Life Blessons shows you how to make Whole-Wheat Pretzel Bites.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Summer Bucket List
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Pre-order The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget for $10.98
“Crystal Paine does it all as an entrepreneur, wife, and mom—and that means she knows all about finding room in a home budget! From reducing clutter to finding amazing coupon deals outside the grocery aisle, The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget will help you make dollars and sense of your life again.”
—Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host
The Audacious Dream
For a long time, I’ve had a big dream of one day being a published author. I figured it would be years down the road–maybe after my children were grown.
However, God had different plans. And near the end of 2010, a vice president of Gallery Books (a division of Simon & Schuster) stumbled upon an article of mine and wrote me saying they’d like to offer me a book deal.
I had to read the email multiple times to make sure I was getting it right. No, my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.
Jesse and I spent the next eight weeks praying about it and discussing whether this was realistic and something we wanted to take on. Truthfully, Jesse was really stoked about the whole thing. I was much more hesitant as my plate felt plenty full, I’d spent the last six months working towards margin and balance in my life, and I was scared to embark on something that might be too overwhelming–especially since I’d only have a few months to start and complete the manuscript.
Jumping In With Both Feet
But God kept confirming to Jesse and me that this was what I was supposed to do. So we streamlined and delegated, hired an assistant to take over a lot of the behind-the-scenes business tasks for me, and jumped in with both feet.
There were definitely some grueling moments and I won’t say that the writing process was easy–especially since I had no clue what I was doing and everything was completely new to me!–but it went much smoother than we could have ever expected. Plus, I truly enjoyed the entire process.
The manuscript was completed in early May and the last few months have been a whirlwind of new learning curves in editing, publicity, and traditional marketing (I’m used to internet marketing, so the traditional marketing is a whole new ballgame for me!)
Finally! It’s Done!
After months of effort, I’m thrilled to let you know that The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life and Save Thousands a Year is finished and off to the printers with a planned release date of January 10, 2012.
This book is the culmination of years of personally living frugally and simply and teaching others how to have a paradigm shift about money. I’m more than a little excited about it (more like crazily ecstatic about it!) because I believe its message is direly needed, especially right now as so many people are struggling to make ends meet. I believe this book has the potential to radically change your budget–and your life!
The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget is a comprehensive step-by-step plan to take you from financial mess to financial success. In this straightforward book, you’ll learn:
::How to set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.
::How to prioritize your time and life in order to live intentionally.
::How to streamline your home and life in order to have breathing room to work toward your financial goals.
::How to go from no budget at all to a full-fledged, realistic, written budget by following a simple three-step plan.
::How to make a cash envelope system work for you.
::How to cut your grocery bill in half (including 25 ways to save money without using coupons!).
::How to save big on restaurants, travel, clothing, utility bills, prescription glasses, gym memberships, and much more.
::And finally, how to cultivate contentment, embrace today, and live a rich and full life, no matter your income.
What I’m Most Excited About
You know what I’m most thrilled about in publishing this book? That all of my profits are going to Compassion International–an organization that helps to feed and clothe needy children around the globe.
Knowing that this book has the potential to not only change lives in our country, but to also give food, clean water, shelter, and clothing to those who are living in unimaginable circumstances, gave me so much purpose and excitement while writing. I’m humbled to be partnering with Compassion’s ministry to the poorest of the poor.
“For this mama of six, driving a 14 yr. old vehicle, endeavoring to live frugally and to live generously, this book not only offers fresh inspiration, it offers a practical, creative plan to make your life priorities — the reality of your life. And her last chapter on contentment? Standing ovation!”
—Ann Voskamp, author of the New York Times bestseller One Thousand Gifts
Pre-Order Your Copy Today
The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. It’s $10.98 right now, with a price-guarantee that if the price goes down any between when you order and the release date, you’ll get the lowest price. Shipping is free with an Amazon Mom account.
It’s also available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble. If you prefer ebooks, you can pre-order it for your Kindle or Nook.
No matter your level of thriftiness or how much or little you make, I think you’ll find help, hope, and inspiration in the pages of The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget. This book would also make a fabulous Christmas gift for someone you know who is struggling financially or just wants to do a better job of setting financial goals and stewarding the money they have.
