Daylight Saving happens every autumn and spring. Love it or hate it you can save more than daylight by taking these easy steps.
First of all why do we even have Daylight Saving? Back when people used coal to heat and light their homes they realized that shifting the clock by an hour would cut back on coal usage. This effectively extends daylight hours between March and October and provides more time for outdoor activities and businesses. At its core Daylight Savings is a way to save MONEY!
After we’ve enjoyed the longer days for 6 months it comes time to return to our standard time in November. Just because we stopped saving Daylight doesn’t mean we have to stop saving money.
Here are 10 ways you can save money for Daylight Savings
1. Change Your Clock Change Your Battery
Of course Energizer is a big advocate of changing your batteries at Daylight Savings time, but how does it save you money? It is important to keep your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in good working order for 2 reasons.
- It could save your life if there is a fire or carbon monoxide
- If you don’t change your battery regularly it will inevitably start beeping at 3:00 in the morning, thus reducing your productivity the next day.
2. Check your credit score
Hopefully your credit score doesn’t fall back when the clocks do, but if it did how long would it take you to notice? Checking your credit too often can actually damage your credit. However, pulling your credit can help you spot errors and outstanding balances before they negatively impact your score. Some companies offer period credit checks that won’t hurt your credit to help you stay in the know. Knowing your credit score is vital when it comes to big purchases. If you’re planning to buy a home in the next 12 months check your credit now so if there are any problems you can get started right away on getting it fixed.
3. Check Filters
It doesn’t matter how clean your home is, your filters will collect particles from the air. In fact the EPA says that air indoors is 5 times as polluted as outdoor air. Think about that next time you see the inversion smog over the Salt Lake Valley. Additionally all the extra dirt on the filter will strain your furnace and cause it to burn out faster. You really don’t want your heat to go out in the middle of a Utah winter. Changing the filter keeps your family and your furnace healthier.
4. Reverse Ceiling Fans(clockwise in Winter)
Did you know that fans can help circulate heat in the winter? While it helps keep you cool in the summer, it can help you save energy in winter. Most ceiling fans have a switch on them to change directions. Clockwise will create an updraft that cycles the warm air stuck on the ceiling back down to your living space. Using fans can cut as much as 10% on your heating bills.
5. Winterize your home!
It is important as it gets colder to take certain precautionary measures against winter. Check out my full article here with more than 20 Ways to winterize Your Home!
6. Rotate your Mattress
Technically May 15th is national flip-your-mattress day, but mattress rotation should happen every 3 months! Thanks to modern technology mattress flipping is slowly coming to an end, but you still need to rotate your mattress to prolong its life. If you feel any sag in your mattress or if you can see it with the naked eye, you need to rotate more often. This will save you from having to replace your mattress sooner. It’s good to rotate your box-spring every 6 months as well, but never EVER flip the box-spring.
7. Check Medicine Cabinet
It is important to dispose of unwanted, unused, and expired prescription medications to prevent harm to others. There are 3 ways to dispose of these medications: Take-back programs, trash disposal, and flushing. Check here for more information about medication disposal and each method. While you’re looking in your medicine cabinet make sure you have enough cold-flu medication. The weather is getting colder and stocking up on medications now will save you a late night trip to the grocery store.
8. Re-stock your First Aid Kit
Have you ever opened your first aid kit to deal with a cut, scrape, or break only to find that you already used your supplies? Now is a great time to make sure your first aid kit is stocked and ready for its next use. This can save you time when you have to treat an injury.
9. Update family emergency plan
Do you have a family emergency plan? When is the last time it was reviewed with your family? Has anything changed? Now is a good time to check all the local emergency numbers, hospital locations, insurance information, etc. Especially if you’ve had to change insurance plans, make sure you have updated information on your emergency plan. If anyone has switched jobs or schools, now is the time to update those numbers as well. Any new cell phone numbers? Do you have a new pet that needs accommodation? Keeping this information up-to-date will ensure that your good planning doesn’t get outdated.
10. Take a home Inventory
Having a photo inventory of your home will help in the event of an emergency. Being able to verify the value of your personal belongings will assist you with any insurance claims. Have you made any large purchases since your last home inventory? Daylight savings is a good semi-annual benchmark to remember to keep your inventory up to date.
Bonus: Take a SHORT Nap!
Even though you gained an extra hour of sleep, your body’s internal clock is harder to adjust than the clock in your car. Maybe not harder than the clock on your VCR.. but close. You gained an hour of sleep, but you may get cranky when you have to wait an extra hour before your lunch break. Or your body may start to drag when it feels like work should have ended an hour ago. Fight the urge to take long naps late in the evening, it will make it harder to sleep at night. Keep your naps to 20 minutes and earlier in the day. Try taking a quick morning brisk to utilize the new morning hour.
What else do you do during this time of year to save money?