10 ways to stay frugal with Utilities and Bills

A whilst back, I was writing about ways you can stay frugal. In the past I have written about being frugal with shopping, entertainment and gift giving.

This time I’ll be looking at something that affects us all. At the time of me writing this, energy, costs and the cost of living have continued to spiral upwards making things very expensive.

Paying for utilities such as water and heating is quite often a big thing that unites all of us.
There are a lot of websites where you can compare costs, but I intend to focus more on reducing your bills.

Here are some ways in which you can stay frugal with your utilities and bills.

1. Wear seasonal clothing. It sounds silly, but when it is winter, wear winter sweaters or clothing in the house. Don’t crank the heat up at home and wear less because you will end up paying more in the long run.
2. Keep your socks on in the house. This might sound really simple, but I notice when I wear warm socks, I rarely put the heating up. You would be surprised that some friends and colleagues put the temperature up just so they can walk bare feet around their home.
3. Look at electric rates. Depending on what your deal is with your energy provider, there maybe a good time for you when it's cheaper to consume electricity. I'm still on an economy 7 plan, so it’s quite often cheaper for me to charge my tech after midnight.
4. Depending on where you are, water rates can also be calculated according to time. Do the washing at the times when it’s cheap rate. This means when you wake up, all you have to do is hang your clothes.
5. Speaking of hanging your clothes, it is better to do this as using a dryer or tumble dryer can be quite expensive on your bills. Get some items that you can hanging your clothes on, like a clothes rack. If you have a utility/laundry room, see if you can get a hanging rack. I have a small room where my boiler is and use that to dry clothes. Make use of the windows - there is no point paying to run air conditioning or even fans if there is a breeze outside, open windows at both ends of your house or flat to create a breeze.
6. Have showers instead of baths. Limit your time in the shower, while I'd hate to feel rushed you can often have a good 7-minute shower which is sufficient enough.
7. Take your shampoo & soap when you go swimming. Some swimming pools have showers, and it is a waste to come home to shower. If you bring your products you can use this there, and I'm sure this ends up saving a few pounds per week.
8. Wash your dishes together. By this I mean that you find ways to keep everything till the evening. Rinse breakfast dishes and give them a good wash in the evening. I use a plastic dish basin to fill the sink, as this saves on water.
9. Before going to bed in the winter, fill a hot water bottle and place in your bed - this does wonders and really stops you putting the heat up at night.
10. Make sure you have a lot of covers to cover yourself on your bed to keep you warm. With this and the hot water bottle, you don’t need to have the heating on too much.

Hopefully, you found these tips useful and if you have any tips and suggestions of your own, feel free to comment.