If you can’t afford the $10.98 price tag, you could ask your local library to order in a copy. And don’t worry, I’ll be giving lots of copies away here, too!
PSST! If you do pre-order a copy, I have a little special something for you next week, just to show my appreciation. Stay tuned for more details. 🙂
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support of this project. Your excitement in comments and emails has knocked my socks off. I have the best readers ever!
How to be a Generous Host Without Busting the Budget
Guest post by Katey from Having Fun at Home
With the holidays nearing, many families find themselves with a house full of guests and a temptation to overspend so that their visitors feel welcome and have a nice visit. Here are some creative ideas for being warmly hospitable without spending too much money:
1. Be attentive to little details.
- Place a bouquet of bright fall leaves from the backyard on the guestroom dresser.
- Have your kids make a welcome banner.
- Spread a couple of magazines you think your guests might enjoy on the nightstand in their room.
- If your guests are coffee drinkers, put a coffeemaker and coffee in their bedroom.
- Keep a basket full of travel toiletries available in case someone forgets something.
- If you wanted to be over the top, you could even put chocolates on their pillow or try your hand at toilet paper origami!
- These ideas cost next to nothing but communicate care!
2. Become familiar with free outings in your area.
- Look into factory tours.
- Find good hiking trails.
- Figure out if there are any unusual claims to fame nearby. For example, here in Austin, we have North America’s largest urban bat colony. Every night, they make a dramatic appearance and are lots of fun to watch!
- Around Christmas, keep an eye on the neighborhoods that seem to be the most decorated and drive through them together one evening.
- Ask around to find out the best sledding hill in town.
3. Opt for fun, community-building meals rather than impressive menus.
- Make homemade pizzas together.
- Build a fire in the backyard and roast hot dogs.
- Set out lots of fresh ingredients, and let everyone string their own shish kabobs.
- Serve “Breakfast for Dinner.”
- Arrange for the men to be the chefs one night (or the kids if they are old enough!).
4. Make your home an enjoyable place to be.
- Stock your closet with lots of cards and board games. (German board games can be especially absorbing for adults and teenagers.)
- Keep a mental list of fun projects that everyone can do at the same time while still enjoying conversation (stringing popcorn garlands, putting together a surprise gift package for a mutual friend).
- Start a fire in the fireplace and roast marshmallows.
- Allow the kids a place of their own where they can make things together, get dirty, and have adventures (a basement or a fort in the back yard).
5. Apply yourself to the task of heartily enjoying your guests.
Heartily enjoy your guests and it will make it almost impossible for them not to have a good time!
Katey enjoys hosting her own house guests as a stay-at-home wife and mother in Austin, Texas. Her blog, Having Fun at Home, is resource for fun, inexpensive ideas for families.
21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Introduction
As I’ve alluded to over and over again recently, I’ve fallen off the bandwagon. And I’m struggling to get back up on it again.
I’ve been mulling over how to break the bad habits I’ve been developing and stop this downward spiral. The idea came to me to spend 21 days focusing on intentionally developing more discipline in my life. After thinking about it for a few weeks, I finally pitched it to my husband last week.
His response? “I think it’s a great idea. Can I join you?” 🙂
We sat down over the weekend and discussed what areas he and I are particularly struggling in and what specific changes would result in the most immediate and effective changes. We then came up with a gameplan for the next 21 days for each of us.
Since I know that public accountability works wonders for me, I’m going to blog daily about discipline (I’ll be preaching to myself when I write them, but you’re welcome to listen in if you need some extra motivation, too!) and I’ll also have a practical application project for each day. The following day, I’ll share the results of my project.
My hope is that, at the end of three weeks, I will have developed better habits and I’ll be pulling out of some of the mess and chaos that have resulted from my lack of discipline recently.
You’re more than welcome to join in this challenge, but please don’t feel obligated. Save the idea for later or skip over these posts if your plate is already brimming full.
By the way, thanks for bearing with me and my eclectic blogging. You all are the best!
Shared Nov 7, 2011
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This Week’s Menu Plan (and a new 15-Minute Freezer Cooking experiment)
This Week’s Menu Plan (and a new 15-Minute Freezer Cooking experiment)
In the middle of our chaotic and messy freezer cooking session last week!
