7 Tips to Save Big This Winter
Keep your cold-weather bills down with these easy fixes
by Jeff Yeager, AARP The Magazine, Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015
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Furnace Fixes
En español | Changing filters at least every three months saves you 4 to 6 percent on heating costs and prolongs your furnace’s life. Properly sealing and insulating ductwork can save even more.
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Images used with permission © Copyright reserved by Chimney Balloon USA
Up in Smoke
Install a simple, inflatable chimney balloon (about $50) to keep warm air from escaping up the chimney when a fireplace is not in use. The device decreases heat loss more than just closing the damper.
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No Crock
Use a slow cooker, which typically consumes only a penny or two of electricity per hour, to turn inexpensive ingredients such as tougher cuts of meat into freezable batches of home-cooked meals.
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Fragrant Draft Detectors
Place lit, smoky incense sticks near windows and doors. If the smoke moves, you have a leak. Seal with caulking.
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It’s a Wrap
Insulate out-of-the-way windows by misting the inside glass with water and applying a piece of Bubble Wrap to the pane, bubble side against the glass. It sticks all winter, peels off and can cut heat loss from an uninsulated window in half.
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Hot Covers
If you live where wintertime is still pool time, install an inexpensive solar pool cover. This helps heat the water for free, reduces loss through evaporation and makes pool chemicals last longer.
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Extra Cash
Try the 52-Week Money Challenge. Set aside just $1 the first week, $2 the next week, $3 the third and so on, until the final week, when you’re banking $52. By the end of one year, you’ll have a total of $1,378 saved!
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