How I Save Money on My Electric and Water Bill ( Highly Requested Video)

[@jandavis6808]

Dawn this sweater looks fantastic on you! Very flattering fit and colors. I always think a lady should know when she looks nice. 😊

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Thank you so much!

[@pamelaking4414]

Me our water bill always is 85.00 for 24 years just me and hubby! We shower every other day unless it’s summer hot 110 heat index! Was my hair every 3 days save on time water and products ! We’re on electric budget in 1700 square house in Flordia rates and charges kills the bill. I work from home so my computer runs 8 1/2 hours 2 monitors 5 days a week! I save on gas and mileage no eat out lunches at all and no extra shopping on lunch hour! No natural gas but we pay for garbage 3 months 84.00. Not in a room shut lights off ! Unplug items not using! Try to do one load laundry a week ! All other laundry 2or 3 weeks . Yes we have extra clothes don’t wear just one time either! Only use dryer once week hang up most clothes no hard jeans or towel use the dryer

[@wendyeskelin8765]

Things I do to help with the bills : * leave curtains or blinds closed in rooms we aren't using ( most of the time ) * programmable thermostat * I use rice packs when I go to bed at night and when I get up in the morning if I'm cold * I hang dry a lot of clothes. More so to save the clothes than to save electric, but it helps * I wear fuzzy socks and fuzzy sweaters or thin fuzzy jackets around the house. * I wash full loads whether laundry or dishwasher * I rarely fill up the big bath tub * We let our yard go dormant in the summer * We collect some rain barrels for plants, although we don't use them as much as we should. What I don't do is use LED. They hurt my eyes so it's not worth it. And I really hate the low flow shower heads, and it seems like it's impossible to find ones that aren't like that these days, and it takes ten years to rinse my hair out.

[@3TXSisters]

I like a good flow on the shower head, too! You had some great tips!

[@larmstrong2302]

@@wendyeskelin8765 Love those tips! ❤️

[@wendyeskelin8765]

@@3TXSisters Thanks

[@wendyeskelin8765]

@@larmstrong2302 Thanks. I love hearing others ideas and Dawn has so many good ones she covers most of them :)

[@pattywheat6568]

@@wendyeskelin8765 You have great tips most I do but I’m adding heated rice packs tonight😉

[@cherylawitherell1800]

Looking very good,Dawn..

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Thank you!

[@mysticmeadowshomestead6209]

This is an important topic. I still have relatives in the uk. They say, 'Heat or eat.' Bc after making everyone get rid of their coal burning fireplace (affordable) and switch to all electric, the electric cost went sky high. Many must literately choose between heat in the home, or to eat. So they eat as cheaply as possible and sit in the living room (they call it a lounge) wearing fleece sleepwear and wrapped up in blankets. Check out 'Oodies,' wearable blankets. To me, that sounds as miserable as camping in winter time, except that it's even more miserable when there is no end to the 'camping' bc it's your own home.

[@cherylawitherell1800]

I dry rack laundry, i collect water at the beginning of shower and use it in Brita,plants etc.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I love that you are being so resourceful!

[@3TXSisters]

Very smart!

[@karendjohn8803]

Now why didn’t I think of that???? Great idea!

[@larmstrong2302]

My husband changed our toilets to double flush toilets. It uses 1/2 the water for a regular flush and if more power is needed, you can hold the handle down for a full flush. Even the half flush is very powerful and it was only about $200.00 per toilet.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Great idea

[@pattywheat6568]

Girl, you look so thin and with horizontal stripes that’s impressive! I turn my HVAC off when the temperature drops and only heat the room I’m in using a HeatDish heater it saves a ton. I don’t like to heat empty spaces in my home. I also limit laundry to full loads once a week. Love you all❤

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

You are very kind

[@pattywheat6568]

@ Dawn, I just returned from my monthly Costco visit. Two $5 rotisserie chickens and $390 worth of stuff I did not intend to buy but somehow had to have it. Like a drunk driver surrendering their license, I need to cancel my membership, Lol.

[@kimberlylholt]

My water this last month was 19.00!!!

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Fantastic

[@3TXSisters]

Wow! That's great!

[@larmstrong2302]

@@kimberlylholt Wow!!! 😮

[@3TXSisters]

Wow! That's really low!

[@lindabudzik9583]

I’d love to know if any of your viewers have a suggestion on how we can lower the amount of water used with each flush of the toilet. In the old days people used to put a brick in their toilet tank to displace some of the water so less is used in each flush. I know that can’t be good for your toilet, but is there another way to accomplish the same thing?

