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Discover Great Tips in The Home Energy Diet

The Home Energy Diet: How to Save Money by Making Your House Energy Smart by Paul Scheckel

Paul Scheckel wrote The Home Energy Diet and he is obviously a firm believer in what he is talking about. He drives a car powered by vegetable oil and lives in a solar-powered home among other things. His book contains some really great information on how to make your home more energy efficient. The book includes all kinds of graphs and charts to explain energy consumption and he provides explanations that are easy to understand.

Paul provides great tips on using the appliances around your home to maximize energy efficiency. He answers frequently asked questions such as whether it’s more energy efficient to wash your dishes by hand or use a dishwasher. According to the book, a study was conducted at a university in Germany. Volunteers washing dirty dishes in a sink used an average of 27 gallons of water and 2.5kWh of water-heating energy to wash a 12-place dinner setting. A dishwasher handling the same number of dirty dishes used only 4 gallons of water and about 1.5kWh of electrical energy. After all the dishes were washed, about half of the dishes washed by the volunteers were still dirty whereas the dishes that were washed in the dishwasher were clean.

For more interesting facts about energy efficiency around your home, check out The Home Energy Diet and do your part in making your home power smart.

September 20, 2009

Book Reviews

The Soul of Money – It’ll Change The Way You Think About Money

The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship With Money And Life by Lynne Twist

Lynne Twist’s book The The Soul of Money will blow you away. I borrowed it from the library this past weekend and couldn’t put it down. Lynne really makes you think about your life and your perception toward money. She is a fundraiser who has traveled around the world rubbing shoulders with the very rich and the very poor. In her book, she challenges her readers to consider how they perceive money and to overcome feelings of scarcity and inadequacy and instead embrace a sense of sufficiency.

Lynne’s main theme is that when she saw people “aligning their money with their deepest, most soulful interests and commitments, their relationship with money became a place where profound and lasting transformation could occur.” In other words, people had a healthier perception of money and were the most fulfilled when they used their money to support the things they believed in.

September 14, 2009

Book Reviews

Cut Your Energy Bills Now – A Book That Will Save You Money

Cut Your Energy Bills Now: : 150 Smart Ways to Save Money and Make Your Home More Comfortable and Green by Bruce Harley

Cut Your Energy Bills Now is full of easy and practical ways to make your home energy efficient. The author provides tips on insulating your home, fixing leaks, taking care of your water heater, how to improve your lighting, and much more. It is full of illustrations and simple instructions so anyone can make these improvements with little time or hassle. The author also provides good explanations for each suggestion and discusses the impact on your home, your energy bills, and the environment.

If you live in a hot climate where you rely on air conditioning to make your home bearable, I would recommend reading the section on big appliances. There is also some great information for those with swimming pools or spas.

You might be surprised by some of the myths that are busted throughout the book as well as at the amount of money that can be saved by having an energy-efficient home. You will likely find that your home becomes more comfortable as you make it more energy efficient.

Here are some interesting tidbits found in the book to get you thinking:

1. Heating an aquarium can cost a lot more than the price of the fish – $100 to $300 per year. Select fish species that don’t require heated water.

2. Ceiling fans actually generate heat so only turn them on when you are in the room.

3. When you buy a new fridge or freezer, don’t keep the old one running in the garage or basement. If you do need the extra capacity, consider buying another energy efficient one instead. You will save tons of energy and money,

4. Screen savers on desktops use a lot of energy and can cost you up to $100 per year. Instead, simply turn off your monitor when you aren’t using the computer.

5. Insulate your water heater with a tank wrap and insulate your water pipes.

6. Refrigerators use the most energy of all household appliances and freezers use just slightly less.

August 1, 2009

Book Reviews

Thrifty Fixes – Home Decorating Ideas That Will Fit Your Budget

The Little Book of Thrifty Fixes For The Home by Bridget Bodoano

Thrifty Fixes is a really neat book. It takes about an hour to read the whole thing and it is jam- packed full of interesting tips on how to decorate your home without spending a lot of money. Especially right now when people are living on tight budgets, it’s a must-read for anyone looking for a reference book on home decorating.

The thing I like the most about this book is that it gives you practical advice on how to use what you already have around the house rather than encouraging you to go out and buy more! The theme is to do more with less and to not discount old furniture, lamps, etc, but to improve them instead. The author also provides tips on how to get the most for your money when you do purchase things for your home.

The author provides tips on everything from flooring to walls to storage. She discusses ways to make your room look larger and many other interesting topics. I liked the way she wrapped everything up by talking about ways to ensure your home is energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Here are just a few tips found in the book:

1. Smarten up your bathroom simply by buying matching towels. They can be purchased at large supermarkets and they don’t have to be expensive.

2. Economy furniture is often made of less material and can look skimpy, so when purchasing furniture, be sure to choose “robust and chunky” over thin and skimpy.

3. Don’t always buy the cheapest products as although it may solve current budget deficiencies, it could turn out to be a false economy. For instance, if you buy a sofa, consider its durability and how long you would like it to last.

4. Fashions come and go, so buy the classics that will outlast the fads.

5. Don’t worry if all of your pictures don’t match. Using a single style of frame will unify a mix of prints, paintings, and photographs.

July 25, 2009

Book Reviews

The Millionaire Next Door – A Glimpse Into the Lives of Millionaires

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

In the book, The Millionaire Next Door, the authors talk about the seven common denominators among those who successfully build wealth:

1. They live well below their means.

2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.

3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.

4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.

5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.

6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.

7. They chose the right occupation.

I found this book really interesting as it gave me a glimpse inside the lives of millionaires. They don’t live glamorous lives like one would expect. Instead, they invest their money carefully, are most often either self-employed or owners of one or more businesses, and they spend about 8 to 10 hours a month on studying their investments. They are unlikely to buy expensive watches, cars, etc. and they know how to live well below their means. In fact, in many cases, the children of millionaires are unaware of their parent’s wealth until they are adults.

The authors discovered that most millionaires are married couples that are getting close to retirement age or have just retired, and that both the husband and wife are frugal. Surprisingly, most of the millionaires they studied became wealthy in one generation; very few inherited any of their wealth. As well, most of the millionaires they studied were well aware of their monthly expenses and kept within a budget.

Throughout the book, comparisons are made between high wage earners and millionaires. It explains how those who don’t know how to live below their means will never be millionaires no matter how much money they earn, and how those with modest incomes can still become millionaires if they are diligent at saving and investing.

This book is full of interesting statistics, charts, and research findings about millionaires and their spending habits. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in acquiring wealth or is just plain curious about what millionaires do with all of their money.

July 17, 2009

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