These days we all want – and need – more money….Right? So no matter how much you have or need, Ms. Cheap is here to help you do more with less. Some call it squeezing a nickel, but she calls it being smart.

The Tennessean's Ms Cheap

I’m one of those people who grew up with a super frugal father who was forever harping on us to turn off the lights, turn off the water and turn down the heat.  On a cold day, I can almost hear Daddy telling me, "Put on a sweater!" like he did when I whined about how cold it was in the house.

His admonishments used to be super annoying but now that I’m paying my own bills, I find myself following pretty closely in his frugal footsteps with my own self imposed lights-out order and just about anything else anyone can suggest to keep  our gas and electric costs down.

Experts say that heating and air conditioning are responsible for about 55% of a typical home bill, while a hot water heater can be blamed for a whopping 20%. All the rest, from lights to clothes washers and dryers, account for the other 25 percent.

So it makes sense that attacking the heating and cooling should be the first salvo.  

The best place to start is by evaluating the condition of your home (insulation, windows, the HVAC system, etc). If you can improve the performance of your home by fixing ceiling leaks and windows, and making sure you have adequate insulation in the attic, you can definitely reduce your usage – and your bill.   And be careful where you set your thermostat. The rule of thumb is that is for every degree up during winter's chill or down during summer's heat, you're looking at about a 5% difference. That can become serious money for a little bit of comfort.

I'm a big every-little-bit-helps kind of girl so here are some other tips to help save on energy costs:

• Heating water is the second-biggest energy consumer in the home.  You can save by having an energy-efficient water heater and by changing the temperature setting to 120 degrees instead of the factory set 140 degrees.
• Get a programmable thermostat, which allows you to automatically adjust the temperature when you don’t need as much heat or air – like at night or when you are away.  According to Energy Star, an average household could save as much as $150 a year with this gadget.
• Dishwashers don't use as much energy as you might think. More than 80% of the energy used by a dishwasher is for heating water. Use the lightest wash setting that will do the job. The heavy-duty settings use more water and, therefore, cost more.
• Refrigerators are the third-largest energy consumers in the home (behind space heaters and water heaters), accounting for 6%-16% of a home's total energy cost. Refrigerators with freezers on top are more efficient than the side-by-side ones, Keep the fridge temperature between 36 and 38 degrees, with the freezer between 0 and 5 degrees. Anything lower will needlessly add to your energy cost.
• There are several things to know about your fridge: a full fridge or freezer is more efficient than an empty one; don't put hot food directly into a refrigerator or freezer; and vacuum the coils every three months or so to keep the condenser running better.
• Fluorescent compact light bulbs are much more efficient than the incandescent bulbs. They're expensive on the front end, but they're worth it since they save you money each month and they last longer - which is an added bonus if you are like me and hate climbing a ladder to change recessed bulbs.
• Unplug appliances and electronics when they are not in use – coffee makers, toasters, computers. They call it “vampire '' or "phantom'' power and it can cost you.
• Use a clothes line or indoor drying racks to dry clothes – instead of cranking up the expensive dryer.
• Use ceiling fans to circulate the air in summer and winter. In winter months, turn it to counterclockwise to force the warmer air back down into the room.  Then switch it back in summer to circulate the air the other way.
• Use a crock pot/slow cooker to make meals –One study I saw said it costs two cents an hour to cook a roast in the crockpot, which is 22 times less than it would cost to fire up the electric oven to cook the same meal.
• If you have cold air leaking in through the bottom of exterior doors or window sills, get (or make) one of those “snakes’’ – a tightly rolled stuffed fabric piece that can be laid across the gap to block the cold air out.  

These are simple tips, but actually doing them can really make a difference, just like my smart old Daddy said.

By the way, I'm still leaving a few lights on, but these days they are those super-efficient compact fluorescents instead of those incandescent energy hogs!

And believe me, I'm planning to proudly wear my sweater around the house this winter.

Comments (1)

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IM4GIVENANDBLESSED said:

... My husband and I have discovered that by flipping the circuit breaker off on our water heater when leaving for work and flipping it back on when we return home we have saved an average of $13 a month for the past 3 months. That is $39 total! Our breaker panel is right next to our back door so it isn't any inconvenience for us to do this. The water takes only a matter of minutes to heat back up and it doesn't run unnecessarily during the day while we are at work.

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January 02, 2010
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