Breakfasts
Bananas (grabbed on the way to church as we were rushing out the door; yes, aren’t we so organized?!)
Carrot Cake Waffles with Vanilla Whipped Cream (recipe coming later this week; I concocted it this past week using this recipe as inspiration and we all decided it was very yummy.)
Toasted bagels, scrambled eggs
Steel Cut Oats with dried cranberries
Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal
Granola
Cinnamon Roll Biscuits, scrambled eggs, fruitLunches
Hamburgers, twice-baked potatoes, fruit salad
Hard-boiled eggs, pasta, peas
PB&J, carrot sticks, apple slices
Annie’s macaroni & cheese, peas
Tossed salad hard-boiled eggs, feta cheese, and dried cranberries
Leftovers x 2Dinners
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake, tossed salad
Southwest Roll-ups, Mexican Rice, tossed salad
Corn & Cheese Chowder in Bread Machine Bread Bowls, sliced apples
Lime Chicken Tacos, Mexican Rice, steamed veggies
Dinner out
Dinner with extended family x 2Snacks
Chocolate Bottom Banana Squares
Fruit/veggies
Cheese/crackers15-Minute Freezer Cooking
(I’m trying something new this week and am devoting 15 minutes on Monday through Thursday afternoons to making one item for the freezer. I’ll be blogging about these mini freezer cooking sessions so you can see how it goes for me!)
Chocolate Bottom Banana Squares — Monday
Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal — Tuesday
Lime Chicken Tacos — Wednesday
Homemade Baking Mix — Thursday
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
From old end table to adorable play kitchen
The Land of Oz Family took this end table…
…And turned it into this adorable play kitchen. I’m inspired!
You can also see how she turned a $12 nightstand from Goodwill into a play kitchen. Also, check out how Fresh Cut Flours turned a thriftstore TV stand into a play kitchen.
10 Goals for This Week
The week leading up to the Relevant Conference went well. There was a LOT to do, but we survived and everything at the Relevant Conference went really well.
However, I came home exhausted, behind on sleep, and travel-weary. We jumped back into homeschooling last week and I made sleep a priority, but everything else in my life was chaotic and messy–as evidenced by the fact that I couldn’t even find my dress shoes on Sunday morning!
And very uncharacteristically, I didn’t set goals–which was a big mistake. In fact, I realized just how much momentum I lose when I don’t put written goals on paper for the week. I felt like I was aimless and going around in circles.
So, I’m re-energized in this whole goal-setting thing and am hoping to really be intentional about implementing more discipline and good habits in my life over the next few weeks. I’m going to blog my personal 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life beginning today in an effort to be publicly accountable for developing more discipline in my life. Look for my first post and practical application this afternoon.
Here’s an update on my goals from two weeks ago:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Read Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? aloud to the children.2. Make Johnny Cakes with the children.
3. Wrap some fun surprises for the children to open while I’m at Relevant.Personal Goals
4. Finish reading EntreLeadership, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, Getting Things Done, and
In Search of Balance.
5. Get 8 hours of sleep Sunday through Wednesday nights (in preparation for short nights at Relevant).
6. Take extra Vitamin C. (Last year, I came back from Relevant and was sick for almost a week, so I’m trying to make sure I’m well-rested and all “vitamined-up” this year so that I can hopefully avoid getting sick!)
Home Management Goals
7. Get all the laundry done and the house clean before I leave.8. Make homemade ranch dressing (my friend made a mix up for me. I’ll share the recipe later this week.)
Business Goals
9. Attend/speak at the Relevant conference.
10. Host a reader meet-up in Harrisburg, PA for around 50 local readers.
And here are this week’s goals:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Read Little Town On the Prairie aloud to the children.
2. Take pictures of the children with our just-hatched chicks every day for the photo book I’m doing of our chick-hatching experience.
3. Put together Operation Christmas Child boxes with the children.
Personal Goals
4. Finish reading EntreLeadership, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, Getting Things Done, and Becoming a Woman of Influence.
5. Go to bed early and get up early, as part of my 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Challenge (more on that in a few hours).
