The One Action I’m Taking to Save on the Electric Bill

As I continue to pummel towards self-employment, I’m working to make sure I’m not wasting any money. I’m also experimenting with a few things to see if they can save me some money.

I’ll be Home More, so I’m Cooking More

I am and will continue to be traveling a lot less for the rest of the year. So some of the money saving tactics are pretty obvious like cooking more rather than eating out. Though this has been a bit of a re-learning curve. I basically just stopped traveling after being on the road for two months straight.

I don’t even know what I should have in stock in my pantry anymore. Luckily, my parents were just out for a visit and they took me to Costco. They also accompanied me to the grocery store. Having them there was a helpful reminder of what grocery shopping should look like. I’d forgotten what grocery shopping looks like when you are home for more than a couple of days.

Anyway, another way I’m trying to save is on the electric bill.

I’d like to note, I did pay for everything, my parents were just giving me advice. I don’t have a Costco or Sam’s Club, or BJ’s membership because I would waste my money going to them regularly, but shopping in bulk 1-2 times a year is nice. All the stuff I bought will last me months, some of it even years (hello giant box of dishwasher detergent). 

I’m Unplugging My Stuff

Having moved to North Carolina from Massachusetts, I’ve been pretty good at not turning the heat on right away. I can stand a little cold, it’s why I have hoodies. Though one thing I’ve never tried before when looking to save on electricity is unplugging everything. Why haven’t I tried it? Because I’ve been lazy, but no more.

Ok, that isn’t entirely true, I’m still a little lazy. I’m not actually unplugging everything when I’m not using it. I don’t want to have to reset the clock on my coffee maker every day. Also when I first started unplugging everything I turned off the surge protector that my AppleTV was plugged into and when I turned it all back on I was having major issues with the Apple TV.

I got so frustrated turning it off and on and resetting it, that I legit threw the remote across the room. Please see tweets below for proof.  The AppleTV is once again working and I don’t intend to jinx that. I want to be able to relax and watch Hulu when I please so that surge protector stays on.

So what am I actually making an effort to unplug? My TV, the plug is literally on my way out of the room, so there is no excuse. I now unplug the TV whenever I’m not using it.

Also, I have a light switch that connects to the surge protector that my laptops and printers are all plugged into. When I’m not using the printers or charging my laptop it stays off. I had been turning it off when I was out of town but there really is no reason for it to be on all the time when I’m home.

Wrapping it Up with a Bow on Top

While I did unplug everything, the heat did eventually have to come on. I started unplugging everything on Nov. 1st and even though I owed more in November than I did in October, I think it was more due to the temperature change. I also didn’t factor in that I was home more, which meant using the lights more and the oven more etc. Overall, I was still really happy with saving on some energy, even it did get used in other ways.

What do you do to save on the electric bill? Let me know in the comments!