How Can I Prepare for Higher Fall & Winter Utility Bills?

Ralph00:00:00

Hey, as the days get shorter and the air turns crisp, does the thought of those sky high heating bills fill you with dread? What if you could prepare your home for colder weather and keep your family warm and cozy without those shock and utility statements?Well, stick with me today because I've got some great ideas on exactly how to make that happen on today's show.

Podcast Announcer00:00:21

This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence.

Ralph00:00:33

Hey there and welcome back to your Financially Confident Christian. I'm Ralph and this is the show that helps you answer that question, how can I become a financially confident Christian?And we're in our series Smart Money for Back to School and beyond. We're talking about smart ways to save money, to spend money and really prepare for the back to school time.Now if you missed yesterday's show, we talked about optimizing your budget by reevaluating those subscriptions and memberships. So if you missed that show, I encourage you to to go check it out. You can do that always.At Financially Confident Christian, I gave you some great tips on how to beat those budget drains. Now today we're talking about another budget dream. We're going to build on that and talk about another common seasonal expense.This one my son brought to my attention as he's getting his new apartment. He said, dad, how do I prepare for higher fall and winter utility bills? With some saving energy saving tips, Some savvy energy saving tips in fact.So today's question is really this. It's how can I prepare for higher fall and winter utility bills?Listen, I've been there summertime right now, at least it is where I am here on the east coast and nanny too far away before it gives way to cooler temperatures.And all of a sudden you start hearing that furnace kick on and you dread opening that first bill of the money it costs are skyrocketing to keep that house warm. And you face this burden of these unavoidable increased heating expenses. The that you've not really planned for.And that can lead to significant budget strain. It can lead to anxiety about staying warm. Hey, a lot of people like to stay warm and feeling helpless against those rising energy prices.And this is a big source of stress for so many people and it really forces you some tough choices between comfort and financial stability. That's the very conversation I had with my son yesterday.I said, you're going to decide whether you got to put some extra clothes on, maybe have that throw blanket out or or hike that thermostat up and watch that bill soar. Because here's the thing, high fall and winter utility bills are predictable. Hear me on that. You can predict this.But if you don't plan for them, they can be big time costly. Because the principle here today is energy efficiency is wise stewardship and it ensures that you have comfort without waste.So let's get right into the word of God. The first biblical principle I want to talk about today is foresight and prudence. Planning, planning for things.Let's look at the book of Proverbs, chapter 22, verse 3. And it states this. The prudency danger and take refuge. But the simple keep going and suffer for it. Yeah, that's right.If you don't plan, if you're not pruning about it, what you're going to do is you're going to suffer for it. Let's look at the second biblical principle and that's avoiding waste. And we actually talked about this one on the last two shows.I keep on bringing it back, but it's really fits with what we're talking about. This is John chapter 6, verse 12. Again Jesus instructed them, gather the pieces that are left over, let nothing be wasted.See that applied to wasted food, that applies to wasted energy. And those wasted subscription that we talked about on yesterday's show, it applies right here again today.And the third biblical principle is preparing fields. I thought this one was perfect. This is Proverbs chapter 24, verse 27. Because this is all about preparing ahead.It says put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready. After that, build your house. Now I'm talking about your house is already built.But this is an act of diligent stewardship to help you save money, reduce waste and free up resources for other goals so that you can truly honor God through careful management and financial peace. So you not be saying, okay Ralph, what can we do? How do we keep those fall bills down?So the question is how to keep home warm and cozy without sky high utility bills. And of course I've got a solution for you.I'm going to encourage you to intentionally implement one or two simple, low cost energy efficient habits in your home and do it now so you can actively reduce those high fall and winter utility bills without sacrificing comfort. And in the end, hey, this proactive efficiency is going to give you financial peace.So here's your one action step for today with the goal to reduce those fall and winter energy bills.Hey, this is the first one, as I was Preparing for the show today, this was the number one thing as I searched, and that is check and seal those drafts in your house. And this isn't very difficult to do. You can walk through your home and identify maybe one or two areas where you feel that drift.Maybe, you know, you've got this draft around your windows, or maybe you're like me, you're kind of in a little bit older house. And around those doors, man, you can feel that, that cold air just coming through.Here's one a lot of people don't think about, and I actually hadn't thought about it either. And that's around electrical outlets. You know, sometimes those don't have the insulation around