20 Easy Ways On How To Save Money On Your Bill Payments

20 Easy Ways On How To Save Money On Your Bill Payments
By Anna Santos

20 Easy Ways On How To Save Money On Your Bill Payments

Bill payments have been one of the biggest financial obligations that we cannot escape from.  Either single or married, with or without kids, living alone or not, working or retired, bill payments cannot be excluded from our daily living.

Since these are one of the things that cannot be avoided and are needed to be responsibly paid in full, there are some ways that you can do to keep them from accumulating that will somehow free you from huge agonies, as follows:

1. Use LED lighting with low wattage.  This practically will save you money by 30% off your monthly bills.  Minimize the use of lights and turn them all off when not in use.  You might want to only turn on lights when you only need them.  If you need to turn on lights for a longer period of time such as your garage lights, make use of the LED or the energy-efficient bulbs.
2. Unplug appliances when not in use.  It does not make sense to keep appliances plugged even not in use.  They still consume energy.
3. Use battery-operated small appliances.  Batteries are way cheaper than electricity.  Additionally, use the rechargeable batteries because these are better than the disposable ones to save you more money and take care of the environment as well.
4. Wash clothes by machine during off-peak hours.  Off-peak time slots are also applicable even to washing clothes just like any other practices.  Take advantage of this to save energy and money altogether.  Manual washing is still better, if possible.
5. Air-dry.  This is most useful in drying your own hair or clothes.
6. Fold clothes immediately after drying to prevent too much ironing.  Ironing alone consumes a lot of energy.  Clothes are also preserved if less ironing is done.
7. Schedule ironing.  Select a day when you can do one-time ironing for all the clothes to be worn for the whole week.  This will definitely save you a lot of electric consumption and money.
8. Upgrade to energy-efficient appliances.  These are designed to consume less energy, so it’s worth upgrading for long-term savings.
9. Observe proper care and maintenance of appliances.  Always read the manufacturer’s guide.  Make sure appliances are functioning well to save you from repairs, etc.
10. Minimize using electric stove, electric rice cooker, and the like.  It is more reasonable to make use of other means to cook without using electricity, if at all feasible.
11. Grill it.  Consider shifting to grilling or other means of cooking that require less or no electricity usage.
12. Defrost refrigerators/freezers on a timely basis.  Too much ice will hinder their maximized function, so make sure to clean these from huge piles of frozen ice.
13. Thaw frozen foods/items naturally.  Plan what to cook ahead of time to minimize use of microwave ovens for thawing.  Take frozen foods to be cooked out of the freezer as early as possible to melt down on its own.
14. Minimize use of air-conditioning/heater.  If the setting is centralized, usage can be minimized by turning it off as the weather changes.  Use a timer.  Exhaust fans for air-conditioning can be used as well.  Open your windows for fresher air and proper ventilation.
15. Use water heater less often.  Heater consumes energy which would mean generating usage that results to higher bill payments.
16. Store up.  Cooking or boiling water in larger amounts and storing them all up in a thermos will prevent you from using the appliances more frequently, thus saves you money and energy altogether.
17. Consume water very conservatively.  Check leaking faucets, toilet bowl flushing system, bath showers, etc.  Avoid free-flowing usage of water when washing dishes, etc.  Manual dish-washing is way cheaper than using electric dishwashers.
18. Bundle up.  For home phone, cell phone, cable, and internet usage, it is wise to bundle them all up to avail of great discounts from providers.  Observe proper usage as to the best time of the day unlimited feature is to be exercised (text messaging, calls, etc).
19. Use bank cards or store cards with rewards points that convert to cash or gift certificates.  This will help somehow in generating cash.
20. Pay bills on or before due date.  Late payments consequently give you the drawback of accumulating penalties and extra charges.  Be responsible to pay on time.

At the end of the day, you, as the consumer, are the main contributor to the emergence of your bills.

Remember that, there is no such thing as free these days.

Whatever you have used and consumed is directly proportional to the cost.

Be mindful of every usage and always incorporate proper discipline and vigilance.

Being responsible is the key to benefiting positively in the long run.  Live within your means and rest assured, no financial worries will strike you later on.

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Anna is a devoted saver, investor and a financial literacy advocate based in Canada, helping people mostly Filipinos to find ways to save money on almost everything.  She also owns a website My Saving Money Tips for more inspiring practical sharing about saving.