by Deborah Allan

Created on: October 15, 2009

Wasn't it wonderful when we were younger, living at home with our parents and not having to worry about how much the light bills or heat bills were? We would leave our bedroom lights on; the tv and the phone were always in use. We must have nearly bankrupted our parents with those bills. But, now that we all are on our own and we have our own utility bills to pay, it can be very overwhelming.

There are a lot of ways to cut down on our utility bills, but you have to keep with it. It's not just a one time fix; this has to be routine in order to see a change.

*Turn off your Lights. Whenever you leave a room make sure to turn off your lights, even if you know you will only be out of the room for a few minutes. This may not seem like a lot, but if you do this every time, you will start to see your power bill go down.

*Turn off your tv and anything else you may not be using. Again, if you aren't using it, you don't need it to be on. This will lower your bill - maybe not a lot, but it will help.

*Unplug your toaster. For some reason the toaster is designed very poorly. Even just by having it plugged in, it uses power. Don't ask me why, I don't know the answer, but if you are not using it, unplug it.

*Take shorter showers. Ok, we all love long hot showers, but if you shorten your shower, even by 3 minutes, you can save tons on your bill.

*Don't go overboard on long distance calling. If you are like me, you have family far away, and if you don't have family close by, you might just get a little home sick or just want to talk to mom or dad. You should make a schedule and call home maybe once a week; and if you have friends who are long distance, do the same for them. Make all your long distance calls on the same day; this way you know you have made the call and you have a week to do it again.

*Put on a sweater. Some houses and apartments may be a little drafty and you may find that you are turning on your heat when you may not want to. Put on a sweater or just warmer clothing around the house. Even when it is really cold outside, turn your heat down when you leave so that you aren't using a lot when you aren't home.

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