those. So here's the simple solution.Seal them with inexpensive weather stripping or cost. This is a low cost, do it yourself project. So that's the first thing. Check for those seals and check for those drifts.Second thing, that's what I had a conversation about with my son. Adjust your thermostat.Hey, even if it's just slightly, because if you have air conditioning, you can adjust the thermostat slightly and you can save a lot of money. And now for the fall and winter heating, you can lower that thermostat 1 or 3 degrees Fahrenheit when you're home.Doesn't make any sense to keep it there when you're not home. And you can even set it lower when you're sleeping or maybe when you're away. Hey, put some blankets on, burn that furnace down.Don't keep on burning through that energy because listen, even a few degrees can save you significantly. I don't know how many people don't realize that.So I said to my son, I said, hey, when you move into that apartment, check that thermostat and see what you can really tolerate. And then listen, when you're not there, turn it down that way you're not paying a lot of money to keep that place.Now, of course, I said turn it down in this in the wintertime, turn it up a little bit in the summertime. Third thing I'm going to recommend you do. This is something my wife always takes care of. She puts it right on the calendar.And that's check and change your furnace filter. A lot of people don't think about this one. So first thing is locate that furnace filter.Maybe you've got one or two vents or maybe you've got two or three spots. Well, go and check those things. Check them for dust, check them for dirt, and hey, replace them if they're dirty.My wife just replaces ours every single month. It's like clockwork. And here's the thing. It's easy, it's inexpensive, and it truly does boost the efficiency and air quality of your furnace.I remember one time my wife and I had just met and I had this townhouse and. And she moved in, and this is the way her mind works. She says, Ralph, do you check your, your, your, your.Your heating system to make sure it's clear? I'm like, what are you talking about? Well, she says, Ralph, there's a vent in there. There's a filter that you need to change.Well, let me just be honest with you. I walked over to that. I pulled that thing out, man, with the dust and the stuff on there, you could have created a blanket.Yeah, there's a mental thing, but it's so easy to do. It's inexpensive, and it will really boost your efficiency. And here's another pro tip.It'll keep your furnace from running away from you with cost and with repairs. Now, another thing you can do and a lot of. I remember when I was a kid, my grandparents used to do this.Some of my aunts and uncles would do this is they would go around and make sure all the windows were closed. And then they did something even bigger than that. They would put this plastic window film. I remember them having a heat gun.As I can recall, a lot of them just use a hairdryer and they put this film on the windows and kind of seal those windows in. Now, a lot of people also put heavy curtains. Curtains are kind of a big thing. My wife and I talked about this yesterday.Not a lot of people have curtains anymore. But those, those big heavy curtains can help keep those drafts out, because that's the whole thing.Keep the drafts out and maybe add some insulation because this is really going to help you fight that struggle and stress of those high fall winter utility bills.It's going to help you gain control over your major household expenses, save you money, reduce waste, and free up resources you can do with other things. And aligns your comfort with wise stewardship, bringing you peace of mind and hey, saving you money along the way.Why about we pray together today, Father God, we just thank you for the warmth of our homes and the resources of the energy you provide. And Lord, we confess that often we use energy carelessly or, or. Or feel helpless against those rising bills.Lord, and we just ask that you would grant us wisdom and diligence in managing our energy consumption.Lord, help us to implement simple, effective habits that save money and reduce waste and guide us to be wise stewards of our homes, Lord, and the resources within them. And we just ask that our efforts would bring us comfort without those excessive costs and financial peace. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.Listen, this is a pro tip. Proactive energy efficiency is a powerful way to keep your home cozy. Yes, you can keep it cozy and also keep your budget happy this fall and winter.So take some steps I outlined today. Just implement one or two of those energy saving habits because you are moving towards true freedom. And listen, true comfort.And if this episode resonated with you, I'm going to ask you to share it with someone who might need to hear it. You can find resources for this show financiallyconfidentchristian.com so send a text, send an email.Just said, hey, you're thinking about energy efficiency for your home. Hey, Ralph's got some great tips. Now tomorrow we're going to continue to get organized for the fall season.We're going to be talking about another crucial thing and it's how to get organized for year end tax planning as believe it or not, Believe it or not, it's only a few months off. I'm going to talk about some simple steps that you can take now to reduce that year end stress later. So you don't want to miss it.So make sure you join me now. Let's all go out there today and be financially confident Christians. You can do this. I have confidence in you. Have confidence in yourself.Stay financially savvy. God bless you and you have a great day today.