Here is a tip to save a little on your electric bill. Nobody wants to pay a penny more to the utility companies than you have to.

At night, before you go to bed, turn down the thermostat about 4 or 5 degrees. So you won’t be using as much electricity.

For example if you have your heating set to 70 degrees during the day, turn it down to 65 degrees every night. You can even go further and set it to 60 at night and then gradually increase it during the day, so your heating system doesn’t have to work too hard at once. Like turn it up to 63 in the morning, then an hour later turn it up to 65 and an hour later set it to 70. Until bed time again.

And be sure everyone has plenty of nice warm blankets on their bed. 4 comfy, warm blankets should do just fine and keep everyone snuggled up warmly in bed.

If you have a large family and need a lot of blankets, go to a thrift store and you’ll find plenty of blankets you can buy for only $1-$7. That’s a lot cheaper than buying one brand new. Just run it through the washer once before using. And most likely, you’ll be using that blanket for years and years.

Here are a few ways to cut back on your electric bill:

*If you have old, outdated appliances like refrigerators, get newer ones. Yes, this will cost more to start out with, but you will recoup your investment and everything after that is savings. Old appliances use a LOT more energy than new appliances. If you have a ten year old refrigerator, washer, or dryer, get rid of it and get a new one. With new technology it uses a lot less energy and they will last you for many years. You will notice cheaper electric bills. It may take you a year and a half to recoup your investment but everything after that is savings. If the appliance lasts you 15 years, then that’s 13 and 1/2 years of savings.

*Turn the thermostat to 76 degrees. Then use big fans to cool the rooms you are using. Ceiling fans are great for making the room feel cooler, but if you don’t have a ceiling fan, stick to regular fans.

*Turn off your computer at night. Some people think it saves energy just to keep it on all the time, but that’s not true. If there will be say, 10 hours you are not going to use your computer, then turn it off and save electricity.

Now that summer is here you can save on your utilities by running appliances at night time when it cools down. Running the dishwasher and dryer releases heat in your home. If you have on the air conditioner, you don’t want to be releasing heat in your home.

So wait till the evening until you use the dishwasher and dryer so the temperature will have cooled down by then.

You’re not still using those energy wasting old fashioned light bulbs are you? If so, then it’s time to change.

They are called compact fluorescent light bulbs and they use about 75% less energy AND last 10 times longer. You can find them at any store that sells light bulbs. There really is no excuse not to be using these lightbulbs. You will be using less energy and won’t have to change the light bulbs so often.

The estimated savings according to Energy Star is $30 or more during the lightbulb’s lifetime. It’s all benefits and no downside to using the CFL’s.

Pay attention to the box of the lightbulbs, so you buy the right kind. CFI’s don’t go by watts, they go by lumens, but the box will tell you the equivalent in watts.  For example, 800 lumens would be 60 watts. You may want a 100 watt equivalent for your ceiling lights but a 40 watt equivalent for lamps.

Count how many lightbulbs you need in your home and then get to the store. Change each and every one of your old fashioned lightbulbs to the energy saving CFL.

If you have any relatives who still use the old fashioned lightbulbs, CFL’s will be a practical and money saving Christmas gift. Be sure to tell them how much energy and money they will be saving by replacing their light bulbs.