket over time. Reducing your electric bill by just $10 a month saves $120 a year. If you compound those savings with interest over 10 years, and it tallies to a cool $2,300 that you're just handing over to the utility company like a gift. Save $20 a month, and you would prevent yourself from forking over $5,000 in bills and compound interest. Look, generosity is admirable, but does your utility company really need a gift from you?

Here is how I reduced my average utility bill from more than $100 per month to around $60 per month:

• I bought a folding wire rack at a discount store for about seven bucks. That is now how I dry my clothes. The dryer is a huge energy hog.
• I began unplugging electronic appliances when they were not in use. This eliminates the "ghost load" that occurs when a television or any appliance is plugged in. I daisy chained my coffee maker, toaster, and microwave so that I can unplug all three with one mighty pull when I'm not in the kitchen using them.
• I turned down my refrigerator, and my food still stays perfectly fresh.
• I eliminated air conditioning. Strangely, I didn't miss it one bit this past summer. Cold showers do the trick on even the hottest days. One unexpected advantage was that my allergies subsided.
• I replaced incandescent light bulbs with low-energy flourescent bulbs in every lighting socket in my house. These I bought in bulk at a discount club for around $45. They will pay for themselves many times over. Plus, these things burn forever so I save money on replacement bulbs.
• "Early to bed and early to rise" (and unplugging everything before going to bed) really does make you wealthy and wise -- probably healthy too!

Lately I've been playing around with building solar panels, do-it-yourself electricity. Once I get those babies installed on my roof next spring, my electric bill might become a thing of the past. Wouldn't that be wonderful!

I hope you can do the same.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1212971_63.html

Occupation: Writer. I run a small business consulting company in New York. We help other small businesses to optimize their web presence.

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