Thursday3Some: 3 Ways to Reduce Your Electric Bill

Many people complain about their electricity bill. I have some tips to help you reduce that drain on your wallet.

Easy Tips I Promise

There are some easy things you can do, and you don't have to buy new more energy-efficient (expensive) appliances or drastically change your lifestyle.

You just have to make some small changes in your habits. These changes may be what your parents yelled at you about when you were a kid. I know mine were always saying, "Turn off the lights. You're wasting electricity." Or, "Turn off the TV. You're not even watching it."

Like most people I found myself parroting these instructions to my kids when they were growing up. It turns out that my parents were right. Those small changes can save you money.

My grandfather used to say: "You take care of the pennies, and the dimes will take care of themselves." In today's world, that probably translates to you take care of the dimes and the dollars take care of themselves!

3 Ways to Reduce Your Electric Bill

No, ripping the electric cables apart isn't one of the ways. Try these simple things.

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room if you're going to be gone longer than 5 minutes.

2. Turn off computers and game consoles when you finish with them.

A few years ago, we were told not to do this because it took too long for the device to boot up and be ready to use and/or because it actually shortened the life of a computer hard drive. Also, we were told the sudden power spike would negate the relatively small energy savings.

This is no longer true. All of these electronic devices on standby actually use a significant amount of energy. In fact, a recent article I read about electricity usage said that gamers in America pay a total of $1 billion in gaming-related utility bills. Even if you're not using the game console, it's using electricity unless it's turned off.

3. Turn off the TV if you're not watching it.

I don't mean hit the power button because with modern TV's that doesn't turn it completely off. Get a power strip with an on/off switch. When you hit the power button on the TV, then turn off the switch on the power strip.

Takeaway Truth

Small savings are cumulative and add up, but the tactics above produce larger savings than you might realize. Try them!