6. Run 10 miles.
Home Management Goals
7. Do at least one load of laundry from start to finish every week day.
8. Make homemade Shower Cleaner.
Business Goals
9. Email all bloggers who are reviewing my book when it releases.
10. Write daily posts for the 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life series.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!
You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
The Impact of a Kind Word
After a long and wearying day of traveling with our three children (6, 4, and 2), we were anxiously waiting to disembark at our final destination. I couldn’t have been more ready to get off the plane.
All three children had been especially whiny and antsy that day. I was sure everyone around us was desperate to get off, too, after being unwittingly subjected to over an hour of fussing, loud, and animated youngsters.
The stress levels continued to rise in me as the minutes ticked on and the decibels of whining increased. I was poised for someone to turn around and let out an exasperated sigh or give me a very sharp “what-were-you-thinking-bringing-these-unruly-children-on-this-flight?” look.
Read the full article over at MomLife.
Super Savings Saturday: Aldi, Dillon’s, the Health Food Store
Dillon’s Shopping Trip
Half-gallon milk — $1.34
Clearanced bananas — $0.87
Gala apples ($0.99/lb.) — $2.83
Kleenex — $1.49, used $0.40/1 coupon (doubled) from the Kleenex freebie = $0.69 after coupon (I thought this was only $0.99 and was going to be $0.19 after the coupon. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I had to buy 10 qualifying items to get it for $0.99. Yes, sometimes I overlook the obvious! :))
Progresso soup — used free coupon
Cheese — marked down to $0.99 (don’t ask me why as they expiration date is not until March 2012. I was more than a little stoked to get such a good deal!)
Total with tax: $7.33
Health Food Store Shopping Trip
Brown Cow yogurt — $1.99
Pomegranate — $0.99
Organic whipping cream — $0.99
2 bags cranberries — $0.99 each
Total with tax: $6.38
Aldi Shopping Trip
Corn chips — $0.99
Pita chips — $1.99 (total splurge, but these were SO good!)
Bananas — $1.10
Dried cranberries — $1.39
Chocolate chips — $1.69
Artisan lettuce — $1.99
Butter — $1.99 (woohoo!!!)
Baking soda — $0.49
3 blocks of cheese — $1.99
Cauliflower — $0.99
2 cans of black beans — $0.55 each
2 cans of chunk pineapple — $0.89 each
3 packages of strawberries — $1.69 each
Grapes — $2.68
Total with tax: $31.35
Would you like to know what the best deals and coupon match-ups are for your local stores? Be sure to check out the Store Deals section of our site where we post the best deals and coupon match-ups each week for over 100 different stores across the country. You can sign up to receive the top deals in your email inbox each week as soon as they are posted!
Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week or save money in other ways? If so, be sure to post about them on your blog and leave your link below. Please remember that this weekly round-up is to share deals you personally got and/or money you were able to save this week. In order to keep this weekly round-up focused on helping and inspiring others in their efforts to save money, links which have little-to-no content other than promoting affiliate links, etc. will be deleted. Also, to make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post.
Shared Nov 5, 2011
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Books Read This Week: Blogger Behave, In Search of Balance, Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley?
Books Read This Week: Blogger Behave, In Search of Balance, Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley?
I never got this post up last week because I took a 24-hour computer fast while at Relevant. And then life has been busy this past week and I’ve literally finished zero books. The good news is that I did get a lot of sleep this week, so maybe it was worth the lack of reading to instead get caught up on the hours of sleep I missed while at Relevant last week. 🙂
Blogger Behave — As I posted earlier this week, this ebook is filled with wise words, inspiration, and practical advice for how to “make your blog benefit your life so you can love both.” If you are struggling with balancing blogging and life, I’d heartily recommend this ebook. It’s well-written, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s packed with meaty suggestions.
In Search of Balance: Keys to a Stable Life –This book didn’t have any earth-shattering information in it, but it was good to review and be reminded of the importance of making wise decisions about commitments, allowing margin in our lives, and not living in a rush-rush-rush frenzy.
Read-Alouds:
Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? — Personally, this book wasn’t one of my favorites. However, the children really enjoyed it and each of them were engaged and didn’t want me to stop reading.
Currently reading: EntreLeadership, He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, Becoming a Woman of Influence, and listening to Purple Cow audiobook. You can see all of the books I’ve read in 2011 so far here. Read all of my book reviews here.
