Here at His & Hers, one of our goals for 2019 is to make sure we’re not paying over the odds for any of those regular household bills that you almost forget about because they’re such a regular part of adult life. Until that is, you check your bank balance and realise just how big a chunk those direct debits are taking out of your pay packet every month.
Admittedly, it can be so tempting not to take action, because frankly it’s highly unlikely that you’re ever going to wake up, spring out of bed and think to yourself: What I really want to do today is to make sure I’m on the most cost-effective possible tariff for my water, electricity and gas. In fact, if you’re anything like the His & Hers team the only thing that’ll get you to check you’re on the best price plan with all of your utility providers is a particularly pressing deadline which you’re desperate to avoid. And even then, you’ll probably have a whole host of diversionary tactics up your sleeve – from cleaning the fridge and the skirting boards to re-organising your desk and writing incredibly detailed to do lists to work through before you even think about tackling your bills.
We’re not going to try and persuade you that boxing off some of your precious leisure time to cut your bills will be fun because experience has taught us that it’s unlikely to be one of your weekend highlights! But it could enable you to save enough money to go on a fancy mini-break this year (or to finally buy that handbag that’s been twinkling at you for months). And this has got to be worth an hour or so of anybody’s time!
If you want to do some radical budget cutting, you’ll want a more hardcore blog, like Mr Money Moustache’s (which we love). But if, like most of us, you just have a vague, niggling sense that you’re paying over the odds because you haven’t taken stock of your direct debits in months, or years, here are some easy ways to start lowering your bills, starting with your central heating bill:
- Make sure you’re not paying over the odds because of an underlying issue which you’ve been putting off tackling. Perhaps your whole central heating system is due for a replacement, or it’s just in need of maintenance. Either way, it’s worth doing a little research on a specialist site like Heating and Plumbing World to find out how much replacement parts will cost, then enlist some expert help. Yes, it’ll be a pain to get someone in to look at your central heating system, but it could mean living in a toastier home, as well as tackling your bills by ensuring that your heating system’s up-to-date and energy efficient.
- Make sure you’re not over-paying because you’re on an old energy tariff and haven’t had time to shop around. If you’re really short on time, there are plenty of sites like Money Saving Expert that take all of the leg-work out of comparing prices.
- And finally, if you’re happy with your supplier (or are tied to a particular supplier and can’t switch) simply calling up and asking whether you’re on their best tariff or whether a cheaper plan is available can be surprisingly effective. Yes, this may involve listening to terrible hold music and sounding like you’re interested in energy bills for a few minutes, but it could shave a few pounds off your heating bill this year!
We’re very proud to bring you this feature in association with Heating and Plumbing World. If you have any tips on saving money on your energy bills which have worked well for you, please share them in the comments below. For more inspiration for your home, please pay a visit to our interiors page.
