As a Mum of 3 children, things can get pretty expensive but I love to be able to try to save money where I can. Utility bills can be a big chunk of your money going out each month, but it also can be a perfect place to start to save a little bit of money here and there. I have put together 12 ideas on how you can reduce your utility bills, I hope these help!
Pay By Direct Debit
Some utility companies will offer you a discount on your bills if you send money by direct debit, this means you can spread your payments out over the year and not face large bills during the winter. If you are looking at checking if your provider offers this discount why don’t you give them a call and ask. By using Contact Numbers UK you can easily contact a customers service department like British Gas, Npower, and Eon.
Turn Down Thermostat
Turning down the thermostat just a little, I do this come the evening. I don’t want to kids getting too hot in their beds, so I curl up on the sofa with a blanket and turn the thermostat down!
Switch Providers
This is a big one, I have recently just swapped providers. I hadn’t realised that my fixed rate had run out, it had been put onto a standard variable rate. I swapped and saved over £250 a year!! It was also helpful for me to start considering looking for an electricity retailer singapore to further cut my costs.
Claim Cashback When Switching
Whilst you’re at it swapping over, make sure you check to see if the provider is offering cashback for moving to them. If you are not sure what cashback is about, then I will tell you! I have made over £1000 by using Quidco, for every purchase you make through a qualifying retailer you are given a % of the sale back in cashback, or a fixed amount. Some of the current offers on Quidco means you could get up to £80 in cashback! If you fancy signing up, then feel free to use this referral link to join Quidco, we both get £10 each for doing so.
Fill Gaps
Drafty areas of your house is the worst place for you to lose heat, you wouldn’t think of leaving the windows open during the winter would you?! So start working your way around the house and seal up any gaps around the windows, brick work and around door frames.
Switch Off Instead Of Standby
This one doesn’t happen much in our house, but I do try. Switch off electrical items properly, and don’t leave them on standby. Not only do you save electric, it is much safer.
Fill Kettle With Appropriate Water
My Dad filled my kettle so full the other day, it boiled over when boiling…..why did he need to fill it right up for 2 cups of tea?! He got a telling off for this one!!! This one saves water, and electricity.
Close Curtains
As the temperature drops, and the sun goes down I always close my curtains. This keeps so much heat in, and also makes me feel cozier, which makes me feel warmer.
Timer For Showers
This one I am introducing soon, now my kids are getting older they are more independent when it comes to showers. However seriously how long do they need to spend in the shower?! I am going to purchase a shower timer, this saves water and gas.
Watch Clothes At Lower Temperature
I often wash our clothes at 30, rather than 40. Unless they are dirty, or muddy then they don’t really need a hotter wash.
Install A Water Meter
When we moved into our house it had a water meter, the lady was living here alone and it made so much sense to her to have a water meter. It does work out more expensive for us as a family of 5 in a 3 bed house to have a water meter, but really look into it if you have fewer people than bedrooms.
Boiler Services Yearly
We never were very good at doing this until recently, but it is something that you really should add into your budget. Servicing the boiler, will make sure it is working efficiently and safely.
I hope this helped to reduce your utility bills, and please let me know if you have any ways that work for you too.
- In collaboration with Contact Numbers UK
- Post contains affiliate links
- Images from Pixabay
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16 Comments
Fantastic tips, we set our heating lower and put on an extra layer of clothing! 🙂
Great tips here. Showers are less expensive than baths.
Thank you for sharing. Every little helps.
I have bought a kettle which literally boils one cup at a time – genius!!
We have just had a £450 bill through the door today – yikes! I really should look into seeing if I can save money on my gas and electric x
Hurts when it comes through as one big bill like that doesn’t it.
I do my payments via direct debit and it helps. I like the idea of setting a timer for the shower x
I like it too, my son spotted me looking at them and shouted ‘NOOOOO don’t ordered one Mum’!
I’d also check what you are paying for. I’d got a big refund on my water bill that covered the whole next year when I realised I’d been paying for rainwater runoff, and my property has soakaways.
Oh yes that is a good one, we had that in our old house, great tip
Great tips! I recently followed this campaign with Contact numbers and within a couple of phone calls I had saved around £500 a year!
WOW! I was impressed by my £250! Well done you
We try to do most of these. We just had a water meter fitted (compulsory) so we’ll see what effect that has on our bills
I hope the water meter helps with the costs
These are great tips all these little things really add up and we try to do a lot of these…we really can be so wasteful sometimes!
Thanks, the little things really do make a difference don’t they.