Have you read any good books recently?
(Note: The Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
A Handmade Christmas: Poinsettia Embellished T-shirt
Guest post from Melissa of Melly Sews
This pretty embellished t-shirt cost me less than $5 to make and the poinsettias are subtle enough to wear it well beyond the holiday season.
Sew 4 beads into the center of each flower.
Arrange the flowers on the neckline of the shirt, then sew into place from the inside of the shirt. You want to sew the centers, and probably a few of the petal edges. And then wrap it up!
Melissa is mom to two young boys and works as a theatre teacher. She live in Texas, where she is married to a football coach and gets to spend lots of time under Friday night lights. Visit her blog, Melly Sews, for sewing tutorials and inspiration.
Do you have a great idea for a handmade Christmas gift? We’d love to have you submit your tutorial for possible publication for our Handmade Christmas series.
“It is not happy people who are thankful…”
We Paid Cash! :: Our Adoption Process
A testimony by Kate from San Diego Deals and Steals
Our family is middle class, but we felt called to adopt. When we adopted our son from Russia we fundraised, but planned poorly and came home with $10,000+ in debt. We promised ourselves that we would adopt again, but that we would not do so with credit.
When we started our second adoption process we had a solid and realistic budget. We were completely debt-free (other than our mortgage) and had an emergency fund worth one month of living expenses.
Since we had two healthy children, we requested to adopt a child with disabilities as they are less likely to be adopted. Our adoption process cost nearly $30,000. (Note: Depending upon the circumstances, it can cost less and there are also grants available, such as through ShowHope.)
How We Saved
Our adoption journey was just over a year from start to finish. We saved for it in a variety of ways.
::We got creative and found ways to make extra money. My husband took on a few more hours. I made crafts, babysat, and started my blog.
::We cut our expenses in every way we could. We took advantage of free entertainment and bartered for all kinds of things to cut our already tight budget down. Every extra penny we saved was deposited into the adoption fund.
::We put our tax refund check as well as the small raise my husband got immediately into the bank.
::We stopped buying stuff. We paid for Christmas with Swagbucks and we rarely bought clothing or toys.
::We learned to be content. We didn’t pay for cable or video games. My husband drove his trusty ’99 Camry with over 260,000 miles. I learned to use my crock pot even more, instead of going out to eat.
::We were blessed with donations from friends, family, and strangers. People gave willingly as they understood this was not only a way to grow our family, but also an important ministry for our family to a needy child. We saw God provide as we were faithful in answering the call to adopt.
It Was A Tremendous Blessing to Adopt Without Debt
Our adoption story is long, but the short version is that in late May we were made aware of a girl who was to be born “any minute” that nobody in the immediate network was willing to adopt because of some significant (but correctable) special needs that had been determined by an ultrasound. In June, our daughter was born. With our savings from the previous year and the donations we had been gifted, we brought our daughter home with no debt.
We thought we had a $100 surplus, but we got one last lawyer invoice – for $110! — so we dipped into our emergency fund for $10! It was a tremendous blessing to bring her home without any debt associated with her adoption.
Kate lives in San Diego CA with her husband Harry, and kids, Josie (homemade), Silas (handpicked from Russia), and Charlotte (handpicked domestically). She is passionate about adoption and having fun in San Diego frugally. You can see more at San Diego Deals and Steals where she blogs about both.
A Handmade Christmas: Gluing Craft Box
Guest Post By Lucky
My 3-year-old son is a gluing fool. I decided to make him a Christmas gift that would embrace this (and keep him busy through the long winter to come).
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own Gluing Craft Box:
1. A shoe box
2. Material to cover the box (I used felt I had on hand and this printable.)
3. Painter’s tape
4. Scissors
5. Glue Gun
6. Washable school glue
7. Foam sheets
8. Snack size bags
9. Odds and ends for gluing
10. A piece of ribbon for decoration
Instructions:
:: Use the felt and a glue gun to cover the box. Use the four sides and the cover as a template, and cut out five pieces of felt. Glue each piece to the proper side.
:: Use the painter’s tape to tape over the seams on the sides of the box and top of the box.
