Reducing Your Energy Bill

We moved into our house almost a year ago, and over the last year I have been doing everything in my power to reduce our energy bill.

When we first moved in, we signed up for the budget program through Alliant Energy.  We didn't know exactly what it would cost on a monthly basis, and wanted to be sure we allotted enough money in our budget.  The customer service representative informed me that the average energy usage was $194/month.  Okay, so...that was our budget, and our "starting line".

Over the last year, the following tips helped us save a LOT of money (I will share the exact number shortly).

1. During the winter, we kept our house at 65...most of the time.  We dressed warmly, and were totally fine.  It wasn't difficult, and my kids didn't mind at all.  My husband complained the most, but I would just throw a blanket at him and call it a day.  :)
2. When Spring arrived, Hubs turned off the gas to both our fireplaces.  This saved us $10/month.
3. And finally, during the summer we ONLY (unless we are having company and using our main level) use our air conditioner at night.  We lower the temperature to about 68 from 12a-9a.  Typically, electric companies charge more for electricity during "peak" hours (i.e. when everyone is using electricity)....so, we try to use energy during "off hours".  We also do most of our laundry and running of the dishwasher after 9pm.

So, after doing the above 3 things for the last year we have reduced our budgeted billing to $153/month.  But, last month...using the AC pretty much all month, our total was only $125.  I expect our energy bill to continue to go down, and I can't wait!  :)

How do you save money?  What steps have you taken to lower your energy consumption?

Extra Information:  Our ranch home is approximately 3200 square feet, and was built in 1999.  We also use "common knowledge" tips, like turning lights off when not in use, etc....which I didn't feel like reiterating to all your smart people.  :)

Image was found via a Google search.

The Overy Family Financial Tips

Many of you have been asking me about the steps we have taken to get out of debt.

Believe me, it has not been easy.  And it is still a journey we are dealing with each and every day.

We have gone through our entire marriage with very few frivelous purchases, and we think long and hard before we buy ANYTHING.

Now, don't get me wrong.  We do go out for dinner about once a week....and our children (and even ourselves) want for very little.  We have a good life.

So, here are the Overy Family Financial Tips:  

Tip #1 - Before even spending a dime from our paycheck, we pay bills.  I make sure to leave enough of the paycheck out for groceries and other necessities if our bills exceed our available funds, but otherwise all money goes to bills.  If we have more money than bills, we might use this for something fun, but this rarely happens.  Right now, all extra money is going toward our kids birthday and Christmas.

Tip #2 - One of the biggest "tools", if you will, that helped me understand debt and how much something really costs is to equal the item to the amount of hours needed to work in order to pay it off.  For example, my husband wants this video scope thingy (which he swears will help him with his job, however I think he just wants a cool tool).  The cost of this "cool" scope thing, $250.  So, I took the $250/his hourly wage, and guess what?  He would have to work 18 hours in order to pay for this ONE item!  To me, not worth it.  Another example for all you females.  There is this pair of jeans....that I REALLY want (and might get, because I only have 1 pair of jeans....but, that is not the point) will cost us 3 hours of work.  That makes me choke a little.  I have a hard time spending money when I think of our expenses in this manner.

Tip #3 - Use cash.  It really helps.

Tip #4 - Leave your credit/debit cards at home.  I have often found myself, when using cash, saying "well, if I go over I will just put in on the debit card and replace it with the cash when I get home."  Well, that way of thinking gets you no where.  We just end up spending more money than necessary, and because of that taking money from our savings.  Not a good thing.

Well, that's all I have for today.  If I think of any more useful hints I will be sure to let you know!  :)  I hope this helps you on your journey to becoming debt free, and living within your means.

Frustrating Background Information

Okay, so I am feeling a little overwhelmed with managing our budget....and I think the biggest area that I need to work on is including my husband in ALL bill payments and spending. I almost feel as if he blames me for wasting his hard earned paycheck. Yes, I do spend a little frivolously. (Example: Yesterday I spend less than $4 on lunch while I was out shopping. This will probably be the only (hopefully!) frivolous spending, for me, with this current paycheck.) But, not to the extent that he thinks I do. Although, I could be totally off base, I tend to over-think EVERYTHING.

Sorry, I just had to vent a little bit to get that off my chest. I would like to introduce myself and my family. My name is Jenn, I am 22 years old and have been married for a little over a year. My husband Zach is 24 years old, and works from home for an alarm company. It is a nice job with a lot of perks. We have a beautiful (almost) 7 month old son, and another on the way.

My husband and I have been working on our debt since the beginning of the year, and so far we are doing better than I expected. We started off 2009 with approximately $52,000 worth of debt, and now we have $35,862.91 (as of 6/13/09) worth of debt. This means we have paid off $16,137.09 of our debt in the last 5 months. Don't ask me how we are doing this, because I honestly don't know. I do know that the largest payoff was with our income tax return back in February (Sorry I don't remember the exact amount...less than $5,000 for sure).

I am going to post our monthly budget in another blog post, here. This will give you a break down of our spending and total debt. If you have any suggestions I would love the feedback.