What are people doing to keep the bills low?

This might sound stupid Ejobsuccess, but I feel the same way you do sometimes about the costs of things. Have you ever noticed that everything you buy these days has a stupid red or green light on it to tell you whether it's on or not? Well, my theory is,,, if a light is on, that means electricity is being used. See that little green light on your monitor? What's it for? To let you know the dang thing is on? Duh? Anyway - there are people who disagree with me but I proved to myself how much I could save by fixing the problem. When I shut down the computer for the day, I turn everything off. I changed out my phone for an old fashioned one with no light. I unplugged my microwave, disregarding the display, and plug it into the socket next to it when I want to use it. I unplugged my freezer and sold it and I unplugged the stero unit and anything else I could find that had those stupid little lights. I unplugged everything I could. I put plastic up over the windows to keep out any drafts that might be coming through. I cook on my gas stove 99% of the time. All of this paid off big time. My electric bill dropped by HALF! Yes - I said half. It's amazing how much electricity all those little red and green lights eat up.

You might like to break down your expenses right to the daily expense level. Do that for a month and mark out all the unnecessary expenses you have spent on. You might have overlooked expenses which appear small but accumulate to alot more than the so-called big items like electricity bills. eg. make your own coffee as oppose to buying them from starbucks.

We don't run the heat or a/c unless necessary. We changed our light bulbs from regular bulbs to the CF bulbs (which made a HUGE difference), only run full loads of wash and dishes. We cook using the foreman grill as opposed to our horrible electric stove. I work only a few minutes from home so I keep my gas usage to a minimum. My husband recently started commuting so we make sure his car and tires are in tip top condition for the best fuel economy. We shop as cheap as possible using coupons and buying everything we can on sale. We are also thinking about moving close to my husbands job because we will save on gas, not have to pay a toll charge, and if we stay in the same size apartment our rent will be less.

Since I'm off this week, I'll be saving on gas to and from work. I don't plan on going out a lot, just local errands. I may go to the mall this weekend to check out some after Christmas sales but that is about it. We have electric heat so not too much on cutting back there other than lowering the thermostat. I've been using coupons when grocery shopping also. You can save a good bit that way and if you add it all up for the year, you will see a difference. Good luck on your job hunt.

As much as possible i try to minimize the use of appliances co zit could save me alot of money for the electricity. It should be a lifestyle coz it will also help me with my monthly budget, I also do it helps alot.

One really small thing I started doing, only because it was kind of a challenge is to only use one garbage bag all week. I've managed to do it the last couple of weeks. Kind of goofy I guess, but anytime I think of something new like this I have to see if I can do it. If I can get into this habit, I will only use one box of garbage bags for a whole year. I am also keeping my heat set lower than usual. We also put in a new door this year that closes off a room that is not heated. I try to run all of my errands in one trip, that is if I can remember to write everything down. This can sometimes be a challenge for me.

We rent, and we have an apartment that is fairly cheap, although its in the basement, it is ok i guess, since our rent is inclusive, So we dont pay for our heat or power, or natural gas. It's all included and so we take advantage of that and turn the heat up a lot when its cold. We bought a space heater because the owners of the house controll the thermastat. But the upstairs is always warmer and that is where the thermastat is. So it was ALWAYS freezing down here in the basement. The heater has worked out well for us, except its a DRY DRY heat.

I read the reason for the tax rises was because Gore said that we humans are responsible for global warming and must be punished. It aint so, It is in God's hands and it is caused by seasonable shifts, sometimes it gets colder, sometimes it gets warmer and the cycles last for maybe decades. We live in Manitoba so we cannot turn the temperature down at night past 68 degrees F because then it would be too cold for my husband to be comfortable. We use those new type of energy saving lights, the fluorescent lights, and we usually buy the basics and we have switched to a cheaper grocery store. My husband puts as much on the credit card as possible, and we do not turn the lights on in the rooms we do not use.

We have recently moved into a private rented house, so we are still working out how much bills cost on average each month. To save our electric bill we turn all the plugs off we are not using apart from the phones and the fridge freezer. To save our gas bill when we are out i turn the heating and hot water off so that the gas cannot be used while we are not in. All essential bills cannot be cut down on because they are charged by our landlord for rent and by the council and companys for general bills everyone gets. We do not have a car, so we save money there, hehe. ~Joeys wife

I know the gas and electric company we have offers a list of ways to conserve energy. They put it in with the bill and its also on the website. We always make sure to conserve as much energy as possible. We dont heat the stoves until its a have to case.

I just think about what I need and what I don't need, and how I can lessen the cost. For example, most people drink coffee in the morning. I don't drink coffee, but if I did, I would not go to Starbuck; instead I make it at home. Replace all lightbulbs with the energy efficient bulbs. It does save a lot. Heating and cooling is important, but there are certain things you can invest into to less the cost. Check the insulation in your home - that can save you money in the long run. With cooling, I use a swamp cooler, one that uses little electricity and water to cool the area.

gas is such a killer right now so some neighbors and I have started car pooling to go places like the gym, grocery, picking up kids, etc. Also, I have cut back my latte's. I still love coffee but I am content with the stuff I make at home. Little things add up!

What I am doing to keep some of my bills low is to be sure that I keep a mental note of how long I do t hings such as talk on the cellphone before my free nights and weekends kick in. Also I try to eliminate the use of excess lights. Meaning, if the light is on in a room, and no one is in the room at the time, then I cut if off.