15 Ways to Save Money at Home this New Year | Glaze & Save

Christmas and the New Year has been and gone, and while we love the festivities, it certainly leaves us all with emptier pockets for the rest of January. That’s why we decided to put together a handy list of 15 savvy ways to keep a few more pennies in your pocket by making some simple swaps and changes in your own home. Try out these tips and you could save hundreds of pounds for the year ahead, which is a perfect way to kick off 2018.

1. Switch Energy Suppliers

A new year calls for a new energy supplier! Did you know in 2016 research carried out by the UK government it was found that over half of all households could save at least £200 per year by simply switching their energy supplier?

If you need some advice on finding an ethical energy supplier then check out our blog post on finding an ethical energy supplier here.

2. Seek Out Second Hand

It’s common to want to spruce up your surroundings at the beginning of the year, but instead of shelling out for new furniture and fixtures, it’s worth checking out your local Freecycle and Freegle before you hit the January sales. Not only will you be saving yourself some cash, you will also be creating less waste and operating in a more resource efficient and sustainable manner. What a great way to start the year!

3. Recycle old DVDs, CDs and electronic goods

Whether your musical collection has been completely digitized, or you’ve just seen that bad movie too many times, we all have piles of DVDs, CDs and even electronic goods such as old mobile phones cluttering up our homes. Don’t chuck them out! Reduce waste while making yourself a bit of spare cash by sending your DVDs and CDs to a service such as Music Magpie or drop your electronics into your local CEX .

4. Draughtproof thoroughly

It’s easy to overlook the basics, such as draught proofing, but government research has shown that around 25% of all heat lost from homes is due to draughts. So whether you are investing in state of the art draught proofing products such as Glaze & Save InvisiSeal™, or simply taking the time to apply decorators caulk to any cracks in walls and around electrical sockets, it pays to invest in draught proofing.

5. Shop Around for the Cheapest Household Insurance

Taking some time to switch your home insurance could save you hundreds of pounds, while ensuring that you have the right level of cover for your valuables. Get the best advice for the right insurance for you from the Money Advice Service.

6. Use a Timer with Your Thermostat

Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert recently changed his tune regarding the most cost effective way for us to keep our homes warm, now recommending that we use a timer in conjunction with our thermostat in order to keep our homes toasty. In a recent article in The Sun , one woman claimed that Martin’s advice helped her save £400 per year!

7. Invest in Secondary Glazing

Did you know that you can lose us to 30% of the heat of your home through your windows? If you live in listed building or in a conservation area, double glazing or other replacement windows are often not an option. But there is no need to suffer in the cold. Secondary glazing such as Glaze & Save InvisiTherm™ can reduce heat loss through your windows by 63%, without the need for planning permissions: a perfect 2018 upgrade for your inefficient windows.

8. Get Your Boiler Serviced

A boiler service is an often-overlooked winter essential: but investing £100-£150 for a full service now could save you hundreds, if no thousands of pounds later. A routine service will treat small problems before they become bigger and more expensive problems and save you from a painful and uncomfortable mod-winter boiler failure.

9. Use Radiator Reflector Panels

Radiators are notoriously inefficient, with a vast amount of their generated heat being absorbed by the wall behind them (which is often an external wall) instead of going into the room you are trying to heat. Investing in radiator reflectors is a cheap and easy way of reflecting up to 95% of otherwise lost heat back into the room, all for a reasonable price.

10. Use Heavy Curtains, and Know When to Close Them

Sometimes the best advice is the most simple. Investing in heavy curtains can increase the efficiency of your window area as much as double glazing: but ensure you close your curtains one hour before it gets dark in order to capture the heat of the sun in your room.

11. Stamp Out Standby

Can you believe that back in 2014, the Energy Saving Trust reported that us Brits could save a whopping £1.7 billion by turning appliances off of stand by mode? Televisions and games consoles can cost up to £80 per year each when left on standby mode, leading Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of Energy Saving Trust, to say: “We are a nation on standby. Whatever your age, gender or the size of your household: our research has found that millions of us are unintentionally wasting electricity when we leave our gadgets on standby. It’s an easy mistake to make yet it costs us a fortune. And as we become more tech-savvy it’s hardly surprising our home appliances don’t come with an energy-cost warning label on them.”

12. Shorten Your Showers

Did you know that the average Brit enjoys a nine minute long daily shower? Shortening your shower time to a still-long seven minutes could save the average household £20 per year.

13. Protect Your Pipes

Insulating your hot water pipes costs less than £20, and raises the temperature of your hot water , allowing you to turn the thermostat down. Another handy tip to keep you warm while saving money.

14. Bleed Your Radiators

Bleeding radiators is where you let out air that has become trapped inside, leading to a more efficient radiator, a warmer home and cheaper energy bills. You can find a step by step guide to bleeding your radiators at U Switch.

15. Switch to LEDs

With the being a most grim and grey January, using artificial lights in something we just cant get away from. However you can save some money and some energy by investing in LED lights. According to this article in the Telegraph , you could save up to £240 per year by switching to LED lights.

You can find much more savvy tips and helpful home hacks when you claim your free copy of our Home Energy Hacks guide here.