Best Money Saving Articles Online

Stop Air Leaks And Improve The Energy Efficiency Of Your Home

Sep 20, 2009 Saving On Home

Summary: Air gets into and out of our homes from a wide range of places. Many of these can be fixed with some simple do it yourself handiwork. Undertake any of these and you’ll start to realize instant energy savings. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, American homes lose energy from the following places (in decreasing order of importance): floors, ceilings and walls (31%), doors and windows (21%), heating/air condition ducts (15%), fireplaces (14%), plumbing penetrations (13%) and all others (6%). Recognize that these numbers may vary based on home type, age, geographical region and other factors.

For some of these problem areas, better insulation or more energy efficient windows or doors may yield significant savings. But, these can be costly. Instead, why not take a few simple steps to eliminate those pesky air leaks?

One of the easiest things one can do is recaulk windows and doors. In addition to eliminating air leaks, this can also eliminate water leaks. To do this, first remove existing caulk (don’t just recaulk over existing caulk). You may need to use a putty knife, a window scraper, other blunt scrapper tool or even a screwdriver to loosen and remove the caulk. Be careful not to gouge the framing. Then clean the entire window or doorframe with rubbing alcohol or other cleaning compound to ensure good adhesion.

The type of caulk you use is really up to you, but it is best to use one which is light colored and paintable.

Choose the type of caulk and color that is best suited to your home and any associated remodeling activity. But in most cases, a paintable, light-colored caulk is what you’ll want. What works for windows and doors, also applies to skylights and any other places where gaps may occur. This can include places where air conditioning, phone or electric lines enter your home. You can now find special cover plates that be placed over the once massive caulked or sealed areas. You’ll still need to seal these, but it looks a lot more attractive.

You should seal any and all air ducts in your attic, basement and crawl spaces. This is a little easier than doing your windows and doors - you can use duct tape here instead of caulk.

You should look for air leaks in your ductwork, especially in your basement, attic and crawlspaces. For this job you can use duct tape instead of caulk, making this a much easier and faster job. However, you can make this easier still and seal those leaks you can’t reach by using an aerosol sealer. These sealers will collect wherever they pass a leak, sealing them without you having to crawl around through your home trying to duct tape them all!

Finally, address weather stripping along the bottom of doors and windows. This can become brittle and/or damaged over time. Sometimes you can simply slide in a replacement piece. At other times you may have to tip out the window or remove the door from its hinges and then physically remove and replace the entire weather stripping unit.

Last of all, leaks around electrical outlets and switches can be sealed. Especially on outside walls, these are common places for air leaks. Before you get started, shut off the electricity. Remove the switch plates and plug covers and feel for air leaks in the space. You can cover these leaks with foam inserts or if desired, a small piece of insulation or spray foam sealant. Once you’ve applied this and it is set, check for leaks again.

These are all easy projects which can stop air leaks, make your home more energy efficient and save you quite a lot of money in energy bills. Best of all, the savings begin as soon as you complete these easy projects; you may wonder why on earth you didn’t do these projects sooner!

About the author: Jerry Dyess specializes in the Texas Electricity segment. He has published many articles on Texas Electric prices.

Tags: energy, Energy Efficiency, home, Saving On Home, savings

You Can Get Free Discount Coupons Online

Sep 2, 2009 Saving On Home

Who doesn’t love saving money - especially in these recessionary times? Well, there are a number of places where you can get discount coupons, including newspapers, magazines, attached to bills and leaflets, as promotional material sent in the mail, etc. Another way of collecting these discount coupons along with their codes is by going online and checking out various sites.

While some of these web sites are product and / or organisation related; where the sale of one or more of their own merchandise is promoted through the use of discount coupons, there are many other sites that specialise in collating all the discount coupons on offer by various manufacturers or service providers. Since the latter sites bracket all similar products under different heads or categories, it becomes much easier for the discerning buyer to locate the best options available to him or her for various kinds of merchandise or services.

