Save Money on Your Electric Bill at Christmas

How are your dinner plans coming along for the holidays? I hope you were able to find some great coupons to help you save on your meal. Now that you’re working on the Christmas dinner party menu you can move to the next thing on your to do list, decorating the house. Let me guess, you don’t want to run up your electric bill? I don’t blame you one bit. I know it sounds pretty hard to do when you think of all the lights people use to decorate their house but there are a few things to consider when decorating. I have a few money saving tips to help with the electric bill this Christmas.

First things first, how do you want your house to look? Do you want simplicity along with classic, or do you want bright, exciting, and colorful? I’ve always been a fan of colored lights but the older I’ve gotten I’ve come to like the simple classic look too. It can be a very hard decision to make but one that must be done if you want to decorate for Christmas. If you’re looking for simple and classic you might want to invest in a wreath on the front door and a spot light that shines on the front door; that way the wreath is lit. Maybe add a few battery powered candles in the windows and call it done! Yea, the spot light might be an additional light that you are using this time of year but you can always get an LED spot light that way it will use less energy. Plus, compare the cost of one spot light to dozens of strands of lights on the house.

Speaking of LED lights that brings me to the multicolored lights or even just white lights that people put all over their houses. I highly recommend the LED lights. Yes they might cost you a bit to purchase them but they not only save money on your electric bill but they are more durable too. I don’t know about you but the incandescent lights that everyone use to use broke easily. I know if one light went out most of the time that ruined the rest of the strand of lights. Now you could buy some that claimed that didn’t happen but sometimes it still did. Plus, it seemed like the lights never lasted more than 2 years and that was if you were lucky. I’ve used LED lights for the last 4 years and we are still using the same lights! It’s great! I also feel that the LED lights are safer when decorating real Christmas trees because they don’t get hot like the incandescent lights. So not only do you save on your electric bill with LED lights but you also save yearly because you don't have to buy new lights every year.

Another great energy saver whether you are using a spot light or a bunch of lights is a timer. With a timer you set the time for the lights to go on and you set the time for the lights to go off. It’s dark out when getting home after 5pm so have the lights go on at 5 even though you’re not home yet that way you can enjoy seeing your house all decorated when you get home. Then, schedule the lights to shut off at 10pm even if you’re staying up for a couple more hours. Most people will be going to bed at that time so they won’t be seeing your outdoor lights anyways.

Another idea that won’t use any additional electric is use a lot of candles. You can get Christmas candle holders and burn seasonal candles to get that Christmas smell. If you go this route just remember to blow out all candles before leaving the room or falling asleep. If you’re worried you would forget to do that get the battery operated candles that look real. They will give you the same lighting effect and you won’t be using your electric or run the risk of burning something down.

However you decide to decorate just remember to have fun and enjoy it, as the relaxing under Christmas lights only happens for a short time. I’ll be back December 27^th with more saving tips.

Looking for more saving tips? Check them out here!