[@candice-user-fn7sr1er2l]

It's called a float, that is used in the water tank, to adjust, the water amount, hope this helps.

[@GrannyLinn]

At one time we put a gallon jug of water in the tank. (It might have been only half full…?)

[@leslieg9406]

We get charged different electricity rates for on peak & off peak hours. So we run the dishwasher and do laundry during off peak hours. I don't fully dry clothes but finish drying them on a drying rack.

[@ceciliaperales8466]

I save money every Winter, because we don't use our heater. It doesn't get cold enough. Our Temps. during the day are mostly in the 60's.

[@3TXSisters]

We get a little colder weather, so the heater is on. I still sleep with the fan on, though. ❤

[@fredalkent]

My folks never had a clothes dryer. It was the clothes line, on rainy days a clothes line was strung in the basement. In a condo, to air dry, put everything on hangers.

[@DonnaH2121]

We live in Florida and set our air on 77-78. We take shorter showers, wash laundry twice a week since laundry day and bedding day are different days. We have blackout curtains in some of our windows to help block the hot Sun even though our windows are double paned. We collect rain water during the summer to water my house plants.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Those are some great tips!

[@karendjohn8803]

We do budget for both gas & electric. I live in a cold weather state. During the cold winter months, our furnace sets at 64 degrees while we are sleeping. It jumps back up to 68/69 during the day. Water bill, a whole other story. We only used to pay about $45 every 3 months. Then, along came the mandatory installation of smart meters. Now we pay $45 monthly 😬.

[@pamelasmith514]

We shut off rooms, too.

[@Smooshes786]

Us as well. We only heat where we are and to prevent cold damage to the systems. The houses with the huge vaulted ceilings look great to me, no way I’d heat empty space!

[@katie7748]

​@Smooshes786 This is the second rental house we've been in (in a row!! This time it was literally our only option in our price range...) with a vaulted bleeping ceiling. AND it's open concept. *AND* it's in the South, where they clearly don't believe in properly insulating even though it definitely gets cold enough for pipes to freeze. Sigh. Never say never but, ugh, never again! I hope!! No more giant living room/kitchen/weird dining areas and no more tall ceilings!!

[@Smooshes786]

@ we got a snow blower this week (needed over wanted) and I’ve got the local guy helping me with the info on the generator. Had a real issue with water danger last year- we don’t play at all. Extra pump, storage etc Our neighbours behind had to run hoses for almost a year! Water issue- huge money. We all helped with water until digging could happen .

[@Chnacatsnflr]

We get a senior discount from our utility company. They also have lower rates for low income families, anyone on Social Security or those who need electricity for medical equipment. Check with your provider to see if you qualify. We live near the high desert, but we rarely turn on the AC. We keep a small fan in one room and sip ice cold tea.😊 Many cities have "cool zones", like libraries or community centers, where anyone is welcome to stay and enjoy the air conditioning.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Fantastic

[@bearsandbutters]

Hi Money Mom!! One thing you can do to save a bit of money on water, is put a brick in the toilet tank. So you don't use as much water when it fills up. Also, if you don't have a job that makes you sweaty and dirty, you can shower less often that you might think. We also wash the laundry after 9:00 pm where we live as the rates are different based on the time in Los Angeles. Great video as always and love the content you put out! 🌛💖😊

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I love that you are so resourceful!

[@lynnhensley4326]

Thanks for your helpful tips. Everyone must figure out what works for them. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I’m glad you found it helpful!

[@cw3166]

It amazes me young people, the next generation, do not try to save on electric, etc. I’m hoping in the New Year I will be able to help them understand. We live in a historical rental home and use plastic on windows and to try to stop all drafts. Your tips are very helpful. We try to compare oil prices, too.

[@deloresfishwick594]

If they had to pay the bills they would try and save electric.

[@randomhodgepodge8902]

My electric last for last month was $113. It was so nice not having to use the AC! Several fans in the bedroom and my room. Wish I could cut off the open concept living/kitchen/dining. I do laundry same as you, don't wash clothes until I've worn them a few times. Even then I do around 3 - 4 loads/week depending. I've been using rolled up towels (draft dodgers) at the doors all year long. Water and garbage was $70. No hot lingering showers for me either. Thrilled we got rain and I didn't have to water, just when it was beginning to make me nervous. Also started using a small bowl of soapy water in the sink so I'm not constantly running water for a quick hand wash. Car windshield gets too dirty, I spritz it with dish soap water right before the rain comes for the rinse:) No plants now, otherwise I'd collect some rain water.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Wonderful

[@fredalkent]

An interesting water saving tip....take a "Navy Shower". Wet yourself down shut off the water; soap up rinse off. Why keep the water running and running.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Excellent tip

[@donnarakitzis2719]

I’m constantly going around shutting off lights. Lol

[@mycharles3340]

We keep our furnace at 66f or 19 c. I dont like a very warm house.

