Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

Do These 6 Things To Save Energy

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Saving energy is both important and beneficial for a number of reasons. Of course, shutting off the lights when you leave the room or adjusting the temperature when you’re not home will save you money and keep your energy cost low.

But there’s so much more that you can do. Energy is likely being lost through cracks in the walls, the windows, worn-out weatherstripping, poorly designed doors, uninsulated ceilings, and walls. The energy that you’re paying for is literally going out the door.

You can do six major things that will improve your home’s energy-efficiency and save you money. You’ll find that most of these methods are things that you can do yourself without shelling out thousands of dollars for a new energy-efficient HVAC system or having solar power energy installed. Although these would be beneficial to your energy savings, they are not always in the budget.

1: Replace your light bulbs

Technology is pretty amazing. You can use between 25 – 80% less electricity by changing your light bulbs to energy-efficient alternatives such as Halogen incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs). The downside to these light bulbs is they are an expensive alternative; however, you’ll actually be saving money in the long run.

2: Install a smart thermostat

Keeping your temperature just 10 to 15 degrees cooler while you’re at work will help to save you between 5-15% every year according to energy.gov.

Smart thermostats allow you complete control over your thermostat. You can program the temperature for when you’re at work or sleeping so that you’re not keeping the house too cool or too hot when it’s not necessary.  An additional benefit of a smart thermostat is that you can program it to tell you when to air filter needs to be replaced.

3: Insulate your home

A poorly insulated home plays a major role in retaining energy in your home. Insulation is designed to keep heat out during the summer and keep heat in during the winter.  You should consider insulation installation in your attic, walls, floors, basement, and crawlspace. These are the main areas where proper insulation will be beneficial.

Consider having a home energy auditor come to inspect your home to locate the areas that need additional insulation.

4: Weatherize your home

You’ll need to visually inspect both the inside and outside of your home to look for areas where air could be getting into your home. You’d be surprised how much air is lost through vents, windows, and doors because of worn-out weatherstripping, cracks, and gaps. Even small cracks or openings can cause lots of energy to be lost and make it harder to control the temperature to a comfortable level.

Replacing weather stripping, sealing, and filling the gaps around windows, doors, plumbing, and ducts will improve your energy savings. You’ll want to check the attic and light fixtures as well.

5: Unplug things that you’re not using

Leaving those small kitchen appliances plugged in is actually costing you money. There is still energy going through these appliances as well as your computer and chargers. So when you’re done using your computer, toaster oven, blender, and coffee machine, you should get into the habit of unplugging them.

For some appliances like your refrigerator, washing machine, or dryer it isn’t practical to unplug them between uses so don’t get that much plug paranoia. Instead find ways to make these machines work better, or fewer hours. For example you could sun dry your delicate clothes to run your dryer less or use tricks like a dryer ball in order to get your clothes moisture free quicker which means less run time on the machine!

6: Tune Up Your HVAC System

Regular maintenance of your HVAC system will not only help you to keep the cost of repairs low and prolong the life of your unit, but it will ensure that your heating and cooling are running efficiently. Keeping it at peak performance helps you to continue to save on your energy bill.

We all want to save money, and these are just some of the simple do-it-yourself ways to reduce the amount of energy that your home is losing. We tend to believe that the only way to improve our home’s energy efficiency is by purchasing all new energy-efficient appliances, windows, and doors. Oftentimes it’s the little things that you can do that make the most significant differences.

Saving money on your energy bills can often make the difference between which bills you can pay off this month and which ones you cannot. Learning how to budget your bills to keep costs down is essential.

Here Are Some of the Key Benefits to Taking Vitamin Supplements

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No one can get all the healthy vitamins they need from food, alone. That is why we have supplements. Vitamin C is one of the most important supplements we have. Yet we do not naturally produce vitamin C. Getting vitamin C into our diet is a little like nutritional hacking. We have learned about its benefits and we have found foods that are rich in that vitamin. We also have learned there are no ill-effects to blasting as much vitamin C as you want.

You might wonder why natural food sources aren’t enough for vitamin intake. There are plenty of good foods that are rich in vitamin C such as bell peppers, strawberries, and citrus fruits. If you are more of a brussels sprouts person, that is also a great source for C. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to fresh produce. And we don’t always have complete control over what we eat. It is easy to talk about always eating healthily. But it is not so easy to pull it off. There are plenty of healthy foods to buy when broke. But it takes planning. Sometimes work gets hectic and there is no time for a good meal. Sometimes, the store doesn’t have the items you need so you have to settle. If that is the case for you, then you have at least one very good reason to take supplements. Here are a few others:

Iron

There are as many impressive health benefits to iron as there are to Vitamin C. One of the big ones has to do with the improvements to cognitive abilities. It helps you think better and more quickly. With sufficient iron, you can practically say goodbye to your chances of getting Alzheimer’s. Make iron supplements a daily part of your brain health routine. Don’t forget that brain health is an essential part of health. And you will likely not forget if you were taking in sufficient amounts of iron.

