Like most people the biggest chunk of your income every month goes on your rent or mortgage and after that your household bills. When I decided that I wanted to start saving for a deposit on a house one of the first things I did was sit down to work out where I could be cutting some costs. The cost of living is increasing all the time, however there are ways to reduce your monthly household bills to save some pennies.
1. Use Comparison sites
When your policy is up for renewal it's worth checking to see if you can get a better price by using a price comparison site. I used Quidco Compare to compare prices and managed to save a whopping £372 a year on my car insurance and £648 a year on gas and electric whilst also getting some cashback too! You can use comparison sites for pretty much anything, home insurance, TV, phone and internet packages, breakdown cover, pet insurance, mobile contracts. I like to get a comparison quote every year when my renewals are due to see if I can get a better deal.
2. Ask for a discount
What's that saying? If you don't ask you don't get? Well it's definitely true. I've always been too shy to ask in the past and just kept my bills the same each year but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask. So I rang up Sky and my breakdown cover and said I wanted to leave unless they could offer me a better deal. More often than not they will always offer you a cheaper deal to keep your custom. Don't accept their first offer either, they will usually go even lower than their original offer. I managed to get my Sky bill down from nearly £70 a month to £15 including internet and phone line saving £600 a year which is a bargain!
3. Check to see whether you're entitled to any discounts
If you or your partner work in the military service or NHS, or even your place of work may offer discounts on certain utility bills.
4. Switch your TV package
Are you paying a lot for your TV package? If you have the full works look at way you could reduce it, perhaps that be getting rid of the movie or sports option if you could live without it. Your TV company may even give you the package at a discount rate for 6 or 12 months so it's always worth ringing up to see what deals they can offer. You could even get rid of your TV package completely
5. Unplug electrical appliances when not in use
I have always been really strict with this in the past and would unplug the kettle and TV every day however over the years I have become a lot less bothered. Recently I have started doing this again, as well as unplugging any chargers from the wall, the TV and my iMac which I would always leave on standby which was most likely why my electric bill was so high. You can buy a home energy monitor to see which appliances are using the most energy when in use or on standby.
6. Upgrade to energy efficient appliances
Perhaps you have a fridge which is 10 years old or a washing machine which has seen better days. These may both have a very high energy rating which means you are paying more electricity. Buying a new appliance which an A++ or A+ rating may cost you upfront but will save you money in the long run. You could save up to £90 a year by buying efficient appliances.
7. Use energy saving light bulbs
Swap all of your light bulbs to energy saving light bulbs which are more energy-efficient and will last for years instead of months. They consume very little power and generate very little heat. It can be expensive to replace all at once, so replace any when they go.
8. Cancel your phone line
If you don't use the internet at home and have a mobile phone then you don't need to be paying for a phone line. If you do need the internet you may be paying for extra services which you don't need such as voicemail, free weekends etc, but if you don't use them there's no point wasting money on them each month! You could even downgrade your mobile phone contract to a basic £7.99 monthly fee saving you even more money. It's worth checking out what deals your mobile phone provider currently has on offer.
9. Move to a smaller place
If you're able to downsize and move to a smaller place you could be saving £100-300 a month which could be used to pay off any debt you owe or put towards a deposit on a house. This may not be easy for everyone to do and my not be worthwhile, however if you don't mind downsizing and living in a smaller place for 6 months to a year then its definitely something to look into.
10. Do your washing and any baking in the evening
Depending on your energy plan to save money on your electricity bill you could run your washing machine and other appliances such as the tumble dryer, dishwasher or bread maker in the evening. Some energy plans offer a cheaper price per unit after a certain time of day, it's worth looking in to.
11. Don't do half loads
Instead of half loading your dishwasher or half filling your washing machine and tumble dryer make sure that you're only putting them on with a full load unless you're running out of socks of course. It's best to wait for a full basket to avoid wasting water. If you don't have a full basket and really need to put a wash on throw in some towels, or take of the cushions in the living room for a good clean.
12. Keep it cool
You could knock off around £10 a year off your energy bills just by washing your clothes at 30 degrees instead of 40! Unless your clothes are really dirty then I'd recommend doing this all year round as well as using the eco programme when possible.
13. Have showers instead of baths
Showers use less water than baths and are a lot quicker. Limit everyone in the family to a 5-10 minute shower especially if they usually spend a while in there. Of course this depends on whether you're on a water meter or a flat rate. To save even more money you could take a shower at the gym or at work if you have the facilities.