One such site is CouponsDaddy.com, which lists free discount coupon codes under the heads of ‘Latest’, ‘Popular’ or ‘Featured’ and also under ‘Stores’ as well as ‘Categories’. Thus, you might browse through the current offerings from Amazon.com or Startlogic.com or choose discount coupons under the tag of ‘Clothing and Accessories Women’, ‘Grocery’, ‘Books and Magazines’, ‘Pets’, ‘Games’ or a host of other options.

The way it works is that you can download the coupons, each of which has a unique code and use the same when purchasing an item from that particular merchant. Most of the coupons require the customer to purchase something - whether a physical product or a service, usually of a minimum cut-off value on which the discount (as promised in the coupon) is given. For example, using coupon code xxxxxxxp80 can get you a discount of $25 on purchases of $150 + from networksolutions.com. The site even allows the user to vote whether the coupon worked as promised and tabulates the results to declare how successful that offer has been among those who voted.

There are a lot of people who manage to save a lot on their monthly purchases through regular, and at times, judicious use of discount coupons. Sometimes there may be a temptation to purchase items not actually required by the person, just so as to make use of an attractive offer on a coupon. But then, self control is always a good bet to keep a person out of monetary concerns. Free discount coupons with their codes have been around for a long time and played a crucial role in promoting products that have survived and will continue doing so in the future. I personally try to use the more popular discount coupons on the purchase of electronic items and can see its tremendous growth potential I the less developed nations.

Are you interested in finding Coupon Codes to help you and your family save money? Be sure to check out these discount coupon codes at CouponDaddy.com

Tags: advice, Coupons, discounts, Entertainment, finance, Free, home, home and lifestyle, lifestyle, money, Online Shopping, saving, Saving On Home, savings, Shopping

Baby Coupon Codes - The Smart Way to Find the Best Baby Discounts

Aug 7, 2009 Saving On Home

It can be an exciting experience to go shopping for your newborn baby. But when they finally come along you will know just how much they might end up costing you! Though your baby is worth every single penny, looking for baby discounts is a great way of saving a little money whenever you can. Here is a quick guide to the smart way to find and use these baby coupon codes.

Where to Get Coupons for Baby Stuff Online

Your first step is to find out just where you can get these coupons for baby items. The great news is that the internet has now made it a lot easier to take advantage of some great discounts. You can simply use any of the main search engines to find relevant baby products, followed by the word coupon or discount.

There should be quite a few baby coupon sites in your search results, with various different bargains on products you are likely to need, such as formula or diapers. You’ll also see that some sites sell you baby coupon codes at a cost - don’t spend too much money on these unless your savings are going to be much greater than the cost of buying the information.

You can also try going directly to the manufacturers as they often give out coupons for baby items, especially when you sign up to their newsletter or club. You can also look in stores and simply ask the staff where to sign up!

Comparing Baby Discounts

There are many different types of online baby coupons. The first will need to be entered into a box when buying things from a website, and some can simply be printed off and taken into the store with you. So start looking for specific coupons depending on where you want to buy your products.

Always remember that it probably isn’t cheapest just to buy from the first place you come across. Saving money means researching and comparing the baby product coupons as much as possible. You can also read some user reviews and get on price comparison websites as a way of finding the best deals online.

Getting the Very Best Offers

Some coupons for babies to spend online will have added fees such as shipping, so think carefully about how much money you are actually going to save. And always remember that you are not saving any money if you didn’t need the product in the first place!

Stick to buying the things you really need with your baby product coupons and you’ll be making sure you get a great deal.

Tags: Babies, baby, budget, Children, Coupons, discount codes, Family, home, money, parenting, product reviews, Saving Money, Saving On Home, savings, Shopping

Reduce Your Credit Card Debt By Reducing Your Spending By Just 10%

Aug 7, 2009 Saving On Home

Like most families who want to reduce their debt, you probably need to find a source for additional cash. Before you say “We already work three jobs!”, wait! There may be some extra cash already in your pocketbook. Tracking your expenses and making sure that all your bills are getting paid on time is not going to get you more cash. But, if you get out your budget and start swiping 10% off the top of every flexible expense, you may be closer than you think to eventually eliminating your debt.

If you take a look at your budget’s flexible spending amounts for food, clothing, and gasoline, you’ll probably notice you’ve estimated a monthly amount that may or may not be needed. Money spent on these expenses can be controlled and can most certainly be decreased, so let’s start here.

