EspañolSave Energy and Money in Christmas
Christmas is beautiful no matter how old I get. I took a walk last night in the cold air to walk off the Thanksgiving turkey. At least, I hope I walked it off. As I enjoyed the solitude, I saw my favorite thing – Christmas lights. Even though the Dallas Cowboys lost spectacularly, my spirits still rose at the sight of all those pretty lights. You’d have to be a real Scrooge to not enjoy the season on some level.
How to Overspend at Christmas
Saving Energy AND Christmas!
The ugly side of the holiday season is your finances. We hate to admit it in the middle of parties and presents, but there are plenty of ways to overspend, including:
- decorations that increase your utility bill, such as:
- outdoor lights
- Christmas trees
- wreaths and lawn decorations that light up
- electric candles
- playing holiday music on the stereo
- extra trips to the grocery store and mall
- buying gifts, of course
- using the heater more because of colder weather
Americans are programmed to spend, spend and spend some more during December. It seems almost unpatriotic to advise caution with your finances at this time. Yet that is exactly what #ElectricityExpress would like to do.
How to Save Money During the Holidays
None of these suggestions is hard to do. All it takes is a commitment to making a few easy changes. With that done, you won’t panic when you receive your credit card or utility bill in January. Count me in.
1. Timers are your best friend. For much of my childhood, my family didn’t use timers for our Christmas lights. That meant someone (me) had to go out there, climb around the bushes and plug everything in. All right, so this wasn’t a big deal. However, what happens if you forget to turn them off before going to sleep? Your lights stay on all night long, increasing your electricity bill. It’s even possible that you could go off to work with them still on. During the day it’s much harder to tell that you forgot to turn them off. A timer eliminates all need for keeping track of your lights and ultimately lowers your utility bill.
2. Tone down the lighting. Now look, I’ll be the first person to admit I love the lights. But have you seen some of the things people use these days? Gigantic snowmen and reindeer are becoming more common. There’s even a guy in our neighborhood who has a huge plastic snow globe on his front lawn, lights and all. We watched “Christmas with the Kranks” last night. If your house looks like the Kranks’, you might want to think about all that electricity you’re using.
3. Go plastic. It’s hard for me to say this, but artificial Christmas trees really are the way to go. When you think about how we’re destroying our environment, the thought of cutting down beautiful trees makes me wince. Many artificial trees come pre-lit, making it unnecessary to mess with all those strands of lights. If you’re careful with how you store it, an artificial tree will last for years.
4. Unplug. The oldest piece of advice is still true no matter how you slice it. Don’t just turn off your Christmas lights – unplug them. This way you avoid the vampire electricity drain that adds money to your utility bill.
5. Go prepaid electricity. See all our features.
How to Enjoy the Holiday Season
Here at Electricity Express, we’d like to leave you with one last bit of advice: slow down. Enjoy the lights, eat the food, watch the specials on TV. Take a walk in your neighborhood, listen to some music, spend extra time with your family. Christmas may have become commercial, but if you look under the surface, you’ll see the beauty of it. Merry Christmas to everyone.
Cheapest electricity service in Texas
Check our Power Blog for more ideas on how to save energy
No Deposit Electricity Texas
855-781-6970