9 Home Mistakes That Are Costing You a LOT of Money

**Contrary Housewife** · 05-15-2019, 11:31 PM

https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifes...home-mistakes/

" Whether you realize it or not, though, you may actually be making mistakes at home that are costing you a lot of money. Here's exactly what to look out for (plus how to fix it), so you can invest in what really matters instead."

I'm guilty of #9. We are heavy electronics users and unplugging and plugging back in is a big PITA. Plus it wears on the connectors.

#1 includes toilets that leak or run continuously. I cut our water bill by 30-40% once by fixing a leaky toilet with $10 worth of parts.

**Spirit Deer** · 05-17-2019, 06:35 AM

We're guilty of a couple. Still too many incandescent bulbs. We don't turn off electronics either.

I still don't agree with turning thermostats down and then making the furnace work harder to heat the place back up again. That might work well in milder climates or maybe if the temp is only turned down a couple degrees. Is it considered a mistake to just willfully disregard advice?

We're guilty of setting AC too low, I guess. If we can't set it on the meat locker setting, we're still too hot.

**rujerro** · 05-19-2019, 03:27 AM

We do all of these on the list...

With our solar panels. keeping electronics on isn't an issue, however. We pay very little per month and get a rebate at the end of the year.

#7 is odd to me- DH shuts off vents in the bathrooms and kitchen and says that it forces more air into the other rooms. I'm not so sure. I'm cold all the time, but going into a cold bathroom makes me feel worse. I open the vent when I'm there but he'll close it later on.

**RABBIT** · 05-19-2019, 06:02 AM

We don't do anything with our vents since we put our thermostat on one temperature and don't change it. I freeze most of the year but just layer up. We also don't have a smart thermostat because we have dogs/cats and even if were not home, I don't want them to freeze either. Light bulbs, were about half and half in our house.

**Contrary Housewife** · 05-19-2019, 03:45 PM

Our vents don't have shutters, except in the basement room, so that's a non-issue here. I do open and close them depending on whether we use the room. In the winter there is no sense blowing hot air down there if we aren't doing hobbies, and in the summer I prefer the AC upstairs, not in an empty room. So I only open them if we're going to be using the space.

We have been slowly switching to LED bulbs as the old ones go out. Doesn't hurt the wallet so much to buy them one at a time, or wait and get a couple on sale.

**RABBIT** · 05-19-2019, 07:07 PM

Forgot about that, our vents also are closed in the basement. We don't use it except for storage and the cats litter boxes.

**marthamfi** · 05-19-2019, 11:41 PM

some of the vents are closed but that is because most are the old big wall vents from the 40s. and they are the wall so one side is in bathroom other in a bedroom for example for a few of them. so the one that is the kitchen/livingroom one I closed because don't need to heat the fridge or stove. doesn't seal completely but enough. and I close them more in summer with no heat. keeps things from going down there too.

**rujerro** · 05-20-2019, 02:48 AM

Has anyone here had an issue with lightbulbs blowing out? Like, an excessive amount? Ever since we got married, I used to say that people watch over us and to let us know, they blow out bulbs. Then, bulbs were blowing every week. I'd put a new one in and pop, it blew as soon as I turned it on. We have moved several times and it doesn't change.

DH bought a $10 "lifetime" bulb. Yeah, it blew.

DH buys bulbs by the case at this point.

I laugh each time one goes and he grumbles...Our electrician relative said that bulbs shouldn't do that. At all. Well, welcome to our world.

**Spirit Deer** · 05-20-2019, 05:49 AM

That's weird, Ru. I wonder why.

We partially closed a bunch of vents for a while to try to force air back to the other end of the house. The 2 bedrooms there are always too hot or too cold, being at the end of the run. We started to have trouble with the furnace and the tech said that was why. Doesn't make sense to me but the trouble stopped when we reopened some vents.

I paid attention yesterday when we got home from camping and turned the furnace back on. It took over 5 hours of constant running to get the house from 59 degrees back up to 72. I really don't see how that saves money if that's done on a nightly basis. Even if it's only a few degrees lower each night, the furnace has to work harder the next morning to heat up all that space again. Of course, that's only an opinion.

**dlrcpa** · 05-20-2019, 07:07 AM

I use the central fan to move air around the house. Basement stays colder naturally. In summer I can avoid turning on A/C for a while just by running the fan to move basement air to the rest of the house.

**Contrary Housewife** · 05-20-2019, 10:25 AM

Rujerro, if it happens in the same fixture, then it could be an issue with that light, or the wiring to that light. Or it may be the wiring in an area of the home that is all connected. And it could be the brand of bulb. They are getting more cheaply made as time goes on. With electronics it can be the tiniest flicker of power, speck of dust on the connection, humidity causing corrosion, quality of the components, etc.

**AmyBoz** · 05-21-2019, 07:28 PM

Ugh...the bathtub in the kids bathroom has been leaking and running constantly for a good three months. We tried to fix it on our own, but to no avail, and when we finally called the plumber, they are backed up. I shudder to think about how much we've lost.

**Spirit Deer** · 05-21-2019, 11:56 PM

I can't stand to have water running anywhere in the house where it's not supposed to because it cycles the water pump off and on. We don't pay a monthly water bill so that's not a problem, but we don't want to wear out the well pump and septic system faster than necessary.

**bookwormpeg** · 05-22-2019, 12:49 PM

My husband is very picky. We do everything on the list. If it was just me, I doubt I would be able to say that...

We live in Texas so it gets very hot here...our thermostat is a smart one....water heater is on timer...all outside lights on timers...
We have an alarm system and also cameras outside and a ring doorbell which I love....

He fixes everything and does it immediately. Very picky.....

**CPA-Kim** · 05-25-2019, 09:23 PM

Living in a 2,000 sf. condo in Florida, I have central heat and air. My electric bill has never been over $100 a month. I attribute it to the Nest thermostat and the triple pane windows. I never unplug things and have many devices running full time. I keep the indoor temperature at around 74 because I get cold easily. At that temperature, the heat rarely comes on and the air comes on a few times during the day, most months. I like to keep the humidity between 45 and 50. Anything higher might cause mold.