FOOD - Statistics show that most families spend somewhere in the range of 10% to 13% of their income on food, based on studies done by both the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other statistics show that there are even families spending as much as 20% of their income on food.

What percentage of your income are you currently spending at the grocery store? If you are spending 20% of your income on food, there will be some real changes made here. Even if you are in the other smaller range of percentage, change is hard when it comes to food, but you’ll see what happens if you just take 10% off the top of your food budget.

Let’s take a very simple example to put the savings into perspective. If you normally spend $100 a week on groceries, how hard would it be to spend $10 less? Imagine looking in your grocery cart and removing $10 worth of groceries. Could you do that pretty easily? If you’re having trouble imagining any items that you could live without, would it make it any easier if you thought about how much money you’d be saving each month? How would you like to have $50 in your budget to pay on a credit card?

Having an extra $50 to pay down your debt makes life a whole lot easier. And, getting that extra money is easy when you skim just 10% from the grocery budget. Once you get used to that extra money, you’ll be happy to remove those luxury items from your grocery cart! And, when you start seeing your credit card debt drop faster and faster each month, you’ll be happy to cut back even more.

CLOTHING - Looking at your clothing budget is another excellent way to find extra money. Again, the first step is taking 10% right off the top of your monthly budget. Once you decide that you are going to spend 10% less for clothing, you’ll need to find alternate ways to buy clothing. In other words, stay out of the mall.

With the economic downturn hurting most families, it’s not surprising to see a surge in the consignment and resale shops. Most communities with have at least one resale shop that you can start to visit. There are the well known larger charity organizations, but consignment shops are becoming more popular. Some consignment shops even feature business attire, while others focus primarily on children’s clothing. Making routine stops at a consignment shop or any resale shop will be an adventure. There is always something new.

The old church thrift shops are growing, as well. It also seems as if Mom’s groups are spending more time exchanging clothes at play dates. Some clothing exchange groups are quite extensive, but just getting together with your friends may result in at least a few swapped items. If you have teenagers in your house who love fashion, there are online exchanges that are very upbeat and carry very popular messages. The clothes are fashionable and the message includes recycling fashion as the green thing to do for the planet. Look for sites like FreeStyle Clothing Exchange. It’s very fun and has an excellent mission that your teenager will love to get behind.

GASOLINE - This may be a difficult habit to break if you typically pull into the gas station anytime you want. Driving on a strictly budgeted allowance is difficult, but not impossible. Let’s say you fill up your car three times a month and it costs you, just pick a number, $50 every time. If you could reduce your monthly consumption by just $15 a month, that adds up over time and can really impact your debt reduction plan.

A mere $15 each month may seem like a drop in the bucket, but over a year’s time it amounts to $180 available to you. Paying that amount on just one credit card makes a difference, especially as the payments are made each month and the interest charged to you keeps dropping and dropping with each payment. This is no chump change!

We’ve become accustomed to hopping in our cars whenever we please and driving where ever we want. If you skim 10% off the top of your gasoline budget to help pay down your debt, you may need to think twice before you take the car and run to the grocery store. Could you bike instead, or walk? Is there bus transportation in your area? How about consolidating your trips with other friends and neighbors with the same need? Car-pooling to work or play dates is certainly an option that many folks are talking about again.

Most parents know how time consuming it is to drive their kids back and forth to all their extra-curricular events. But, the cost of burning gasoline running all around is even more disturbing when you’re trying to save money. Re-think your routes and see if there isn’t a more reasonable way to deliver the kids to their events. This may involve one child having to wait with you for another child to complete an event before they can go home. Running one child home before running another child to their event may not be wise when trying to conserve your gasoline.

Flexible expenses in the family budget normally have quite a bit of slack in them because we are basing those figures on what we’ve spent in the past. However, this is not working so well if you are still struggling paying off your debt. You’ve got to change your habits and the easiest place to start is where you know you have at least a 10% cushion.

