Help Your Family Save Money

Did you know that the typical family spends close to $2,500 every year on utilities such as water, heat, air conditioning, and electricity?

The U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/) says a lot of that money is spent on wasted energy. And if you help your family save energy, there may be more money to spend on things like fun vacations, pizza and shopping.

These small things can make a difference, especially if you do them every day:

• Turn off the lights if you're the last to leave a room.
• Make sure faucets aren't dripping when you turn them off. Just one day of dripping can add $2.50 to the month's bill.
• Shower instead of taking baths and limit your showering time.
• Know what you want before you open the refrigerator door - looking while the door is open will make it run longer.
• Microwave your lunch - it requires less energy than using the stove.
• Close doors and windows when the air conditioning or heat is on.
• Use cold water rather than hot water, whenever possible.
• Put dirty clothes in the laundry - but only if they're dirty. If your clothes are just wrinkled, re-washing them is wasting energy.

You also can spend time learning how to save energy in and around your home. Then you'll be able to make suggestions to your parents.