Tips on reducing bills such as electricity/gas/water/TV/... tax,?

XXX I agree with mirageguitarworks XXX

also go to Moneysavingexpert it's the best. Check out all the tips on there.

Turn the heating down and wear a coat/jumper.

Keep curtains closed all night, open them when its sunny to let warmth in.

Phone the tax office and check that you have the corrrect tax code.

Change car insurance to a minimum cover you need.

Change your mortgage to another lender and as a new customer you are likely to get a better deal, and save Â£50 a month on
average.

Give up smoking.

Walk to places and resist buying anything over Â£20, without first planning the purchase by making a list of all items over Â£20 that you will be buying some time soon.

Check with your employer to see if you are eligable for discounted bus travel, and childcare vouchers which can save you Â£70 tax per month.

Collect Tesco clubcard points, they will bank up and give you some money off at Christmas shopping. Get all your fuel (petrol/diesel) from there too.

Get a water meter fitted you should save 30% if you live alone, you will have to keep it a year minimum term.

Re-claim back bank charges that may be unfair.

Change your credit card for a new transfer deal.

Sell some old crap at a car boot sale and clear out stuff by selling it on EBAY, clothes sell surprisingly well, and old junk that you normally would throw away.

Make sure you are getting 25% discount from council tax if you live alone.

Fit energy bulbs in ALL lights, IKEA sell them for Â£1.50 each, and ASDA sell Philips low energy bulbs cheap too. Keep florescent tubes on rather than on and off on and off, they use less being left on.

Get your BT phone bill online only this saves you some money. Update your friends and family list.

By a pay as you go mobile and just txt people whis can be cheaper sometimes if you get a good txt deal, (I get 150 txts for Â£8 a month from Orange).

If you rent a BT phone, buy it, or let them have it back (they wont collect it).

Never run hot water away down the plughole, share bathwater, then use the bathwater to flush the toilet, and to water the garden if you do have a meter.

Switch off all plugs regardless incl the microwave, TV, phone chargers.

Fit cardboard wrapped in tin foil behind your radiators, this will reflect the heat into the room and it won't soak into the wall quite so much. Have a thermostat valve fitted to each radiator and only put ones on when you use the rooms.

Insulate your loft more! Use an old carpet even, or buy insulation from a builders yard and make your home cosy.

Turn the fridge down to a lower setting, and buy appliances that are more efficient.

Watch telly in the dark.

Turn the oven of five minutes before the food is ready to come out, the oven will still be hot for a while afterwards. Use the microwave more, and buy food that is already cooked, eg chicken.

Don't have your fridge next to your cooker, as the heat from the cooker makes the fridge need to work harder.

Have a few eary nights, this means you will turn everything off earlier. visit friends more often and watch their telly! Turn your heating right down when you are not at home.

Cover pans with lids this keeps the steam in and the energy in, turn the rings down as low as possible.

Food bills can be reduced by buying bigger packets, and bogofs, buy everything that is on offer. Try to reduce the amount of food you throw away.

Get things like ALMAT from ALDI washing powder that lasts months.
And Cereals from ASDA are the cheapest.
Buy a dozen eggs not six and buy 12 tins of cat food not individual cans etc.
Get crisps in packets of 28 or bigger.

I find TESCO is the cheapest supermarket, if you go at 9 pm on Saturdays they sell loads of stuff off at rediculous process, I filled my freezer with Â£20, and got Â£80+worth of stuff.

If you do manage to save a little over a few months, then try to invest it, if you buy premium bonds, you may be lucky and get a good return on your money, this is a good investment if you have no other savings. You may get a small windfall, to help out with something else.

1) Buy a corded phone instead of one that you have to plug in... Corded phones use voltage directly from the phone line.

2) Keep your blinds and curtains shut during the heat of the day.

3) Use battery operated clocks.

4)Purchase battery operated flourescent lights for under the cabinets/over the kitchen counter. Use these instead of overhead lights. Turn on only when needed and off when you are finished.

5) If you have both incandescent and flourescent lamps in the same room, use the incandescent if you will be in the room less than 15 minutes, and the flourescent if more than 15 minutes. Flourescent bulbs take about 15 minutes worth of power to start, but then they use almost none. Incandescents use a relatively constant rate of power whether turning on or staying on.

6) Watch TV in a darkened room.

7) Use manual grooming devices... let your hair dry in the wind, use a manual razor.

8) Hang a line outside and dry your clothes outdoors.

9) Crack open the dishwasher door before the dry cycle starts and let them air dry, or wash dishes manually. Rinse with hot water and let them air dry.

10) Point window fans OUT during the heat of the day, and IN at night.

Reduce the temperature on your thermostats by a couple of degrees in winter
Don't leave your electrical items like TVs and PCs on standby, unplug them
Use energy saving light bulbs
Boil the kettle and use the boiled water for cooking instead of waiting for your cooker to boil the water.
Make sure all your windows are sealed properly - a lot of heat can be lost through draughts, use draught exluders for doors etc..

Turn lights off when you leave the room, turn the AC up so that is doesn't run much and when you leave turn it up 5 degrees higher and opposite for heat, On your hot water heater turn the temp. down, turn water off when brushing teeth, washing hands, between washing dishes, use a dishwash little as possible and make full loads in the washer. Cut the TV off completely, and when you are not using the computer for a while shut it down. Good Luck that's a hard thing to do but it does help.

Go to www.moneysavingexpert.com I have saved and reclaimed major amounts of cash because of all the great tips!!!

always keep the plugs in your house off even if you are not using them, that saves a huge amount of money!

You can turn them all off except the tax, get rid of the chancellor maybe?

Electricity can be saved by switching off and unplugging anything that isn't used. Likewise with taking shorter showers on a lower setting which will also save you water.

Change all your lightbulbs to energy saving ones. The initial cost is higher but long term, savings are great.

Depending on the type of kettle you have, you can also save electric or gas by only boiling the amount of water you need.

Turn the thermostat / heating down a degree or two.

For water, if you're on a meter you can save. If not, things stay the same. For towels, put them out on the line after you've showered and only wash them after 2 showers (or more if you prefer) which will save on washing.

Have you tried going on somewhere like http://www.moneysupermarket.com/utilities/cheaper-gas-electricity.aspx and getting your bills down that way? We did it and saved just over Â£50, although we never even looked at it before now.

Use less! The taxes will be even be less! ;-)=

yeah. Throw out the boyfriend. Everything doubles when he is around

move to your parents'...hehhehe...save rent, electricity bill,water bill, groceries n free meal, free laudry, free nag too!!!

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