[@cjhoward409]

That’s what mine is now. And with the sun coming in, the heat doesn’t even kick on

[@cjhoward409]

We saved money on our heat by moving from Chicago to southern Kentucky 😮😂

[@kasandrabrown8611]

My neighborhood handyman told me he can replace a PART in the back of the toilet that will lower the amount of water used to flush. Look into that.

[@donnaallison7462]

You can put bricks,2 liter bottle filled with water in the water tank and helps not use as much water and doesn't cost you anything. Hope it helps.This is what I've been doing for decades and so did my grandmother

[@cjhoward409]

Put a brick or 2 in the tank. Or a 2 liter of water in the tank. You’ll save on your water. Easy peasy

[@cjhoward409]

@@donnaallison7462 I see you already suggested what I said. Lol.

[@PennyDelani]

Just want to say you are so inspiring and make me want to start a KZbin Channel!!

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Thank you

[@TheLongRunwithJoelandChristy]

You know that we don’t really have winter here in Florida. Last winter, we didn’t even turn on the heat. This year, we had to turn it already one time, because the temps dropped low enough for our house to get cold. Thankfully, we just needed to get the chill out and then turned it back off. lol For summer, we keep the AC on 78° during the day and drop it to 75° at night. So normally, between that and budget billing, our electricity bill is pretty reasonable. 👌

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

That is so smart to turn the AC down at night!

[@marshaflorom730]

I have the budget plan ! Yes the companies have a set fee they charge each month!!

[@janereed4036]

I keep winter temp @ 64*,wear a sweater vest, summer temp 72*,&close blinds. For humidity I hang my laundry in the house . in summer I hang outside.

[@Sheryl777]

We also have balanced billing for our electricity. About once every 6 months the payment changes either up or down depending for example if in winter we don't use the a/c anywhere near as much, then there will end up being a credit when the payment changes, but in summer when we use the a/c all the time, then the next time the payment changes we may have a debit, which will raise our bill for the next 6 months trying to balance that out. I don't really think it saves us any money, but it does help to make those summertime electric bills lower, since the bill is spread out throughout the year, so (generally) half the year we have a credit and the other half we have a debit.

[@3TXSisters]

Smart!

[@Sheryl777]

@@3TXSisters 👍

[@jennyeagan1840]

Over the years, I refer and update my Insulation To Do list. This year I added vests for colder days in my home. Hoping to add a few pairs of thermal based garments, Hoping for Hunter or Merino wool socks in my Christmas stocking this year, along with rechargeable hand warmers. As for the water, my apartment includes this in rents, but am stepping up to the plate to conserve, and purchase a Sink Over The Toilet which is said to be an easy and fast installation. The van and rv dwellers sleep warm by hooking up a mattress pad, electric blanket and pet warmers to a small rechargeable generator.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Brilliant

[@pookysboutique]

I’m able to sign a24 month ‘contract’ with an electricity provider here in Texas which locks in my rate for 2 years. If I go over a certain usage in a month I automatically receive a $115 credit. Since I put in a brand new HVAC system in July, my bills for a 1700 sf house has never been more than $175 so far. Our water is tied in with our sewage and trash as one amount. Our water rate is HIGH! Soooo…we only run full loads in the dishwasher and two loads of laundry a week. It’s never under $100 a month.

[@christines2787]

My electric bill is through the roof in winter because we are trying to keep some cold hearty citrus trees alive. Im not positive but I think it averaged out to $80 per orange last year. This year we got 14 oranges. If we did what we did last year it would average out to $65 per orange. Its really neat. Its also not terribly practical. So.. this year we have packed straw bales around them after doing a last deep water the week before. We put tree blankets around them, and have extras fkr when it dips into the 20s. We put up a brick wall to protect them and hopefully heat them a little passively. We have incandescent lights to shine on them when its cold that can be plugged into a solar battery bank. If they die.. they die. One day ill be able to justify an expensive greenhouse and can try again. Today is not that day. Im disappointed it costs a fortune to keep these things going. My research suggested that zone 8 was fine for this variety. And it is. If you dont mind pampering them like they were newborn babies

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I am glad you are so committed to your trees!

