For most families the winter is an expensive time of the year. There is the expense of Christmas to deal with, as well as making sure everyone has enough warm clothes.
In addition, there is the fact that your fuel and power bills are always higher during the winter months. It costs more to heat your home, and because everyone spends more time at home, your electric bill is usually bigger too. Even the cost of driving your car goes up because it takes longer for your engine to warm up and start to work efficiently.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to save yourself money during the winter months. Most of the ideas below are quick and easy to implement. Importantly, it will not cost you much, if any money, to follow most of these tips.
Shop around for winter clothes
Whenever possible buy expensive items like winter coats in the sales. Most of the time everyone can wear last year’s coat until the January sales.
Another approach is to buy next year’s winter clothing at the end of the season. Provided the kids are not growing too fast, you can easily buy them a coat and a couple of jumpers this March or April, and store them until they are needed in October.
Change the way you drive
Simple things like parking your car in the garage during the winter and not leaving it sitting on the drive to warm up will help to reduce the amount of extra fuel your vehicle uses during the winter.
Switch power supplier
If you have not done so already, investigate the possibility of changing your energy supplier. You can often save money by doing so.
Even if you use heating oil, or bottled gas, you can still potentially save money by shopping around.
Upgrade your home’s insulation
Every few years, audit your home’s insulation levels. Often adding an extra layer of insulation to your loft space can pay for itself in just a year or two.
It is also worth considering buying and using window insulation kits for your windows. They are relatively inexpensive, and it will only take you 10 minutes to insulate those windows in your home that you never open during the winter months.
It is also worth buying, or making some draught excluders for your doors. You will be surprised at how much easier it is to keep your rooms warm when you do this.
Turn your thermostat down
You could also try turning your thermostat down a degree or two. Often your family will not even notice the difference. If you manage to turn it down by just 4 degrees, you will end up saving around 8% on your heating bill, sometimes more.
As you can see, there are plenty of quick and easy ways to save money in the winter months. Cash that could help pay for a nice summer holiday.