Iron is necessary for peak muscle performance. It helps muscles contract and maintain muscular elasticity. It also helps you fight off anemia. That is when your body stops producing red blood cells. Iron is an important part of red blood cell production. When you are not taking supplements, boost your iron with meat and potatoes, along with white beans, dark chocolate, and blueberries.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is not calcium. But it works in conjunction with calcium to foster strong teeth and bones. Do you have arthritis? Vitamin D can help with that by slowing deterioration of the joints. It also appears to be helpful in the prevention of breast, lung, and colon cancer. Just remember there is much about cancer we still don’t know. While helpful in the fight, vitamin D should not be mistaken for a cure.

There is also the matter of reducing inflammation. If you have pain in your joints, doctors will often prescribe vitamin D. It not only helps with the joint pain, it has the side benefit of reducing your dependency on stronger medications such as opioids. You will not be able to get enough vitamin D from diet, alone. But you can get some help from the sun. It is a shame too much exposure to the sun also causes skin cancer. But getting a bit of D for free is a great reason to spend some quality time having fun in the sun. Don’t forget the sunscreen.

Vitamin B

If you have a B12 deficiency, you could be in for the following:

  • Fatigue
  • Confusion
  • Depression
  • Mouth soreness
  • Weakness in the muscles
  • Much more…

Vitamin B12 deficiency is more likely for vegans and vegetarians. Vitamin B comes in many flavors such as B6, B9 (folate), and B12. Folate is used in mood management. It is so effective that in 1998, the FDA mandated the synthetic form of folate (folic acid) be added to cereal, flour, bread, rice, and other common ingredients.

It would be great if we could all just eat our way into perfect health. But that is seldom possible in the modern world. Fortunately, you can supplement your way into much better health by adding vitamin C, iron, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B to our diet. What nature doesn’t give us in sufficient quantities, supplements can.

Best Ways to Invest in Yourself

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If adulting has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t rely on anyone but yourself.

While having a network of friends and family is important, ultimately, it is up to you to create the life you want for yourself.

Therefore, it is important to take the funds you have and put them to good use by investing in yourself.

Here are the best ways to invest in yourself:

Save Something Every Month

Life is hard. Unexpected expenses pop up when you least expect them, and even without a crazy expensive event, life happens. Whether it is for something good or bad, we are shelling out our hard-earned cash for something every time we turn around.

However, to invest in yourself and save money every month, you need to start making a budget. Write down all your expenses pair that against how much you make per month.

Once you figure that out, go back through your budget and see where you can shave off a few savings.

For instance, do you pay for Hulu and Netflix every month? If you alter your subscription from month to month, you won’t miss any shows, but you will cut your streaming service bill in half.

Here are a few other ways to save some money:

  • Eat home more often
  • Refinance high-interest debt
  • Reassess your bills to make sure you’re getting the best deal for what you need
  • Take advantage of coupons and loyalty programs.

Once you have found savings and accumulate, open a savings account and put the money you’re saving in there. Month after month, it will add up, which will encourage you to continue saving.

Get (and Stay) Organized

When you live and work in an organized environment, you feel better about yourself. Knowing where everything is, with everything having a place, you can spend less mental energy on thinking about how much you have to and looking for lost items, so you have more time to get the work done and stay organized.

This organization will also help you earn more time in the day to get more accomplished and have more time to yourself.

Set Goals

Setting goals and writing them down solidifies them in your brain. It helps you visualize those goals, which gives you the incentive to make them a reality.

It doesn’t matter what you want to do. If you work towards it, you can achieve it. However, the only way you are ever going to achieve your goals is to take the first step toward that achievement.

The best way to do that is to write your goals down and place them somewhere that you will see them every day. When you have your goals written down and hanging up close, seeing them will reaffirm your dedication.

Learn Something New

Learning something new, either by reading about it or taking a traditional class, can help expand your horizons.

Whether you want to own a ski resort in the alps or attend one of the best law schools in San Francisco, the first step is to learn about it. You want to have as much information as possible before you make your move.

So, invest in yourself by learning absolutely everything you can about the passion you want to pursue, and then go for it!

Improve Your Health and Wellness

If you start to make healthier choices in your life, you will save money. For instance, if you start eating healthy, you will lose weight and eat less. Therefore, your grocery bill will go down.

If you are eating healthy and losing weight, you will feel better, encouraging you to do more things outside instead of paying for constant indoor entertainment.

Plus, if you are healthy and feel good, chances are, you will have a better quality of life and live longer.

Thus, you will have made a lifelong commitment to investing in yourself.

Get Creative

Adobe published a study that stated 75% of individuals don’t believe they live up to their creative potential.

Creativity is a gift that makes us all unique. It is an outlet that helps fuel the expression of our soul.

Therefore, by investing in creativity, you are investing in yourself on a deep and meaningful level.

The only way you can get ahead of your finances and take control of your life, in general, is if you invest in yourself. If you start working through this list of the best ways to invest in yourself, you will begin to see an almost instantaneous change.