These days there are a lot of different ways that you can save money. Some people like to cut coupons, some like to sign up for deal websites. However, there are some things you can easily do around the house to save money and lower your bills. These changes will help make your home more energy efficient and help keep money in your wallet.

One easy way to lower your electric bill is by sealing up any holes or leaks where air might be able to escape. This may be around doors, windows, and even electrical outlets and switches. To seal up your door, you can simply take some weather stripping around the door frame to create an air tight seal. You can also look at the calking around doors and windows to see if any of it needs to be replaced or touched up. While a small hole may not seem like a big deal, it is still a space that cool air seep in or out. You can also seal electrical outlets or switches, which isn’t something people normally think about. Outlets and switches that are on outside walls can slowly seep in cold or warm air. You can seal these by taking off the face plates and adding some low flow foam around the casing. Before you put the face plate back on you can add a foam seal to help insulate and reduce air leakage.

Since energy bills mainly reflects our A/C use, changing out your old thermostat for a programmable one is probably one of the easiest ways to cut down your electric bill. Having a programmable thermostat will let you set up the temperature for times that you aren’t home, on vacation, or asleep. This will help ensure that you aren’t cooling an empty house in the middle of the summer. There are several different types of programmable thermostats. Some let you program just Monday through Friday, some let you program every day of the week, and others are learning thermostats. The Nest is a learning thermostat that is designed to learn when you are gone, when you are home, and what temperature settings will be the best setting to save you money. You don’t have to hire someone to come out and install a new thermostat; there are many different kits that make it easy for you to change them out on your own. Something else you can do to keep costs down is to do annual checks and maintenance on your air conditioner and heater. By keeping these in good condition, you will reduce the chance of it braking in the middle of a chilly night and costly repairs.

Changing out your old light bulbs for energy efficient ones can also help reduce your electric bill. Energy efficient light bulbs use less energy to light up and also produce less heat in the process. By replacing your old light bulbs with energy efficient ones you can reduce the amount of energy used to light up your home. Also, try to remember to turn off lights when you leave a room. This can help conserve energy and lower your bill. You can also turn off lamps and electronics from the wall when they aren’t in use. Most electronics still use up electricity even when they are turned off, so unplugging them from the wall will help save you some money over time.

You can also save some extra cash by turning off water when it isn’t in use. This means turning your water off while you are brushing your teeth, or even soaping up in the shower. You don’t need to have the water running the whole time you are brushing your teeth, only when you are rinsing them. Also, you can get a tankless water heater. A tankless water heater reduces the time it takes for your water to heat up; which means that you aren’t running the water as long before your shower or bath. Sometimes it can be difficult for you to install one on your own, so for safety, you may want to hire a professional. Getting your tankless water heater installation done by a profession will ensure that your water heater is installed safely and properly.

Another way to conserve water and lower your utility bill is to set up a sprinkler system. Having a sprinkler system for you yard helps you to not over water your yard or garden. If you simply have a hose and a sprinkler head, it can be easy to forget it and have it run for hours, costing you money. Also, having a sprinkler system will help keep the foundation of your home solid and level. If one side of your yard gets too much water, it is possible for the ground to slowly shift causing part of your foundation to be sunk-in. It can also help protect your foundation from cracking which can be an expensive fix the crack is big enough. If you don’t want to hire someone to come out and install a sprinkler system, you can get a simple timer to put on your outside water faucet.

Over time, you will be able to see how these simply things can save you money. Of course, these are just a few ways that you can lower some of your bills. There are plenty more ways you can reduce bills, like making sure you have the right amount of insulation in your walls and attic. Also, if you live in an older home, some appliances and features of your home may not be up to code. So, do some research to see what is new that not only get your home up to code, but also make it more energy efficient.