It’s time for you to get to work finding some cash. Go through the list of flexible expenses that are in your own family budget. Calculate 10% off the top of each flexible expense for the month and add those amounts up. Won’t it be great to be able to send that found money to your creditors and finally pay down that debt! Take this opportunity to make a real difference in your family’s financial future.

Tags: a, b, budget, budgeting, business;finance, debt, debt reduction, f, Family, finance, h, home, i, p, Paying Off Debt, personal finance, s, saving, Saving On Home, u

Little Known Ways to Save Money in a Household

Jul 19, 2009 Saving On Home

Are you feeling the pinch of the economic crisis that brought down multinational firms and companies on the brink of bankruptcy? Do you feel more money conscious now compared to last year? Are you worried that you might be laid off from your job and your dwindling savings may not be enough to cover your expenses until you can find a new job?

As what the financial analysts and economists have claimed in various television reports and newspaper interviews, the recession that the United States is experiencing right now rivals the Great Depression that occurred in the early 1920’s. Things were so bad that inflation hit all people, regardless of social and economic status. If you want to avoid this drama and remain on the practical side of the situation, here are some tips to calm your feelings and put some peace in your heart. They are simple ways to save money in a household but they are highly effective.

Read on for the little known ways to save money in your household. These tips have been tested and proven by numerous people. Harness its power and see your purchasing power increase to greater heights.

First, you have to keep track of your appliances. Have the filter of the air conditioning system free cleaned regularly. Defrost your refrigerator when you see that there is too much ice in the freezer and the food inside takes a longer time to get cold. Use the dishwasher only when you have a full load. Take quick cool showers instead of long and leisurely baths to minimize water consumption. Unplug all electrical appliances when they are not in use because they still consume energy even when turned off. If you fail to do this simple task, it will increase your electric bill greatly that will result to a huge amount if totaled annually.

Second, before heading off to the department store, jot down all the things that you need to buy so that you will not spend an unnecessary amount for spontaneous purchases. Marketing consultant know that clients are prone to indulge in their temptation if they see something they like to buy. This is the reason why they display chocolates, fashion magazines and other assorted knick knack near the cashier. Another tip in order to save money is to leave the young ones in the house. Parents know that bringing them along will make them see a lot of favorable items. If you don’t get them something that they really want, they will be prone to throw a temper tantrum.

Buying in bulk will also minimize your expenses. Most stores offer a discounted rate to customers who buy bigger packages instead of smaller ones.

Third, have fun spending time at home rather than outside. This includes nixing the weekly dinner at an expensive restaurant and having movie watching sprees every weekend. You may not notice it but they are seemingly low-cost expenses that will eventually result to a huge amount in the long run. Instead, cook a delicious dinner for your family and have fun playing monopoly, scrabble and other board games. You may also utilize your creativity to have a theme every Friday dinners so that it would still feel as if you are eating out.

Lastly, spend your cash instead of utilizing a credit card. This will prevent you from accumulating a huge debt and having to pay an exorbitant interest rate to the credit card companies.

Tags: economy, financial, grocery, home, household, money, saving, Saving On Home, Shopping, spending

How to Save Money on Your Electric Bills

Jul 6, 2009 Saving On Home

Summer is right around the corner, which means trips to the beach, time off from school and of course, outrageous electric bills. Don?t spend a fortune this summer on your energy costs, follow this guide to save money all around your home.

As startling as this is, remember that approximately half of the energy used in a home is for heating and cooling. Thus, taking care of these specific appliances in order to make sure that they do not suck up energy is highly important. Steps for doing so include changing the filter regularly, tuning up the equipment, and sealing and insulating the ducts. You also might look into a programmable thermostat that changes the temperature when the home is unoccupied or the occupants are asleep, for instance, thus reducing the energy used.

Household Appliances - There are dozens of different large and small appliances scattered throughout our homes, we do in many ways depend on them. Just a brief list of these, all of which eat up energy, include televisions, computers, AC units, refrigerators, microwaves, dishwashers, lamps and many more. You can help lower associated costs by looking for highly rated, energy efficient models that take less energy to run and provide the same benefits.

Save money on water heating - Water heating accounts for a large percentage of every home’s energy bill. But you don’t have to start instituting a 5 minute shower rule to see savings in this area. You can buy an energy efficient water heater which will get the job done while eating up less resources.

