A major cost to every household is heating bills. Winter time produces an increased financial burden with heating bills jumping. Added to this financial pressure is the rising costs of energy. By installing programmable thermostats, you can effectively control the timing and amount of heat you need.

By using a programmable thermostat, you can select the ideal times to heat your home. You can program your thermostat to reduce temperature in the evening while you sleep, slightly warm the home when you get up in the morning, reduce the heating again while everyone is gone at work and school, and again heat the home comfortably in the early evening.

By being selective with your timing, you warm your home only when needed and you do not waste heat. This application of controlling room temperature can also be applied during the hot season if you have an air conditioner.

Also consider the degree of warm you need to be comfortable. By decreasing your thermostat levels during the warming periods by even 1 degree can greatly reduce overall monthly heating bills.

With your efforts in controlling energy waste, also consider additional heat saving strategies:
*enhancing the amount of insulation in the attic and crawl spaces
*applying new weather stripping, caulking, and sealers around windows, vents, and door frames
*research if your region offers green-home upgrade incentives and discount programs
*receive an analysis of your home’s energy efficiency and locate areas of unnecessary heat loss and energy waste

Make your energy savings automatic with a programmable thermostat. New models are readily available and are low-cost. The savings in heating bills will quickly recover the cost of these new control units. With your automated efforts to save heat, you will also be playing a great role in supporting sustainability and green living.

Saving money can come easy with smart thinking and creative measures. Having small saving strategies in several places adds up quick to large sums of retained cash. One tip for adding another small saving tip to your wealth management plan is stretching out your liquid hand soap.

First tip for saving money on soap is to always look for coupons online and offline. Second tip is to buy in bulk (preferably a wholesale bulk discount centers like Costco). Aim to purchase bulk refill packages as these offer extra savings.

Final tip is to stretch out the savings and quantity of your liquid soap by adding a portion of water to the dispenser each time you refill. Experiment with the proportions of water and avoid over diluting the hand soap. Try about 10-20% water to volume of the dispenser. Eventually, you will find the right consistency that offers sufficient washing effect. When mixing the water and hand soap, avoid vigorous stirring or shaking to prevent the formation of suds.

Often, the concentration of hand soap is far more than actually needed for ample cleaning. By wetting hands first and then dispensing diluted hand soap onto your hands, you will have plenty of soap and suds to wash your hands.

By diluting your hand soap, you save on the number times you need to purchase liquid soap, and you also reduce the consumption of plastic and fossil fuels used to produce and transport this product to the store. Reducing your consumption of liquid soap also reduces the total amount of chemicals going down the drain each time you wash your hands. For those wishing to go that extra ‘green-mile’, consider buying the new range of biodegradable and non-antibacterial liquid soaps. We do not need all the colorings, perfumes, and other fancy agents to get our hands clean.

Saving money on simple things like hand soap offers the opportunity to save money for more meaningful and rewarding ventures in life. Remember, life is no fun when money is hoarded, but life is way more fun when we can get more out of our savings.

Create extra cash in your pocket by simply shedding wasteful energy costs. Many electronic devices and applications are designed to generate energy waste through “stand by” features. These stand by features produce unnecessary energy consumption called vampire power, phantom load, or leaking electricity.

Many electronic products still consume energy even when the power button is turned off. This energy consumption is most commonly recognized with clocks on appliances and stand by lighting features. But even some devices like plugged-in laptop power adapters unknowingly drain money from your pocket.

Some studies suggest that up to 22 percent of energy consumption from appliances is due to stand by waste with this contributing up to 10% of total household electricity costs. Take note of your recent electricity bills and image cutting off 10% from these bills. For many households, this would be a tremendous savings that can be allocated to paying down debt or funding other purposeful ventures.

From an environmentally conscious perspective, some studies suggested that the waste from stand by power sources in large countries like the USA reach into the billions of watts and cost households billions of dollars annually. By eliminating stand by power waste, countries can reduce a substantial portion of pollution produced by energy plants. Less burden would be placed on the taxpayer to fund future energy projects and we would all benefit from less pollutants saturating our air, water and soil.

What are the most common sources of stand by power waste?

*VCRs, DVD players and many audio/sound systems

*microwave ovens and other kitchen appliances

*computers, printers, digital monitors, and other office equipment

*televisions

*air conditioners and other devices with remote controls

*power bars, transformers, and battery charges

*electronics with stand by lights or clocks

Easy tips to reduce leaking electricity waste:

*unplug electrical devices when not in use – turning the power button ‘off’ may still allow the device to drain energy

*avoid leaving recharging devices in the charge mode for extended periods-unplug the chargers once the devices are charged with sufficient energy

*completely shut down electronics like computers, printers, and cell phones at the end of the day

*use switchable power bars or surge protectors with multiple sockets-you can leave multiple devices plugged in, but turn off the power source with one flick of a switch

*consider replacing battery powered devices like phones and razors with basic cord versions-charging cordless devices can be inefficient

*explore the option of timers that can be used to switch off standby power devices-many ‘smart’ devices are on the market making it easier to manage your energy conservation efforts

*avoid electronics with excessive and unnecessary amounts of decorative stand by lighting

We do not need to all be sitting in the dark, huddled around a candle to move towards green sustainable practices. Often the simple and obvious solutions get overlooked and ignored. Flush out all the wasteful energy devices at work and at home. Find the most efficient method of cutting this stand by waste and put this into practice. See the immediate benefits on future bills and take some pride in the benefits you generate for the environment.

Two major issues dominate society today-environment and fuel costs. A simple action we can all take to support there issues is to reduce the usage and consumption of plastic bags. With this reduced use of plastic bags, we can also generate a handful of savings.

Plastic bags are a major source of pollution and environmental harm. Plastic bags fill our garbage dumps and act s deadly agents for wildlife. On a recent trip across the Pacific Ocean, I was disheartened to see the middle of ocean littered with plastic bags and other garbage.

Our obsession with using plastic bags also contributes greatly to the consumption of oil, thus increasing our dependency on foreign oil and inflating costs of fuel and consumer goods.

Here are some tips for reducing the usage of plastic bags:
*When going grocery shopping, bring old plastic bags, cloth bags or cardboard boxes with you and use these to carry home your groceries.
*Place a plastic bag in every purse, bag, knap snack, and coat so that when you are out and unexpectedly go into a store, you immediately have your own bag to use.
*Ask your grocer if they provide refunds on using your own bags. Many stores now give you $.03-.05 for every bag you reuse. With a big grocery trip reusing 10 bags, this could produce $.50 in savings. If you do this every week, you can save around $25 a year-a nice chunk of money for doing something good for the environment.
*Utilize recycling, composting, and garburators to reduce household waste and use of plastic garbage bags that hold this waste.
*Find retailers that offer collection services and recycle plastic bags.
*Look for more biodegradable alternatives for carrying and storing items (ie. paper bags made from post consumer paper products).

Get in the habit of carrying spare bags with you wherever you go. See where retailers offer incentives to reusing bags and add to your savings strategies. Enjoy the overall benefits of being green, saving money, and supporting the bigger picture of global and economic sustainability.