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Money Saving Tips

5 Tips For Setting Your Thermostat To Save Money

When it comes to heating and cooling your home, you may have discovered several tactics for maintaining your interior temperature and saving on your monthly utility bills. You might keep shutters, blinds, or drapes closed during the day to keep out the sun or add a layer of insulation against cold, winter winds. Perhaps you’ve added energy film that repels heat-producing solar rays. Or maybe you keep the fans running during the summer and throw on sweaters and wool socks when the chilly drafts of winter come to call. You might even use your fireplace once in a blue moon. And of course, you can hire a professional to perform a home energy audit to seal up any leaks that are letting the bought air out. But if you really want to reduce your energy costs, you should be taking advantage of the benefits your programmable thermostat has to offer. Here are a few tips to help you set your system for optimum efficiency and savings.

Learn how it works. Figuring out how to program your digital thermostat effectively is not terribly difficult, but it may require you to read the directions. Can’t find them? Simply look online for a PDF that matches your system. When you know what all the buttons do and how to use them accordingly, you can set your system to a daily program, or in some cases even a weekly one. And you can always reprogram as needed, say for weekends when you’re home during the day, or when you’re on vacation and the house is empty.

May 29, 2013

Money Saving Tips

How To Lower Your Car Insurance Costs

Sometimes it feels like insurance companies attach a vacuum cleaner to your wallet. Car insurance premiums never end, they tend to rise over time, and sometimes it’s a racket trying to get a claim processed when you do need to get something repaired. It shouldn’t be this way – and it doesn’t have to be. Fortunately, you don’t have to shell out a lot of money for good coverage.

Consolidate Coverages

Lots of insurance companies offer discounts for consolidating insurance coverages. While a lot of people do try to do this, it’s still something that’s glossed over by many others. It’s more than just consolidating your homeowner’s and auto policies. Ask about life insurance, health insurance (if you don’t already have coverage through your employer) and other types of insurance you carry.

Work On Your Credit

Your credit rating makes a huge difference in your premium rates. For many insurers, credit is a critical factor. Why? Because, while insurers don’t fully understand the reasons, good credit is associated with lower accident risk. One idea is that people with good credit are financially responsible, and thus responsible people in general.

May 27, 2013

Money Saving Tips

3 Ways To Lower Your Internet Bills

Practically everyone has a computer in their home these days, and many households have several computers, tablets, or other devices that connect to the Internet. Having access to the Internet at home has also become necessary for most families. Kids often are assigned homework that requires the use of the Internet, and many adults need to use the Internet to connect to friends and family as well as to work from home.

So whatever your reason for wanting or needing access to the Internet, there are ways you can save money and still get high quality Internet service. Here are a few ways to do just that:

Use Comparison Websites

Find cheap broadband deals by checking out websites that compare various broadband service providers in your area. They do a lot of the time consuming research for you and compile it into a user friendly chart that shows the perks of each company’s Internet packages. You may even find reviews on comparison websites so you can be sure that you don’t end up choosing the wrong company.

May 22, 2013

Money Saving Tips

How To Prevent Frivolous Spending In College

On one hand, college is the most crucial educational experience you’ll ever have. It’s where you really set the groundwork for your future career, growing as a student and working harder than you ever have before in your life. But it’s also a crazy amount of fun. You’ll meet more people, have more experiences and yes, drink more beer than possibly during any other four year stretch you’ll experience. That’s an awful lot to balance, not only when it comes to time management, but also your financial budget. Simply affording the classes you need to graduate is a pretty tall order these days, and most people can’t even do that without taking on a mountain of student loan debt they’ll be paying off for years to come. If you’re on a tight budget each semester, you’ve got to watch every dollar. Hopefully that insures you can cover the basics and still have enough fun that you don’t feel like you’re missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Here are a couple of tips to help you prevent frivolous spending in college.

First of all, think long and hard about your approach to eating. Most college students start out with a food plan, so ideally your major meals are covered. Yet it never seems to work out that way. At some point in the semester you’ll get tired of the choices laid out, and will end up going out to eat, calling for food delivery, snacking from vending machines or shoving down some late night grease bomb you barely remember in the morning. All of those meals out will add up in a hurry, and most of the time these meals just blend in with one another. Try to stick to your meal plan as much as possible, and go on periodic supermarket runs so you have snacks around that aren’t nearly as expensive as what you’d pick up in the convenience store.

May 14, 2013

Money Saving Tips

Are You Bundling Your Services?

Do you have Internet, cable TV, and telephone? If so, do you use the same service provider for all of your services? If not, here are just a few reasons why I recommend that you look into starting to bundle your services.

Bundling saves you money. If you want to pay the least amount possible for your phone, Internet, and cable TV, then you need to contact your current service provider and find out what discounts they offer if you bundle your services. First, do a quick online search to find the cheapest Sky package, for example. Make sure you understand what deals are being offered so that you are knowledgeable and not just taking a salesperson’s word for it. When you do make the call, do not be afraid to ask for a deal. The worst they can say is no. Most companies appreciate your loyalty and they will reward you for bringing all of your business to them. If they don’t, then consider looking for another service provider.

Bundling saves you time. When you bundle your services, you usually only get one bill for all of your services. This eliminates confusion and makes it easier to pay your bill. Also, if you have a problem or inquiry, it’s easier to only have to call one company, rather than dealing with so many. This way you can take care of all your inquiries by dialing a single phone number.

May 9, 2013

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