Saving Money in a Two Story Home It’s been in the 70′s in Texas…a big change from the single digit temperatures I was accustomed to in Michigan. Believe it or not, the first few nights it was unbearably hot in my upstairs bedroom. We came up with a couple great solutions that have kept the entire house at approximately the same temperature, thereby saving on utilities. Maybe this can help some of you, too:
-Insulate the garage door – since my bedroom is directly over the garage, this worked wonders to control the temperature of my room. If you have a room over your garage, I highly recommend doing this.
-Balance out the vents in your house – if you’re getting an uneven temperature in your house like we were, do some experimenting with opening the upstairs vents a bit, and closing the downstairs vents until you have a fairly equal temp throughout. Then reverse it in the summertime. Voila!
-Check your attic access – many times the attic access doors have no insulation on the backside, and they can be made out of thin inexpensive wood. Adding a bit of insulation will prevent the heat exchange and help you save. Easy and effective!
You can read about more ways to cut household expenses HERE.
Yesterday I blogged about how to save on cable, telephone, insurance and electric. Today we take a look at the bill that ate Manhattan: the cell phone bill.
If your contract is about to expire, Lets Talk has one stop shopping rate comparisons. They have all the major carriers, and will let you compare features and prices all in one place. Be sure to check the coverage areas so you know you’ll get good reception.
If you’ve joined my Shine in 2009 financial challenge then you, like me, may also be saving all of your survey income for Christmas this year. If so, here are two options to help grow your money faster:
ING Direct – 2.40% variable APY. FDIC insured with over 17 million members. No need to switch banks, you can transfer money directly from your current checking account. - No minimum deposit. - No fees or service charges. - 24-hour access to your account.
HSBC Direct – 2.45 variable APY. Also FDIC insured. -No fees, no minimums. -Open your account with as little as $1. -Deposit and withdraw from any HSBC ATM in the US. -No need to switch banks.
If you’re new to this blog, you can read about my 2009 goals HERE. Making the goals is the easy part. Now that I have one week of ’09 behind me, how am I doing?
This week’s earning recap. This is for January 1-9:
Survey income: $21. I got a little behind in responding to the survey requests, so I probably could have made at least $30. Here are my top payers. I join them all so I get more opportunities to take surveys:
Blogging income 1/1-1/9: $356.12. You can read about how I did it HERE. My biggest single payment will come from Logical Media. You can sign up to become an affiliate HERE. Please let me know if you have any questions.
So far, I am on track for my goal of earning $1,000 per month from home. I’ve earned a grand total of $377.12 this month.
Alas, my weight loss goals are another story. Here’s my list of excuses *violins play in background* I am moving at the end of the month from Michigan to Texas with my family of 7. Nerves have made me eat more, and preoccupation with packing has kept me from exercising. I’m not giving up! When I get settled, I’ll have no excuses. I will lose weight this year, and I’ve already begun incorporating healthy meals into our regular rotation. HERE is my favorite one so far.
A die-hard dollar stretching yankee mom of five living somewhere deep in the heart of Texas. . . . . . . I can bring home the free bacon. Fry it up in a half price pan. And show you how to never ever ever pay full price again. . . . . . . Retail is for chumps. Welcome to hard-core retail rehab. . . . . . . More about me HERE. Contact me HERE.
