How To Lower Your Bills

Feeding the family is one of the biggest expenses for almost everyone.
Clearly, the main way to save on groceries would be to use coupons. I include that here, but there's even more you can do.

Reduce Grocery Spending

To save money on groceries, consider using coupons, get free, real manufacturer's coupons that you can print at home, view the grocery stores' weekly sales ads to match your coupons to the sales prices. Don't just match coupons to the sale prices, but look for the lowest per unit price.

If you don't want the hassle of cutting out the coupons, there are coupon clipping services where you can choose just the coupons you know you will use, and they mail them to you. It's a big time saver and money

Stop wastefulness

One of the biggest sources of food expense loss I've noticed is just plain wastefulness. We never mean to do this. But think about how many times you have left the food sitting out for hours and then you have to throw it away. (Oops!) How about the leftover food you put in the refrigerator with all good intentions but forget about it? The secret to this is first awareness -- make it a goal to look and put away any leftover food, then one of the best solutions I've found for using the leftovers out of the fridge is to have a day of the week that is "leftover day." It's like a smorgasboard of leftovers and all you have to do is heat up everything. Whatever's left from Leftover Day gets discarded. That way, you know it's been used within a week, and any leftovers older than that you wouldn't want to eat anyway!

Use every scrap you can

Think of ways to use every scrap of food if possible. For instance, last night I prepared Stuffed Green Peppers. Green peppers are often so expensive. To prepare stuffed green peppers, you cut off the tops of the peppers. I realized if I chopped the edges of the tops of the green peppers, I could freeze them. Now whenever I have a recipe that calls for 1/4 cup of chopped green peppers, I'll have it right there in my freezer.

How many times do you have a need to "grease a pan?" If you save the paper wrappers from your sticks of butter, keep them in your fridge in a baggie, then whenever you need to grease a cake pan, those wrappers works just like special butter wipes, yet they could have been yesterday's trash.

Don't forget your fancy phone

Have a "Smart Phone" with apps? Check into your app market for programs to help you with your groceries. I've found a handy one for keeping track of my coupons, for tracking my grocery budget, and even an inventory app (Pantry 2) that I can use to scan my pantry items. It alerts me when an expiration date nears! This is great because now I'm less likely to let food go to waste by going out of date.

Kroger has a good app that lets you load electronic coupons to your Kroger Plus Card. This is really great for people who just don't want to carry coupons.

Battle inflation by stockpiling

When I say "stockpile," you think of some person who's afraid the world is going to end any day now, so they're storing up food like a squirrel. I don't mean hoarding. When I say grocery stockpiling, it's basically just buying food before you need it, so you buy it at the lowest price possible. By buying it before you need it and not waiting until you HAVE to have it, you save a lot of money. All the experts say the cost of raw materials are going up, and you can see yourself how prices are increasing and product sizes are decreasing. What can you do? A lot! See this page about Stockpiling to learn all about how this works. The amount that can be saved by this easy method will amaze you.

You pay a small handling fee per coupon, and postage and administrative fee per order. Yes, it's still well worth it to save all the time and money. No need to buy multiple Sunday newspapers to get several of the same coupon!

Recycle Bank has teamed up with national brands to offer you rewards for doing the right thing. You earn points that you can redeem for product discounts, coupons you can print at home, and more, sign up for free with Recycle Bank. It's fun and easy and will save you money on utilities and more.

Find out more about Recycle Bank here.

According to RecycleBank and Suave, "depending on where you live, your family can save up to $150 on utilities and 4,600 gallons of water per year by shortening your shower time by two minutes."

Here are more water/money saving ideas!

When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water

Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap for cold drinks

Collect the water you use for rinsing produce and re-use it to water houseplants

Designate one glass for your drinking water each
day...this will cut down on the number of times you
run your dishwasher

Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save four gallons a minute; that's 200 gallons a week for a family of four

Turn off the water while you shave and you can save more than 100 gallons a week

Select the proper size pans for cooking; large pans require more cooking water than may be necessary.



