Be Frugal Around Your Home This Summer!

This is a guest post written by Money Supermarket, a UK based comparison site.

Summertime and the living is easy. Or is it? There are several simple ways to cut costs around the house during the summertime, which can definitely make life a little easier.

Do some research regarding your household budget. A little financial juggling can alleviate summertime budgetary woes. Shop around for a new credit card with a lower interest rate at Moneysupermarket and transfer those high balances to save money.

The costs associated with trying to keep cool in the summer can be quite expensive. One of the biggest costs, to that end, is the cost of air conditioning. To save money on air conditioning costs, try drumming up airflow using a few fans and some open windows.

• Opening windows on opposite ends of the house or apartment and using strategically placed fans can create a natural flow of air throughout the entire space. You will be surprised at how much cooler your home can be, without turning on the air conditioning.
• For the windows that you don’t open for increased airflow, make sure to keep all the blinds and curtains closed all the time. This keeps the summer sun’s room-heating rays to a minimum.

Unplug appliances and electronics when not in use, as many use “phantom” electricity. Meaning simply, items that are plugged in, even when not in use, are using electricity. To make things easier, plug them into a phantom avoiding power strip that can be easily turned off and on with the click of one button.

Cancel your cable or satellite TV service. Even the most modern of high-digital televisions can tune in to several channels with simple rabbit ears. An online movie-streaming subscription costs less per month than basic cable service.

Replace incandescent light bulbs with the energy-saving CFL bulbs. The up-front cost of these bulbs is higher than incandescent bulbs, but they cost much less to operate over time and they last longer, making them less expensive in the long run.

Rather than using the heat from an electric or gas clothes dryer to dry clean clothes, consider hanging wet clothes on a clothesline and using the heat of the sun to dry them. Along those same lines, rather than use the heat setting on a dishwasher to dry clean dishes, consider hand washing and hand drying, or air drying them. You can also save money when hand washing dishes by soaking the dirty dishes in soapy water in the sink, then rinsing them, rather than leaving the hot water continuously running while hand washing.

Saving and storing leftover food from home cooked meals can help stretch your food dollars. Growing vegetables and fruits from seeds is much less expensive than purchasing the same items from a grocer. Start your seeds inside in the early spring and transplant them outside at the start of summer. By mid to late summer, you’ll be enjoying the delicious bounty of your hard work.

Reusing aluminum foil and plastic bags is also cost sensitive. Granted, these appear to be very small savings, but they can add up significantly over the course of an entire summer season.

If you like to grill during the summer, keep in mind that gas grills are less expensive to operate than charcoal grills. Charcoal briquettes cost more than propane gas.

Finally, when venturing out from home to run errands, bike or walk, rather than drive. You’ll save money and improve your fitness, hopefully decreasing your health and medical expenses.

How do you save money during the summer months?