We Cut Our Electric Bill in Half in About 6 Weeks!

In this video, we tell you how we cut our energy bill in half. Energy costs have risen between 50 and 100 percent in the past 12 months, and (in some areas) more increases are coming soon. In the US, 1 in 6 families are 60 days or more late in paying their utility bill. The impact has left some families, literally, trying to figure out how to keep the lights on.

In July, we got a bill for over $300, we decided it was time to have a show-down with energy consumption and lower our bill. In about six weeks, we lowered our electric usage by 70% and our bill by 66%.

How did we do it? We started with several easy changes and when we saw results, we kept adding more strategies to our daily energy habits.

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We're Hope and Larry and we raised our four sons, debt-free, including paying cash for our home (when our salary averaged less than $40,000). For tips on saving money, budgeting, paying off debt, and setting goals (while living with a spirit of joy and abundance), subscribe to us here on YouTube and visit us at our website and on social media.

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[TracyLiichow]

Took us a lot less time, here is what we did and do. 1) replaced all light bulbs with LED bulbs. 2) unplug all appliances, televisions, computers, stereos, etc when not in use. 3) turn off lights when you leave a room (thanks dad). Our electric bill went way the heck down in a month, we took these steps years ago

[virginialangford]

My electric bill is and has been consistently less than $20.00 since April 2022. I live in SW Virginia so it does get warm…fortunately heat doesn’t bother me. A fan makes things fine. I do some pretty cheesy stuff…I use a tablet not a TV…I charge it in the car…also my cell phone gets charged in the car. I never use lights in rooms I am not in, nor do I have outside lights or night lights. I have a toaster oven/ air fryer/ oven. I don’t heat up the regular oven. I don’t leave the fan on in a room I won’t be in for more than a few minutes. I have an on demand hot water heater.I unplug everything I am not using. Navy showers, cold water for washing machine, which is a front loader and uses less electricity. I only run the washer full, hang laundry on a line or indoor rack. All light bulbs are led. Sweep before I vacuum so the vacuum cleaner time cuts way down. I don’t have gadgets…hand beater not elect mixer, I hand shake drinks, no electric screwdrivers etc. shut the computer off not to sleep…so many small things added up to a 13.88 elect bill last month. Keep looking you will find a load of baby steps.

[ravenbrown]

Over the past few years, I have changed gradually to a "less grid dependent" lifestyle- I now heat, cook, and bake exclusively with wood- i have downsized my refrigerator to an energy efficient 7.5 cubic foot size and my electric bill is less than 30$ each month and i am Happier- i love the coziness of wood heat and knowing that i have the skills to cook/bake with it- i love your channel- thanks for all you do!

[squirrelcovers]

Dollar Tree shower curtains over blinds behind insulated window curtains are game changers @ $1.25 each for 72"x70"

[gypsydiamond]

Our light bill was so high that i turned to useing candles and flash lights and cooked our meals out side over a fire for four months . I did want i had to do to get by. When the weather was to hot yes i opened my windows after dark to cool my place down. Times are very hard right now. I so enjoy your videos and i learn so much. Thank You.

[barbarasbisa]

I am a fixed income senior and live alone. I have a mini-split that heats, cools, dehumidifies and fans. It does a fair job in my oversized living room but the further from the mini-split, the less comfortable I feel any time of the year. I was always too cold or too hot where "my" chair was so I rearranged my living room and put my chair under the mini-split. My room looks better and I use less heat in winter and less A/C in summer. The mini-split has a rinsable filter with two small replaceable filters in removeable plastic frames. These can be exceptionally expensive! Amazon has a set for $104. Every year? Yikes. I examinined them carefully and learned what these do, then I bought a large heater filter, a sort of blue loosely woven sponge that I can cut a piece of, cut it in half in thickness and it replaces the blue plastic sponge filter. I bought a dozen carbon "felts" - about 6"x9" - and I cut the other filter from this. For $32, I have several lifetime replacements!

