We all want to save money on household bills. This may be, because, household bills are the main outgoing for most homeowners. A study from home insurers More Than, earlier this year, revealed that the average cost of running a home can eat up almost £20,000, which it says is nearly half a typical household’s income. With this in mind, we look at where savings can be made and how.
Which household bills are we talking about?
Monthly bills cover a range of areas, including:
Gas
Electricity
Water
Rent or mortgage repayments
Council tax
Insurance
TV, phone and broadband
Some costs, like rent, council tax and TV licence are fixed. So in order to bring the cost of running your home down, savings needs to be made in other areas. Household bills savings can be done, if you are just a little savvy and don’t mind switching providers.
The right supplier
The main way to save money on your household bills is to shop around and to see your research.
Look for the suppliers that offer the best deals or tariffs and find out which energy and insurance providers offer the best rates. If switching your provider is an option and it means you spend less each month on maintaining your home, this should be something to consider.
Also, think about how you use some of the services you currently pay for. For example, look at how you use your TV. Are you watching more programmes on demand, as opposed to using the additional channels you pay for?
If you can remove an additional cost, such as paying for an entertainment package on your TV when you tend to just use a streaming service, like Netflix, this can net you a large saving each month.
Careful usage to save money on household bills
Aside from making savings through the services and suppliers you use, it’s possible to save further by looking at how you use utility services, such as heating and hot water.
For example, instead of heating your whole home throughout the day when you’re at work, consider using the heating at specific times to warm up the rooms you’ll use in the evening.
This could simply involve looking at how your central heating is set and changing the times it switches on and off, so it’s only running when you’re at home. It could also be a case of not always using the heating while you’re at home. When it’s cold, you could just wear another layer instead of putting the heating on.
You might think only heating the rooms you use and making simple changes, like ensuring you’ve turned a light off when leaving a room, won’t make a massive saving. But those changes and making them habitual can help reduce usage, which over time will save you money that’s otherwise being wasted.
It’s a good idea to be research how to save money on household bills as it can save your £100’s. There are other ways to help maximise the efficiency of your home, which can help save money on energy bills. To find out more about how you can heat your home more effectively, visit our blog, Getting Your Home Winter Ready.
