Every month we waste a lot of money on utility bills that could be back in our pockets if we would only be more intentional about making our homes more energy efficient. Not only could we save more money now, but there is massive potential for what that money could grow into if we invested it every month – don’t forget the rule of 173! Regardless of whether you’re renting an apartment or living in your own house, listen as we discuss lots of different ways that you can cut your water, gas, and electric bills. Recurring monthly expenses have a huge impact on your ability to save for the future!
The most impactful changes that you can make to your utility bills are by changing your behavior (turning up the thermostat in the summer and down in the winter!), not by purchasing your way to higher efficiency. Once you’ve starting curbing any wasteful tendencies, then look to some products that can help save you money on your monthly utilities.
Here are some we mentioned in this episode:
- Here’s our full list of ways to save money on your gas and heating bill. And here’s a great list to cut back on electricity.
- Check out the Sense Energy Monitor if you want to really geek out on the usage and data of how much electricity you’re using.
- Matt is a big fan of Nest Thermostats and you’d be surprised at how easy it is to install.
- It’s tough to beat the Amazon Basics LED bulbs– just make sure to select warm white and not daylight unless you want a cool blue light.
- Wool dryer balls are an awesome and affordable way to cut back on your clothes dry times, while naturally softening your clothes!
- You can try out that ugly window wrap (it’s not that ugly!) or removable caulk which will help keep out drafts in the winter.
- And to monitor the kids room temperature, Matt has one of these indoor temperature monitors that allows him to see the temperature from the next room.
And here’s a good resource on vampire electronics as well as the free online energy audit offered by the Department of Energy.
During this episode we enjoyed a Challenge Series 11 by Bear Republic Brewing which you can find on Untappd. A big thanks to our friends at Bear Republic for donating this beer to the show! And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts, Castbox, or wherever you get your podcasts- we’d love to hear from you.
Best friends out!
Hey Matt! I just listened to this episode and had a correction. The cheaper version of the Nest has all the same learning features. The only difference is the color screen. Since the materials are cheaper, they can charge about $100 less. We have the cheaper version and it is in fact a learning thermostat. It works great!
I love this episode. I do a lot of these already. Here are some things that I do in addition to wheat you do.
Nest: I track my daily hourly usage. I wish I could show screenshots. I set it up with columns of date, month, day of the week, and hours. This allows me to create pivot tables to look at monthly usage by year and day of the week. I update it every week, so it’s not a large task to add those hours.
On the electric bill: I like the monthly averaging (after living in a place for a year), but I also track the KWH, therms, and cost by month and annual side by side. I don’t feel the monthly pain, but I do love seeing the average go down.