Finding more money for fun stuff can be as simple as making subtle changes to your everyday habits. Without making any sweeping compromises, there are a number of ways you can save money on things like your grocery, energy, and even your credit card bills. Adopt a few new changes after checking out my 12 ideas for spending less on your bills.
High electricity bills can spur you to want to cut your electricity costs, but there are other incentives that might work better. Carnegie Mellon economics and psychology professor George Loewenstein tells Money magazine:
"I've come to the view that behavioral economics solutions are often being used as a substitute for more fundamental efforts. British Prime Minister David Cameron is a big fan of behavioral economics and gave a talk in which he said, 'The best way to get someone to cut their electricity bill is to show them their own spending, to show them what their neighbors are spending, and then show them what an energy-conscious neighbor is spending.'
This idea plays on Bob Cialdini's research documenting the impact of social norms on behavior. It's a great idea, and leads to reductions in energy use of a few percent, but showing someone their neighbor's bill is not the best way to get them to cut their own bill. The best way is to charge an amount that reflects the true cost of the electricity, including social costs from importing oil, pollution, climate change, and so on."
If you're looking for ways to drive you to save more on your energy and remember mundane tasks like turning off lights when they're not in use, do some research to find out how your electricity usage is impacting the environment. What motivates you to cut your electricity bill?
Vampire power month may be over (how appropriate that it was in October, no?), but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to find ways to reduce our electric bills! We are living in a digital world, which means nearly everything needs to be juiced up to work. I've already got my laptop working overtime at the office and at home, so you can imagine that I'm a pretty powerful energy vampire on my own. But I wouldn't be if I had this outlet.
A concept design I found while cruising Yanko, the Switch outlet allows you to keep your appliances plugged in (no more unplugging your power strip), but with a simple rotation, it cuts off all power to your gadgets, so you aren't draining electricity when it's not needed. Way to be eco-friendly and efficient! Power vampires, be gone.
Now we know Samson loves the Wii, but I'm sure his mama doesn't let him play unsupervised – ha! In all seriousness, I recently spotted an article citing the top-10 tech products most likely to injure pets. I'm not too sure how they got these results (and what the injuries were) so I'm switching it up, and want to hear from you – have your pets ever gotten tangled up in your technology? Check out the danger list then share your experiences when you read more
Paisley knows how to entertain herself with fashion. She created a fashion alphabet and designated "E" for electricity. Using lightening as inspiration, she found the perfect items to go with her theme.
The Matthew Williamson dress sets the tone and the black accessories follow suit. Should this bold woman get tired, there's a posh chair to rest up on.
Did you know that many electrical appliances, including cell phone chargers, DVRs, and DVD players use as much electricity when they’re off as when they're on? If you're not using the appliance pull the plug! It'll help you to save money on your energy bill every month, and it will also help out the environment at the same time. As an added bonus, the occasional bending and unplugging will give you a nice mid-day stretch.
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Next up in the pet-proofing series: pets and technology, a particularly sensitive subject for yours truly. Back before Mac laptops came with easy-off magnetic power cords, North made a flying leap off my bed and, with his back paw, my laptop also took flight before slamming shut on the hardwood floor!
Recovery and repair were out of my price range so, several hundred dollars later, I replaced the hard drive altogether… bringing my old one home in a sealed bag. To save you the same heartache from home-office accidents, I’ve got a couple of tips that I’ve learned the hard way. To start pet-proofing, it makes sense to get down on your pet's level. You may feel silly, but you can get a necessary perspective of what he could likely find to “investigate.”
To see the rest of my pet-proofing advice, read more
