We have six tips to help you make a difference starting today without costing you a dime.

• Turn it off; keep those lights and luxury appliances off when they are not in use, most have a standby feature which is just vampire power, or energy vampires, which means they still “suck” electricity even when in the off position.  This includes Televisions, CD players, DVD players, computers and some lights.  To make your life easier use a power strip so that you can shut it down using one switch.
• Adjust the temperature of your water heater, never set your water heater above 120 degrees to save yourself some cash.
• Guard your water; you can do this by shortening your showers, not allowing the water to run while brushing your teeth and not pre-rinsing dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.  Remember when you turn that tap to hot, you’re wasting water while waiting for it to heat up and your hot water heater is being put to use.
• Keep it shut; opening and closing your refrigerator door not only wastes electric but it cuts down on your refrigerators efficiency.  Research shows that door openings account for 7% of refrigerator energy use which can waste between 50 to 120kWh a year which would be equivalent to a 500kWh a year refrigerator.
• Warmer please, Adjusting your Air-conditioning can save you considerable money since studies show that in warmer climates an air conditioner can account for up to 60% of your electricity bill.  Raise that temperature and reap the savings, each degree below 78 will increase your energy use by at least 3%.  With a few well placed fans and some tips like closing a FEW (not all) registers in unused rooms and keeping your filters changed, you can turn your air to 80 degrees all summer and still stay comfortable.
• Reuse what you can, from packaging to clothing, really think before discarding an item.  Try to find an alternative use or home for it, there tons of organizations and charities that could probably utilize that item.

If you only incorporated these six things into your lifestyle, you would probably see a financial savings within a couple of months!  Check out our  Tips For Next To Nothing if you want to go further.