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My electricity bill was always between $25 and $35 and yours can be close to that as well. It shouldn't have to be $200 or even $400. I think it is easy to forget how much each item costs to operate. Something to keep in mind when you are debating a new electronic.

1. Unplug appliances when you are not using them. All electrical and electronic items can pull up to 40% electricity of what they use when they are on and operating. That's all day for a year, imagine what that adds up to! Things like cell phone chargers (you might realize they are hot even when nothing is plugged into them) also don't last as long when they are plugged in all the time. Other items to unplug are the toaster, coffee maker, television, computer, cable box (new ones use a huge amount), game systems and especially washers and dryers. I have heard that in one week they can use about 3-5 dollars in electricity costs. In a year thats $156- 260, the money you save by unplugging it could actually replace itself. I'm sure the same goes for kitchen appliances as well.

2. I'm sure  you have heard of the light bulb craze. Those new light bulbs are better than you think. They can use around 75% less electricity than a normal bulb, and the best part is that they last like 5-10 years for one light bulb! To put that in perspective, you can have a child and when they turn 10 they will be really confused why the light won't turn on. Just joking, but it truly is a whole new world. I saw these at the dollar store, Walgreens, and a whole sale liquidators for a dollar or less, so try to avoid paying more. Also, these light bulbs are very hard to break, I dropped them a lot and nothing happened, which is good because they have a small amount of mercury and need to be recycled. I wouldn't worry about them with kids, because they never broke when I had them.

3. Turn off lights and TV when you lave the room. This is the oldest tip in the book. But realistically, electricity's sole purpose is to make us feel comfortable, and if we aren't there to enjoy it it has no purpose. Kids are the big culprits I think. I think you should start threatening their allowance to pay for the electricity bill.

4. Turn off the computer and TV when they aren't in use. This is not so much a TV that's broadcasting as just a blue screen because the cable/ satellite box is turned off, but not the TV. Vice versa is no good either. Of course people leave their computers on for days at a time. Now this is bad not just because computes use a lot of electricity, but the old me id just the same thing (before the environmental days of course), but the computers fan died and my processor over heated or something like that. it was horrible because I had to buy a new computer.

5. If you really have to buy something new compare how much electricity it uses. People are so careful not to pay an extra dollar or 10 when purchasing an item and make decisions based on money, so don't forget about how much you have to spend on electricity. It's not as much fun when you have to keep pouring money into something, that you may have chosen based on it's price in the first place.

6. If you have electric heat please read my page on keeping the house warm. Saving Money on heating and cooling

7. Be less dependent on lights (especially during the day)

A. Use a night light in the bathroom at night. This will keep the electricity costs down, especially if you have a bathroom with several lights.

b. Don't turn on the lights during the day. They probably don't need to be on except in the winter before the sun comes up.

C. Get ready by a window without yellow light. This will give you a much better light for putting on make-up. I can't tell you how terrible I look when putting make-up on in yellow light and then looking in a mirror with natural light.

D. Dust your light bulbs. If you find yourself needing to put on more than one light just to see you may need to clean your light bulbs or replace them.

E. Clean your windows. It's the same concept, if light is blocked there will be less available to use.

 8. Lower your water heater to 120 degrees.

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