Many will be shocked to hear that lighting costs the average homeowner approximately 20% of their electric bill. Sure, your mother always told you to turn off the lights in a vacated room, and that helps tremendously, however you also need to remove the incandescent light bulbs that may still be in your home and replace them with CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) that mostly come in those weird spiral bulbs. Those newer bulbs use 75% less energy than the incandescent bulbs! Startling, but true, and the cost of the new bulbs will easily be made up within 6 months of usage because if you?ll remember they last approximately 10 times longer than an incandescent bulbs. Home Electronics

Various appliances from TVs to even stoves and microwaves use digital displays that are in ?standby? power mode. When purchasing such items make sure of the energy rating that each is given, and opt for those that use less energy even in ?standby? mode! Office Equipment

Save money on office equipment - If you have a lot of office equipment in your home, you can be adding lots of money to your electric bill. Think about it, you have computers, printers, faxes, shredders, scanners and other pieces of energy craving equipment. Buy energy efficient models and turn everything off when it isn’t in use.

In general, most people will be superbly surprised with the energy savings experienced by following these very simple tips.

Tags: electricity, home, office, Saving On Home, savings

Setting a Grocery Budget

May 9, 2009 Saving On Home

We know that creating a grocery-shopping list is not only the efficient way to shop, but also the most budget-friendly way to shop as well. But setting the budget can sometimes be confusing and overwhelming. How do you know how much you will spend? How much can you spend?

When setting your budget, treat your grocery shopping as if it were any other bill, like your rent and car insurance. After all, food is a necessity and a vital part of your health. When doing your monthly financial planning, budget in your groceries and try not to use the attitude of “whatever I have left over after I pay the bills I’ll spend on groceries.” That “leftover money” sometimes gets eaten up in little daily expenses that we don’t even think about and you might not end up with enough to grocery shop with.

So how much should you budget? That depends on the size of your family and your income. If you look at government standards, a family of 3 with no income would generally receive $389 per month in Food Stamps. That’s not to say that every family with 3 people should expect to spend that much, or wouldn’t go over, but it’s a reasonable estimation.

After you have created your shopping list, compare it to your budget. Take a look at those items that you know you’re going to be purchasing on every shopping trip. It might be milk and bread for your family. Figure in the costs of these items as you start preparing your budget. It will give you a good idea of what you know you’re going to spend.

After you’ve made your list, take a look at it and try to figure out if there are items that you can get cheaper elsewhere. You don’t have to do all of your shopping at the same store. Try a discount store for the canned goods, or a farmer’s market for the produce.

After you have set your monthly budget, if you determine that it is too high, try to cut it back by $50. If this seems to work and you notice a huge difference, try cutting it back again by 5% the next month.

Or maybe you decide that you don’t need to cut back on your grocery bill, that you actually need all of the items on your list. In that case, try cutting back in another area of your life. If you do your list and find that you actually will spend $400 per month on groceries and you absolutely cannot cut back, think about taking your lunch to work two days a week instead of eating out. Or one Friday night per month rent a movie and pop popcorn instead of going to the cinema.

Although it might feel more convenient to buy pre-packaged or frozen meals, it is almost always going to be cheaper to purchase items that can be used for several meals. Rice, pasta, potatoes, and meat that can be frozen and stores can be used for multiple meals.

Paying with cash is also an excellent way of sticking to your budget. As soon as you get paid, withdraw your grocery budget and put the money into a separate envelope. Shop only from that envelope and tell yourself that you can’t use your debit or credit card. Lock them in the trunk when you go into the store if you have to. This will keep you from over-spending.

All in all, remember that food is just as important of an expense as your rent, your utilities, and your childcare (if you have children). Treat it importantly and be wise in your budgeting so that you don’t short yourself on having a healthy lifestyle. With a little forethought, grocery shopping on a budget does not have to be too hard.

Tags: budget, Coupons, Family, food, frugal, Grocery Budget, grocery savings, Grocery Shopping, Grocery Store, Saving On Home, savings, Shopping, supermarket