For the
average American, surveys show that people have trouble meeting basic bills and
debt payments. It doesn’t mean these people are poor. Many of these folks make
well over the average income in the country. People who make $100k per year
have these issues as well.
If you do an
internet search, you’ll find many articles on the subject of saving money per
month. Brown bag your lunch. Brew your
own coffee at home. Drop the cable and gym membership. And I’m sure you could
list many more.
You know what
though??? It doesn’t work! Why? All of those tips require the average American
to give up something. Like many diets, it will work for a while but then people
fall off the wagon. DD here I come!!!!
My focus with
clients have always been about finding ways to free up money each month, but
WITHOUT impacting lifestyle, because people don’t stay with the change.
Recently, I
was speaking with someone about electricity. As we discussed this, it became
more obvious that this is an easy way to save money. I’ve been thinking about
this because we’re about to get solar panels.
Looking at
your electric bill (ours is National Grid), you’ll see 2 sections - one for
delivery and the other for supply. There are charges for both sections.
According to my bill, the delivery charge is a total of 8.1 cents per kilowatt
hour. The supply side is 13.038 cents for a total cost of 21 cents for kilowatt
hour.
(If you want
to know how National Grid really provides electricity, click here)
You can
change suppliers and lower the cost of electricity. In fact, National Grid even
lists what companies are available here.
On the page, National Grid even states: “Choosing
who supplies the energy that we deliver to you gives you an important
opportunity to take better control over your energy costs. Choosing an energy
supplier is easy and does not have to take a lot of time or be complicated.”
One company I
looked at offers supply at 9.25 cents (versus the 13 that I pay now). Taking
that difference and multiplying it by our average usage, it means an average
savings of $40/month – without affecting lifestyle.
Of course,
you have to read the fine print for each company. Even National Grid offers
different rate programs, so make sure you compare apples to apples.
But how much could
this save you each month? What would you have to give up to save the same
amount otherwise?
On a separate note, I have a couple of events coming up for college planning. I'm doing classes on "How to Read Your Financial Aid Award Letter". The dates are as follows:
2/24 - Westford Roudenbush Community Center
3/1 - Acton-Boxborough High School
3/3 - Littleton High School
3/9 - Tewksbury High School
More information and registration links can be found on my Facebook page here.