[jenniferwells]

Last year we found a great toaster oven on Prime Day and I've switched over to doing a lot of the cooking that used to be done in the oven to that toaster oven. It heats up and cools down so much faster, I can cook at lower temperatures for less time, and it doesn't heat the house up like the oven did. Very important when you live where it's summer 9 months of the year.

[sheilameagher]

I have a couple of small solar fans that I love. The best part of solar is that it can run on light from a light, not just the sunshine.

[melissanash]

In my kids upstairs bedrooms, we use car sun shades in their windows to reduce the heat that comes in during the day. It's easy to fold them up ( accordion style) when the temp drops at night and we can open the windows.We also keep the blinds shut during the day. This strategy has made a HUGE difference in the heat level in those bedrooms.

[janinejackson]

In relation to old appliances note that the newer whitegoods do not last as long as the old appliances The new appliances are built today as throw aways whereas the older appliances were built so it could be repaired When doing a cost comparison of power usage add on costs of replacement items. Maybe the older one works out cheaper because you don't have to keep replacing it

[UndertheMedian]

Hey guys, one of our graphics in the video says "watts". That should be kilowatt hours (kWh). The savings in energy and costs on our bills are accurate. Thanks to those who caught our error.

[lesleythomson]

Hi guys, UK watcher here . I have a dehumidifier in my conservatory, I turn it on in the wintertime to get my washing dry instead of my tumble drier, it’s on for about 8 hours but working it out save so much than the tumble drier . It also stops the conservatory getting mouldy in the winter .

[downtoearth]

We live in South Australia our energy prices have been jumping for years, our heating and particularly cooling costs were huge our climate is cool winters and hot reduce our energy use we hugely increased our insulation including windows. Insulation alone reduced our electricity use by 50%.

[deniseham]

I know you know an awful lot of UK folks watch you. Your content has no borders. Thank you so much. We appreciate what you upload. Huge regards

[desertrat]

I live in the Phoenix area, and we keep our A/C at 78-80. When we leave the house, we being it up to 83 degrees. Learning to climatize our bodies to the weather has been very beneficial to us. The hot summers don’t feel as hot, because we aren’t jumping from a cold apartment into scorching hot 115 degree weather. It makes a huge impact! And when the weather cools down, we apply the same method. Open up with windows and help our bodies familiarize with the changes. More in tune with nature. ;)

[annscullamus]

Dear Hope and Larry, PLEASE look up Thermal cooking pots. I purchased this no electricity appliance and use it regularly. It only needs 10 mins on the stove top then, like the wartime hay box cooker, after three or four hours using retained heat, the meal is wonderfully cooked. It’s brilliant, and I feel sure lots of folk would benefit from the reduction of energy usage. Thank you so much for all you give in your wonderful videos. Ann from the U.K.

[Maililnajul]

Our garage refrigerator is 30 years old. Every summer(knowing our garage reaches 100 degrees and more) we worry and it miraculously survives. We keep coils clean and fingers crossed because in those thirty years we are now into the second kitchen refrigerator! And, yes Hope and Larry, we have a set aside fund for appliance replacement. Our washer and dryer are over 20! An important energy and appliance saver is to always keep things clean. It really makes them last and run well.

[andreajewkes]

Im from the uk and most people dont have ac we use fans .I stand a bottle of frozen water in front of my fan and it really keeps the room cool.

[davisholman]

For the first time it just hit me: Use the tabletop cooking appliances outside. Here in Scottsdale, Arizona - keeping the inside of my home cool is definitely more expensive in the summer than the winter, unlike states up north. I will start putting my crockpot & toaster oven on the outdoor kitchen setup outside. At least sometimes - even if it only saves a quarter - it all adds up.🤑

[barbaratozzano]

I use tension rods, and remnant material to hang between the window glass and the blinds. Helps keep the room cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I also use reflectics in the west window to keep the sun from heating up the room. Both these methods really help.