Review Your Budget For Higher Energy Bills Due To Seasonal Changes

Energy bills can easily peak during seasonal changes, making budgeting more difficult for you to do. In fact, your energy bills will most likely be at their highest during summer and winter. But as the changes of the seasons become predictable, you can learn to adjust your budget for increasing expenses, so that when the energy bill arrives, you’ll be fully prepared. Keep reading to learn more about these four ways to adjust your budget.

How To Adjust Your Budget For Increasing Energy Bills

1. Review Your Utility Bills

The first thing you should do is look at your utility bills. Have a closer look at the actual bill – not just the ‘amount due’ section. Pay extra attention to the number of kilowatt-hours your household uses and how much your provider charges you for every kWh.

Some providers charge a flat fee, while others have a variable rate. If you are on a variable plan, you might want to try to limit the usage of your appliances during peak hours.

Those can vary, but you can generally expect the peak hours to start somewhere in the afternoon and go into the evening. If you’re paying a flat rate, you can always try to reduce your overall energy use. For example, setting your thermostat at 68 degrees in the winter or 78 during the summer months can help you save a small fortune. Getting familiar with this bill will be your way of knowing just what needs to change.

2. Make Adjustments To Your House

Though any house can benefit from weatherproofing, some of the manipulations can be quite costly. However, the adjustments might be worth it money-wise if you have found out that you use a lot more electricity than households of a similar size in your neighborhood. In case your electricity bill is higher, you might want to schedule a maintenance appointment for your furnace, AC, or water heater.

Want to go the extra mile? Then invest in a more energy-efficient HVAC system (this would help you save thousands in the long run). Besides getting maintenance on your HVAC system, there are all sorts of things you can do around the house to lower your energy bill costs. Just switching to LED bulbs can help you lower your energy bills. You can also lower the temperature of your water heater to save you some money as well.

3. Take Advantage Of Time-Of-Use Rates

As we briefly mentioned earlier, energy providers can switch you to a variable rate plan. This means that instead of paying one fixed rate, your amount will fluctuate depending on the time of day and the amount of energy you are using. Throughout the day, energy consumption will either go up or down: energy consumption is high – like during the middle of the day – that is called high peak hours; and when energy consumption is low – like during midnight – that is called low peak hours.

The trick is to take advantage of the low peak hours because that means your energy costs less. This means you should take note of when the low peak hours are and what you can do to make sure your energy consumption happens during these hours. An example could be doing your laundry at night as opposed to during the middle of the day. You could also look into solar panels that can help you save energy during high peak hours.

4. Review Your Budget

Now that you know exactly what you are billed for and what ‘weak spots’ you have in your house, it’s finally time to update your budget for the increased energy bills. Ideally, you would want to pull all your bills from the last year and compare the sums by month and season. Knowing how much the expenses have increased over the year can help you predict future costs and make sure that you have some wiggle room in your budget for those.

Remember that providers will continue to raise their rates during the seasonal changes, but you can always try to trim your expenses to compensate for high energy bills. The good thing is there are plenty of ways for you to adjust your budget to compensate for the seasonal changes. It might take some work, but reviewing your budget is the best way to get familiar with it and figure out what exactly needs to change.

What Do You Do When You Need More Help?

If, despite all your efforts, a higher-than-usual utility bill has caught you by surprise or there is an urgent expense you need to take care of without depleting your savings, going for a title loan can be a good idea. With Wisconsin Auto Title Loans, Inc., you might get qualified for up to $15,000 by using your vehicle’s lien-free title as collateral! Beginning the process is simple as well. All of our clients can begin by filling out the online form on our website and letting us help you out.

Submit Your Inquiry Right Now!

While it may seem like budgeting your energy bills can be difficult, it doesn’t have to be! With these four options, you can actually navigate the seasonal changes and lower your utility bills! And if you ever are caught off guard by a bigger-than-usual increase, a title loan offered by Wisconsin Auto Title Loans, Inc. can help. Ready to get your hands on up to $15,000? Then complete our inquiry form or call us directly at 1-800-514-CASH (2274).

 

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.