Do you ever wonder why your money seems to vanish every month? Chances are you are wasting it on things around your home without noticing. There’s nothing worse than wasting money, especially when you could be saving! The following is a list of things, around your home, that could be wasting your hard-earned money.
1. Cable TV
The majority of American households spend around $110 a month for cable television. That’s over $1300 a year! With prices like these, it could be time to say goodbye to your cable TV provider. You might be surprised to find that you’ll hardly even miss it.
There are plenty of other options for home entertainment these days. Instead of paying for cable, purchase a few subscriptions to internet services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney+. You will still be able to watch most of your favorite shows and movies but for a fraction of the cost.
Leaving Electronics Plugged In
Around your house right now, you have lots of things plugged in that you’re not using. A sleeping laptop, a fully charged phone and anything with a digital clock display are all drawing power even if they’re not in use. Around 25% of all residential electricity is used by devices in idle mode. Your electric bill is, most likely, $30 to $40 more than it should be each month because of all the power your devices are using while idle.
Cutting your costs is as simple as making sure your devices are actually off when they’re not in use. Power strips are a great solution because you can easily and quickly turn off power to multiple devices with the push of a button. Simply unplugging devices also works and It only takes a second to save you hundreds on your power bill each year. Also, we have some more information on 30 ways to make your home energy efficient.
3. Thermostat Settings
If you are looking to lower your bills, you might want to consider replacing your thermostat. The one controlling the temperature in your home now, might be old and outdated. In which case, it’s wasting your money.
Upgrading your thermostat to a modern, programmable, version will allow you to have full control over the environment in your home. Never again heat or cool an empty house during your workday. Also, if you opt for a smart thermostat, you will be able to control the temperature remotely in case you wind up coming home later than usual.
4. Paper Towels
Using paper towels can make clean-ups easy, but is it worth the cost? If your household is using three rolls of paper towels weekly, you’re spending almost $300 per year on average. Plus, you are not doing the environment any favors in the process.
Instead of using paper towels to wipe down your kitchen and clean up spills, switch to cotton hand clothes, which you can buy on Amazon for cheap. A 10-pack will cost you less than $10 and they are reusable. Even with regular washes, you’ll spend far less to keep your house clean than you do with paper towels.
5. Bottled Water
People in the United States spend an average of $100 per person per year on bottled water. This means a family of four is spending $400 per year just to drink a beverage that should be almost free.
Instead of wasting your money on overpriced bottles of water, try an inexpensive filter on your sink or a filtering water bottle, which costs around $10. You’ll need to replace the filter now and then but a single filter can replace hundreds of water bottles.
You can also purchase a water dispenser with a 5-gallon water tank.
6. Wasted Food
An average American family of four wastes just over $2000 per year in spoiled foods and produce. It can be difficult to judge exactly how much food you’ll eat in the next week or month, but when food goes bad, that’s money down the drain.
To stop wasting money on food, make weekly meal plans and shop from a list. Don’t shop while hungry, and don’t throw away leftovers. Instead, take them for lunch or freeze them for later meals on nights you’re too tired to cook.
7. Dishwasher Drying Cycle
The drying cycle on your dishwasher gives you sparkling clean dishes but uses a ton of energy to do so. If you’re into saving money, just skip it and air dry instead. Most modern dishwashers let you skip the drying cycle, which saves energy and money.
All you need to do to air-dry is open your dishwasher after the final rinse cycle and let your dishes dry with the door open. If you are worried about spots on your glasses or china, simply use a rinsing agent and achieve sparkling clean dishes without a high power bill.