:: Collect odds and ends around the house to fill up 10 snack-sized bags. Be creative. You can use left-over bits of pasta or beans from your pantry, leftover bits and pieces of fabric and string from craft projects, or anything else you can find. I used:
o Two types of pasta
o Two types of stickers
o Dried pinto beans and dried white beans
o Seashells and rocks
o Googly eyes
o Plastic dinosaurs and lizards from various prizes and goody bags that my son comes home with
o String, and rick rack cut into short pieces with buttons
:: Place the foam sheets at the bottom of the box (I got a package of 20 sheets at the dollar store). These will serve as the bases for my son’s gluing projects. You could also cut out pieces of card stock or cardboard.
:: Add the snack bags full of odds and ends to the box.
:: Close the box and use a piece of ribbon to tie the bottle of washable glue to the box.
Lucky is the mother of two young kids and a carb-intolerant kitty. She also loves making homemade bread.
Find other DIY handmade gift ideas in our Handmade Christmas series.
7 Tips to Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter
Guest post by Sean from Free Snatcher and One Smart Dollar
With the colder months almost upon us, you may be concerned about the cost of your utilities rising as the temperature outside goes down. The winter months already come with additional expenses due to the holidays, so why not follow a few tips to cut your heating bill down so you can spend less money on keeping warm and more money on the things you enjoy?
You do not have to undergo a large home improvement project in order to save money on your heating bill.
Before deciding to take on home renovation projects to save money on utilities make sure you figure out the cost of the improvement and how much you will really be saving each year. Compare these costs and decide if the upgrade to your home is worth it.
The investment you may make in energy efficient windows or a fireplace insulator may not pay off for a number of years, so you should calculate how much the project will cost, how much you will save on utilities each year, and how many more years you are going to be living in your home. This will help you decide whether the project will pay off in the long term. If you do undertake a home improvement project, check to see whether there are any tax breaks or homeowner’s insurance policy discounts you can qualify for adding energy efficient items to your home.
If you decide to forgo the home improvement projects because you do not want to spend a lot of money upfront, here are seven simple ways to reduce the cost of heating your home this winter:
1. Turn down your thermostat.
You do not need to be living in tropical conditions at your home during the winter months. Find a temperature that is comfortable that you and the members of your household can live with, and keep the thermostat fixed at that temperature.
Also, make sure to turn down your thermostat when you are out of the house and at night when you go to sleep. You can turn it down manually, but a programmable thermostat works best because it does the work for you!
In addition, only heat rooms you actually use. If you don’t use your spare bedroom, storage room, or parts of your basement, don’t pay to heat them.
2. Open and close your blinds.
In order to keep the heat in your house, make sure that your blinds and curtains are open during the day. This will allow natural sunlight and warmth into your home to help heat it. At night, make sure to close your blinds and curtains in order to trap the heat in and not allow it to escape via the window.
3. Winterize your windows.
You can buy plastic film to cover your windows, which will curb drafts and keep heat from escaping. Although this may not be the most attractive solution, it can help reduce heating costs.
4. Block all drafts.
Inspect your door frames to make sure no drafts are coming into your home through cracks or other spaces. If there is a crack, repair it yourself or have it repaired so cold air is not coming into your home. You can also purchase or make door snakes or put towels in front of the bottom of your door to prevent cold air from coming in.
5. Make sure your furnace is working properly.
Check your furnace to see if your air filter is clean. An unclogged air filter will help your heating system work more efficiently.
Air filters are very inexpensive to replace (they cost anywhere from $5 to $20) and will help your heating system to work as it should. You may also want to have your furnace checked by a professional in order to see if it is working in the most cost-effective way to heat your home.
6. Use your ceiling fans.
Fans can be used during the winter in order to suck up warm air through your home and distributing it to help keep your house warm. Set your fan to blow air towards the ceiling. This will allow it to evenly heat the room.
7. Contact your utility company.
Many utility companies offer specific tips by phone, email, or on their website to help you save money on your utility bills. Some companies will even send a representative to your home and conduct an energy audit and will offer ideas on how to help you use less energy and reduce your utility costs.
Sean Bryant is a personal finance blogger at FreeSnatcher.com and OneSmartDollar.com. He enjoys helping people spend and manage their money more effectively.