[@amyschaefer1140]

🤣😂🤣

[@3TXSisters]

I hope they make it with the added insulation!

[@angelaweathersbee1334]

😂 Your "orange" story is great!

[@christines2787]

@3TXSisters - I hope so too! But it's been really educational even if they don't. They are a hybrid from a flying dragon with an orange variety people eat, grafted onto the flying dragon root stock. Flying Dragons are an ornamental orange with thorns and is about 85% seeds vs fruit. Kinda useless. Cross bred with a regular orange you get... an edible orange that tastes pretty okay. These are not fantastic oranges. But, they are the only oranges that can be grown in the Carolinas. And they are fresh and there is a lot of satisfaction in this insanely expensive for what we got experiment. But, we laughed a lot and learned a ton and if it fails, I'll save up for the 10k green house and do it again with orange varieties that are really good. I do get about 30 lemons a year, and we have some very cool apple trees that are starting to produce. We got some wonderful edible crabapple this year. We also got 3 whole black diamond apples. Not going to be self sufficient in fruit any time soon but we are having a lot of fun and every little bit helps. There are always some really wonderful and crazy things to discover.

[@cjhoward409]

We saved money on our heat by moving from Chicago to southern Kentucky 😮😂 And on water … we have a big walk in shower and there’s 2 shower heads in there. So, hubby and I shower together. 😊 I also only do full size laundry loads. But our water bill here in Ky is the least expensive thing we have. Around $32 a month for 3 of us

[@3TXSisters]

That's great!

[@larmstrong2302]

I don't think showering together would help our water bill at all! 🤔 $32 a month is awesome! 🙂👍 Ours is about $40 a month in Michigan. There are 3 people here, too. I was thinking ours was pretty good, especially with our house being a duplex.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

That is awesome!

[@BackroadMoney]

I love your shirt,it fits you so well

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Thanks much

[@SassySue67]

Dawn, you can fill a plastic milk jug with water and put it in the tank to cut down on water usage when you flush.

[@christines2787]

@@SassySue67- we did something similar. Used as brick for water displacement

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Thanks

[@ForestFury101]

We barely have to use the heater. I will run for an hour to get the kids off to school and then that's it.

[@ForestFury101]

We do the electric budget billing. The summers kill us in south Mississippi. The highest I can go is 74 in the summer. The family gets way too cranky otherwise. Long showers is something I'm not willing to give up. When I say long I mean 10-15 min.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I hate being hot

[@3TXSisters]

Yeah, we keep our thermostat set at 74, too.

[@ginnykeir1396]

Yes we average our heating bill as well 💖 I am working on taking shorter showers too, and I use an electric blanket for myself, instead of heating the whole house when the kids are at school.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Great idea!!

[@barbaraparker6996]

It gets super cold at times here in lndiana. I wear socks made for below 0° weather, light thermal long johns, and super fuzzy p.js. on the days l'm staying home and keep the heat on 65 most of the winter unless l have company. I have a well so no water bill.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Sounds great!

[@3TXSisters]

We keep our thermostat at 74° for heat and air. There are times that we'll lower the thermostat if it feels humid!

[@christines2787]

We keep ours at 64 at night and 70 in the day. With 5 living lap blankets we don't really have the chance to get cold. I have one cuddled on each side when I sit and 3 to trip me as I walk around.

[@3TXSisters]

@christines2787 How cute!

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Perfect

[@PopsSinging]

A word of caution about averaging your electricity bill. Where I live, they will average the bill every month (Called Budget Billing) and if you owe a balance that balance gets pushed to the next year and ideally it is added to your average to increase the monthly bill the next year (You don't get anything for free). Our electric company accidentally turned off the averaging a few years ago (A customer service rep accidentally toggled a setting). I was hit with my monthly bill + over a thousand dollars because it was in December and they had pushed all over the overages to the end of the year. No amount of speaking with the electric company remedied the issue, I was forced to pay the entire amount at once. They did say I could go back on the plan to average my bill, but I opted to just take the irregular non averaged bills from that point.

[@3TXSisters]

That's awful!

[@GrannyLinn]

Our company just let it. When we moved 13 years ago, they owed us $800. I got it back but it wasn’t easy.

[@3TXSisters]

@GrannyLinn Good heavens! It's amazing how companies will make you jump through hoops to get what they owe you!

