There is a lot to figure out after moving into a new apartment, such as unpacking and getting acquainted with your new neighborhood. With a new apartment comes new bills to pay. A healthy budget is the first part to financial success, but there are multiple ways to stretch your money as far as you can. Unfortunately, fixed expenses, being rent or a car payment, cannot be lowered, but some bills can be cut down with some work. The information below should help you save money with your apartment’s utility bill.
Shut Off Before You Sleep
Before you trudge to bed at night, make a quick round through your apartment turning off and unplugging all of your appliances and electronics. Despite being shut off, your computer and television will still drain power while they are plugged into the wall. Lamps and speakers drain power too, these should be unplugged while you sleep for fire safety but also to save your money. The best way to save money is turn off and unplug everything when you are not using it. A brief, two-minute check will make falling asleep easier knowing your utility bill will be cheaper this month.
Built-in Sleep Timers
New electrical devices and appliances on the market today have sleep timers built-in, and you should be using these to your favor. A perfect example is when you drift off to sleep while watching a movie only to wake up hours later to a blank, blue screen. Develop the habit of setting sleep timers to turn off your electronics for you. Air conditioning is likewise an easy appliance to forget about. Nothing is worse than waking up freezing with the realization that you let the air conditioner run all night. Do not sit idly by while your hard-earned money burns, save your change while you sleep.
Economic Lightbulbs
Energy-efficient lightbulbs are more expensive; however your energy bill is a marathon, not a sprint. A larger cost upfront for quality lightbulbs will give you larger savings later on your energy bill. Incandescent bulbs burn out before CFC bulbs and LED lights and require more energy, too. If you are not able to spend the money to screw-in energy-efficient bulbs throughout the entirety of your apartment, you should at the very least consider installing them where the lights are on the majority of the time.
Surge Protected & Smart Power Strips
Smart power strips work like a sleep timer; everything plugged into the strip gets shut off after a decided amount of time. Smart power strips make it easy to remember to turn your electronics off at night because they are all plugged into the same spot. Additionally, smart strips do not drain energy while plugged in unlike how electronics do even if powered off or in sleep mode. Even the most diligent nightly round checkers forget from time to time; use smart power strips to rest assured knowing all your appliances and electronics are off and saving you money with your utility bill.
Everything is Out of the Wall
The best way to cut cost on your utility bill is to always have appliances unplugged when not in use. For example, you only need your washer and dryer plugged in when you do your laundry, the rest of the time there is no reason not to have them unplugged from the wall. Your microwave, toaster, and coffee machine can all be unplugged when not in use. A smart power strip will aid you in turning off and unplugging but creating the habit to unplug on your own will save you the expense of purchasing a smart strip to begin with. A good idea is to designate a place to put cords when they are not in use; this will serve as a constant reminder to unplug anything not in use. Likewise, a designated place for cords will keep you organized.
Small Loads are Inefficient
A full washer or almost empty washer and dryer will use an equal amount of electricity and water. Wash your clothes in large loads to maximize your energy saving potential. Opposed to cleaning a few small loads every day, wash a few large loads once or twice per week. This will keep you from doing laundry every day, but it will also save you money. When you do not have to do laundry every day, this will open up time in your schedule to perform other chores or relax.
Available Apartments for rent in Wisconsin
The hunt for your new apartment will be over soon! Check out at these magnificent apartments available in Wisconsin. Whether you are seeking a studio, one-bedroom, or two-bedroom apartment, there is a perfect unit waiting to be your new home!
