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6 Ways to Save Money on Your Utility Bills

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In this article, we will share with you some of the easiest ways to save money on your utility bills. It can be as simple as installing aerators on your faucets, lowering the temperature of your water heater, sealing gaps under your door, slightly adjusting your thermostat and cleaning out your dryer lint trap more. In fact, you’re surrounded by all kinds of ways to save money right now so let’s get into it. Gaps under your doors can create drafts making your furnace work even harder. We’ve previously offered a solution with a foam pipe insulator by sliding it open end up along the bottom of your door.

It’s a cheap and simple solution for your cool entryways but did you know they can help your AC unit through the summer too? We picked up a 2-pack of double draft seals for under 13 bucks. After you cut the foam tubes to size and insert it into the stretchy cover, just place the middle under your interior or exterior door with the elastic straps to hold it in place. The draft seals will hug your door or window from both sides and block air and keep room temperature and as an outstanding bonus, the draft guards will actually keep bugs and rodents out too. Overall, they make heating and cooling your home more efficient saving you energy and money.

Most bathroom faucets have a standard aerator if any and that allows around 1 to 2.2 gallons of water flow per minute. If you replace your standard aerators with low-flow ones that are between 1/2 gallon to a gallon per minute, you can drastically reduce your water consumption. We picked up a 6-pack of half-gallon per minute aerators on Amazon for around 9 bucks, compared to roughly $5 each at a big-box store. You simply unscrew the old one with a pair of pliers like you would a bottle cap and then replace it with the low-flow dual-head faucet aerator. To put it in perspective, simply installing efficient aerators and showerheads can save tens of thousands of gallons of water annually reducing your bill by as much as 75%.


Here’s another exceptional one. Did you know that lowering your water heater’s temperature just 20 degrees can save you up to 10 to 15% on your bill? The Department of Energy recommends having your water heater set to 120 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 140 degrees. This is interesting because the default setting from most manufacturers is in fact 140 degrees. Most water heaters have what’s called an ABC knob. Boiling is 160 degrees Fahrenheit. C is 150, B – 140, A – 130 and hot is 120 degrees.

Setting it to 120 actually will protect your tank from overheating and reduce the energy or gas that’s used in the water heater. Oh and as a side note, if you’re going on vacation, turn the dial down too low to help save gas while it’s not being used for electricity. Each degree that you lower your thermostat in the winter or raise it in the summer could lower your bill as much as three to five percent so if you normally have your thermostat set at 72 degrees in the winter and you’re paying 150 a month, just lowering it a mere four degrees to 68, could reduce your bill by $25 a month or 300 a year.

Better yet, use a programmable thermostat and you can automatically adjust the temperature and save on energy so you don’t even have to think about it. You can get a basic one for about $50 which you’ll make back in savings or you can purchase a smart thermostat for around $200. You can also set reminders to change your air filters. This is going to save you wear on your HVAC unit. For the investment, installing a programmable thermostat is one of the smartest things you can do to reduce your energy bills and all it takes is the push of a button.

Did you know that clogged dryer vents caused thousands of house fires each year? But it can all be avoided by cleaning out the lint trap screen and vent. Cleaning out the dryer vent annually, your lint traps monthly and removing the lint from the screen before each use will help keep your dryer running smoother, save energy and avoid potential lint fires. You can either vacuum it up with a crevice tool or use a brush design for the job but also be sure to clean out the dryer vent or get it cleaned professionally about once a year as well.

Your ceiling fan can be useful throughout the year. In the summer, you want to go counterclockwise so it creates a wind-chill breeze on your skin. In the winter, you want the fan to turn clockwise. This way, it helps push the heat that’s risen to the ceiling down to where you’re sitting on the couch but turn the fan off when you leave the room because there’s no point in having it on if you’re not there to enjoy it. As you can see, it really doesn’t take all that much to save money on your utility bills and with these powers combined, you could be captain cash cattle. Let us know in the comments or over on our Save Your Bucks Facebook Group if you’ve got any money-saving tips of your own and as always, thanks for reading, and please share with friends and family who can benefit from this info.