Instead of half loading your dishwasher or half filling your washing machine and tumble dryer make sure that you're only putting them on with a full load unless you're running out of socks of course. It's best to wait for a full basket to avoid wasting water. If you don't have a full basket and really need to put a wash on throw in some towels, or take of the cushions in the living room for a good clean.
12. Keep it cool
You could knock off around £10 a year off your energy bills just by washing your clothes at 30 degrees instead of 40! Unless your clothes are really dirty then I'd recommend doing this all year round as well as using the eco programme when possible.
13. Have showers instead of baths
Showers use less water than baths and are a lot quicker. Limit everyone in the family to a 5-10 minute shower especially if they usually spend a while in there. Of course this depends on whether you're on a water meter or a flat rate. To save even more money you could take a shower at the gym or at work if you have the facilities.
14. Turn your oven off
Turn off your oven around 10 minutes before your meal is ready. Your food will still keep warm and cook but you will be saving some electricity! 10 minutes of energy every day soon adds up! Also don't forget to leave your oven door open to heat up your kitchen too!
15. Cook in bulk
Instead of cooking everything separately cook as much as possible in the oven in one go to ensure that all of the heat and space is being used and not wasted. This is great if you have large families and you can freeze portions for a later date!
16. Invest in a slow cooker
Slow cookers are a great energy-efficient appliance. They hardly use any energy at all and you can leave your food to cook slowly all day while you get on with other things. They're great for those who work during the day.
17. Keep the oven door closed
Keep your oven door closed whilst cooking instead of opening and closing it every 20 minutes to see if the foods cooked. Each time you open the door the oven loses heat and requires more energy to get it back up to the right temperature.
Turn off your oven around 10 minutes before your meal is ready. Your food will still keep warm and cook but you will be saving some electricity! 10 minutes of energy every day soon adds up! Also don't forget to leave your oven door open to heat up your kitchen too!
15. Cook in bulk
Instead of cooking everything separately cook as much as possible in the oven in one go to ensure that all of the heat and space is being used and not wasted. This is great if you have large families and you can freeze portions for a later date!
16. Invest in a slow cooker
Slow cookers are a great energy-efficient appliance. They hardly use any energy at all and you can leave your food to cook slowly all day while you get on with other things. They're great for those who work during the day.
17. Keep the oven door closed
Keep your oven door closed whilst cooking instead of opening and closing it every 20 minutes to see if the foods cooked. Each time you open the door the oven loses heat and requires more energy to get it back up to the right temperature.
18. Use Wi-fi when possible
Instead of eating into your 3G mobile data ensure that you are using wifi when at home or our and about so you don't go over your data allowance as this soon adds up!
Instead of eating into your 3G mobile data ensure that you are using wifi when at home or our and about so you don't go over your data allowance as this soon adds up!
19. Check for draughts
You could save on average £50 a year if you fully draught proofed your home, draughty homes waste energy and can be chilly! You will then also be able to knock another £50 off your annual bill as you wouldn't need the heating on as high as the house would be warmer.
Most common areas of draughts occur by windows, doors, keyholes, letterboxes, fireplaces, loft hatches and chimneys. Pop to your local DIY store and check out their range of draught proofing equipment and you can save yourself some money instead of getting someone into do it for you. Buy a couple of Draught excluders for the bottom of your doors especially ones near any exits.
20. Check if you're entitled to any help
Are you getting all of the benefits that you are entitled to? It's worth checking to see if you're entitled to any additional help such as council tax reduction, housing benefit, watersure scheme, and warm home scheme discount. It's definitely worth completing the online calculators to see whether you are entitled to any help especially if you're struggling with your bills
Are you getting all of the benefits that you are entitled to? It's worth checking to see if you're entitled to any additional help such as council tax reduction, housing benefit, watersure scheme, and warm home scheme discount. It's definitely worth completing the online calculators to see whether you are entitled to any help especially if you're struggling with your bills
How do you save money on your bills? Do you have any tips to share? Let us know below!
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter here for more money saving tips straight to your inbox
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your budget posts! I feel like budgeting is something that is so seldom talked about but is SO important. It's so nice to get insight into how other people handle this because I'm never quite sure if I'm doing it in a "right" way.
ReplyDelete