[@karendjohn8803]

Where we live, the electric company emails out quarterly reports on the use of our electricity. So we can adjust accordingly & have no surprises at the end of the year.

[@3TXSisters]

@karendjohn8803 That's great!

[@kerryjames6312]

I switch electricals we don't need off we close house one room air con or heater on full load of washing clothes or dishes we love you to❤❤

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

That’s fantastic!

[@SusanHayes-vx2dq]

Everybody knows these things, but thanks for the reminder!

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Thank you

[@kerryjames6312]

Can see your weight loss congratulations❤❤I need to start weight loss

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

Thank you

[@Smooshes786]

We don’t have water meters but we live in a shallow well area. When new people move in to town we ALWAYS have issues with the system. We all conserve water so we can have water, the price of not doing it is truly not one I want the community to experience.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I can understand the importance of conserving water, especially in a shallow well area!

[@christines2787]

@Smooshes786 - That would make me a bit nervous. You are depending on others to conserve and only use their share? Do you have a backup plan? Water barrels maybe? Are you familiar with atmospheric water generators or sandpoint wells? We utilize all of these. The atmospheric water generator pulls humidity from the air and filters and cools or heats it if you want. It produces enough to give us drinking water each day in an emergency, but in daily use it just gives us drinking water on the back half of our property.

[@Smooshes786]

@ never heard of the atmospheric generators- I will look into it since some here have geothermal heating- maybe we can- nobody has mentioned it here. Thank you! Yes, we have storage and bladders and drinking water we rotate out. Water barrels are “ok” here yet work- it’s a natural rainforest and mosquitos can be a big issue. And just green “Ick” (fungus?algae?) Appreciate you sharing this system- checking now!

[@christines2787]

@Smooshes786 - Absolutely happy to share! It's saved us 3x already. Broken pipe in the road left the neighborhood without water for 2 days. Another time was a week long boil water advisory, and the third was during a hurricane and the water looked cloudy and weird. You can go without food for a few days but not water. This would thrive in your area wirh the high humidity. A lot of water for it to grab from the air

[@RuthParsil]

I do budget billing for my electric. In AZ the electric bill was through the roof.

[@CristinaEvans-w2m]

Snap I do all the same things and save a lot too😊

[@nt6719]

While I can average my electric bill I choose not to. ( I use a sinking fund for electricity and another one for gas, Each one gets funded with a certain amount each month so it's like making a balanced payment. ) Why? If I could be paying a big bill (especially in the summer) I'm more aware of paying attention to the temperature and I will allow the house to get a little uncomfortable before I adjust the temperature. I also use fans in the summer. They go on before the A/C goes on. I save money this way. As for water, full loads in the washer and dishwasher. I'm in the Midwest so in the summer my grass may get a little brown because I don't water outside. We do short showers. We don't run the water when we're brushing our teeth or washing our face. We wash our vehicle at home in the summer using about 4 cups of water. Anything left goes in the yard. In the winter because of the salt put on the pavement we take the vehicle through the car wash at a half price time and get the undercoating washed and the tires trimmed.

[@evelynpelkey1393]

Plus, your sinking fund can collect interest, instead of the power company having it.

[@karenrementer5374]

My water bill is $65/month. When I look at the bill I use Approximately $20 of water and the rest is all service fees. I live in Philadelphia. Same for gas and electric. The service fees crazy!

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I’ve noticed that in many places the service fees are high.

[@karenrementer5374]

Was just informed that our electric and gas companies are increasing our bills 10% for electric and gas 12.5% in January.😮

[@evelynpelkey1393]

Love your ideas, MM. Since you average your electricity, about how much is it per month?

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

About 125

[@Shettikka-s9v]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@KarenChaney-h9j]

Generator money Mom All you need if you need with out power or portable stove battery flashlight 🔦🔦🔦 okay Karen forestparkga

[@pookysboutique]

I’m able to sign a24 month ‘contract’ with an electricity provider here in Texas which locks in my rate for 2 years. If I go over a certain usage in a month I automatically receive a $115 credit. Since I put in a brand new HVAC system in July, my bills for a 1700 sf house has never been more than $175 so far. Our water is tied in with our sewage and trash as one amount. Our water rate is HIGH! Soooo…we only run full loads in the dishwasher and two loads of laundry a week. It’s never under $100 a month.

[@CentsibleLivingWithMoneyMom]

I am glad you have found a plan that works for you!

[@pookysboutique]

@ I live in north central Texas (south of Wichita Falls). If you want any info, let me know.