Cook food in as little water as possible; this will also retain more of the nutrients

Keep a bucket in the shower to catch water as it
warms up or runs; use this water to flush toilets or
water plants

Plug the bathtub before turning the water on, then adjust the temperature as the tub fills up

Run your washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full and you could save 1,000 gallons a month

Wash clothes only when you have a full load and
save up to 600 gallons each month

There are several websites on the Internet devoted to sharing discount codes and deals. Two very good ones are Deal of Day and Fat Wallet. Use the forums of these sites to search for coupon codes. Keep in mind that many of the "deals" on the main pages of sites like these may not be the best deal for you...they are most often affiliate sites for the site owners - meaning that the website operator gets a percentage of the sales generated through those links. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that - I do affiliate marketing myself, but be careful to compare deals.

I don't do rebates on grocery items unless the rebate is $5.00 or more. It's not worth the time and the postage expense if the rebate amount is less than that. But if you do plan to take advantage of a rebate, fill out the forms and do what needs to be done to redeem it as soon as you get home. Otherwise, people tend to forget and miss the deadline to get the rebate.

There are websites that give you a rebate on your online purchases. One is E-Bates. It has been around for years, and I have used the service. It's free to sign up. a shopping site that gives you up to 25% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 900 stores including Barnes & Noble.com, Gap, Target, Buy.com and Expedia. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales!All you do is do your online shopping through the links on the Ebates site. Each advertiser has different deals. I have received nearly $60 in "ebates" since joining. Use this link to sign up and you'll receive $5 in your account when you make your first purchase!

I also like Upromise, which works very much like Ebates, except that instead of the money coming to you in a check, the money goes into a college savings fund for your kids. You can ask family and friends to sign up and allocate the rebates to go into your children's college accounts also.

We have used Restaurant.com and found it to be a big savings. You look up restaurants by zip codes, find the restaurants, then select the gift certificates you want. For just a few dollars, you can get certificates for $10-20 or more of your dinner check. Read the fine print for each coupon/certificate. Some are only good on certain days/times, and many require a minimum purchase. You print the certificate at home (Internet Explorer works best.) Because you print them at home, you can use them immediately. The restaurants welcome Restaurant.com users - the restaurants have paid to be featured on the website.

In Clark's Big Book of Bargains, consumer guru Clark Howard Teaches You How to Get the Best Deals! America's money savings expert shows readers how to get the most bang for their buck on food, shopping, restaurants, clothing, leisure activities, and more!

Here are some simple steps you can take immediately to help reduce your energy bill over the summer months:

• Use shades, blinds, or curtains on windows. Some curtains come with energy-saving insulated linings.


• Install an automatic, programmable thermostat


• Adjust the thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit


• Consider replacing your unit with a more efficient one (check to make sure you don't have duct leaks first)


• Turn off ceiling fans when you leave a room


• Replace or clean air conditioning filters every three months


• Close the fireplace damper or flue when not in use


• When your clothes dryer is done and you don't plan to dry another load, flip the controls to Fluff/No Heat for a few minutes to flush the hot air out of the dryer and the clothes - this decreases the heat from the laundry from warming your house.


• Limit the time you run your pool pump

The basics of saving are:

- Make sure you change out filters every 3 months.

- It's all about airflow. Make sure your air conditioning unit outside has clear airflow.

- Remove any bushes that are close to improve the air flow.

-You may not need to buy a new air conditioning system. Check your duct work for gaps. Small gaps can be repaired using foil tape, then cover the top and edges of the foil tape with mastic.

We have a really old heater and central air system in our house. It's about 21 years old. Last year, the A/C really struggled all summer, so we were checking into replacing the system this year.

The air conditioning/heating company came out...they wanted to add all kinds of air returns and registers AND completely gut and replace our duct system, saying that it was falling apart.

I called our electric company, which is an electric membership corporation (sort of like a credit union, only for electricity.) The offer a free home energy audit.

So the rep from the electric company came here and did the free home energy audit. He took digital pictures of our duct work, and told me that all we need to do is reattach one duct section, tape up a few more areas with foil tape, then coat it with mastic...(some kind of sealant/paint stuff). All in all, it's a $20 or less fix. He says we will get at least a 50% increase in the efficiency if we do this.

