Search Results for: budget

Do These 6 Things To Save Energy

March 4, 2021 By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

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.

Tips on choosing the right contractor to renovate your home in Australia

March 4, 2021 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

When your house starts feeling dated and sort of drab, you don’t need to look for another place to live. You want a good contractor to renovate your home – top to bottom. A good professional can create miracles and the only problem is how to find the right one. Here’s all you need to know about choosing the right contractor.

Make a plan

Maybe top to bottom is not really necessary, maybe it’s just the kitchen and dining area. You need to decide what is the extent of the renovations your house needs. Write down all the work you’d like done so you’ll know exactly what to tell the contractor.

Make a list of contractors in your area

The first thing you’ll want to do is google the home contractors in your area. Check out their websites, look at ratings and customer google reviews and write down the ones that seem OK to you. Check out their Before/After galleries.

Also, it’s always good to ask around, talk with friends, family or neighbors and see if they can recommend somebody they’ve worked with and add them to your list.

Ask for quotes

Contact all the contractors on your list. Explain the kind of work you have in mind and ask for an estimate. Don’t be surprised if their estimates fall in the same range, but be wary of those who go over the top or make a really low offer. You can also ask for a time estimate since such projects typically turn your life upside down. You don’t want to live on a construction site for the next six months!

Interview the selected contractors

Next step is to ask to meet the contractors on your shortlist. Have them come by the house and talk to them about your requirements. Listen carefully to their solutions. You want somebody who sounds competent and comes up with easy solutions. Something that sounds overly complicated will probably end up costing a lot and might turn out quite unnecessary.

Ask for references

Besides checking their online reviews, ask to talk to former clients. See if they were satisfied and ask if the work was delivered within the agreed time frame. Most important ask if the contractor stayed within the initial budget or did they keep making demands for more money.

Ask for a criminal background check

If these people are going to be in your house for a long time, they’ll also have access to your valuables. It’s always smart to ask for a background check. Ask the business owners if they run background checks on their employees. You don’t have to be ashamed to ask such a thing. These guys will be in your house and around your kids for weeks if not months. You don’t want dangerous people in your house.

If they cannot provide police checks for their employees, suggest using an online character check agency that sends you back the results in a couple of days. It won’t inconvenience them in any way since everything is done online, applying for a background check only takes a few minutes and you can do it over the phone even. It’s easy and it gives you peace of mind. These days, criminal record checks are relatively easy to obtain. In states like New South Wales, you can apply online. It is also important to note that police checks do come with a small cost involved and even in places like NSW (e.g. Sydney) whilst you can get a police check in NSW online, you cannot get a police check online in NSW for free which is a common misconception when people request police character checks. There is no such thing as a free check as you will see from the official website link given here. They normally cost around $48 AUD or so so keep the cost in mind.

Now that you’ve made up your mind, make sure to read the contract carefully, including the fine print. The devil is in the details, you know that. Good luck with your project!

Best Ways to Invest in Yourself

March 3, 2021 By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

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.