So definitely call your electric/gas company and find out if they do a free home energy audit.

We did end up getting a central heating and air system (see next section), and that should further increase the efficiency. I can already tell it's a great improvement over our old system. But always have your ducts checked out before you assume you need a new HVAC system.

To purchase a central heating and air system for my home, I recently signed into a "12 months same as cash" deal, also known as a "Zero Interest for 12 Months" deal.

Although we don't need to make a payment for a year, I wanted to make sure it all got paid, because the interest rate of 25% is horrendous if we end up having any amount left on the balance.

The logical way is to divide up the entire amount by 12 payments and send the creditor that amount each month, right? But then I realized that instead of paying that amount to Home Depot, I could send that amount automatically to my savings account at INGDirect.com and let the money earn interest over most of the year, and then when it gets close to the final date, I would have the money I need, plus some extra.

It's a fairly simple idea, but one I almost overlooked.

10 Cents Off Per Gallon
If you shop at Kroger, check the bottom of your receipt. When you use your Kroger card and accumulate enough points from buying groceries, you may be eligible to get 10 cents off per gallon at Kroger stores that also have gas stations. You enter your Kroger card number at the pump to get the discount.

Check Gas Prices
The website Gas Buddy will help you find the lowest gas prices in your area.

Change Your Lawnmower to an electric rechargeable like this one from Remington Mower. Bonus: They help the environment and they're very quiet too!



Keep insulated totes or a cooler in your car. I like the insulated tote bags I bought at Kroger ($2.99 each)...I use one for hot food I'm bringing home (great for fast food or a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store!) and the second bag is for cold/frozen foods. Cold foods are kept cold for up to 3 hours. Because of this, I can avoid extra trips out of the house for something and avoid having to back track to get milk. I can more easily combine trips.

Pump at Coolest Part of Day
Some say that filling your car with fuel at the coolest part of the day allows you to get more at the gas station. It has something to do with heat expansion...this idea is under debate as to whether it really matters.

Curb Bad Driving Habits
Stop fast accelerating and abrupt braking.
This is one of my worst driving flaws. My husband says I give him backlash when I hit the gas pedal.

Keep Car in Good Condition
Experts recommend making sure your car is well maintained, keep your tire pressure optimal, and have your mechanic check your air filter and oil filter, as those effect gas mileage.

Don't use your car as a storage facility
Remove the junk out of your car that you should have removed a long time ago...if you only golf on the weekends, don't drive around the rest of the week with your clubs. Additionally, if your car has a luggage rack, you may be able to remove it and reduce quite a bit of weight and drag.

Don't Fill Up Between 10 am and 12 Noon
Experts say that between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm, most gas stations change their prices either up or down.

Only Fill Tank About HALFway
This tip comes from consumer guru Clark Howard. Clark keeps his tank at the half tank point, so he doesn't pay too much for gas, and if he happens to find a really low price, then he has room in his tank to take advantage of it.

Loyalty Gas Station Cards
Credit cards that give you a rebate on your gas purchases. Some credit cards do this no matter what brand of gas you buy, you can get a 2% or 3% rebate. For the best discounts and rebates on gas, look for a card that is station-specific...for example, if you know you will always shop at BP stations, then you will get a much higher rebate deal for being loyal to their brand. Some credit cards offer up to 6% rebate on gas, but after 90 days, the promotional rate goes down to 3%. Find out more in this article from MSN. Look for a credit card that is low rate and has few restrictions.

"Hypermiling"
"Promoted on a growing number of Web sites, hypermiling includes pumping up tires to the maximum rating on their sidewalls, which may be higher than levels recommended in car manuals; using engine oil of a low viscosity, and the controversial practice of drafting behind other vehicles on the highway to reduce aerodynamic drag - a practice begun a few years ago by truck drivers." More about Hypermiling on Reuters

Avoiding Left Turns United Parcel Service (UPS) has its drivers make only right hand turns whenever possible. They computer-map out the trip so that it's one continuous circle. This eliminates the waiting time and idling at left hand turns. More gas is used when idling. UPS saved more than 29.6 miles per year last year by this right turn program. See this news video and consider whether this might be an option for you.