This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a qualifying purchase.

My gas company sent me a brochure in October with tips to prepare my home for the winter to help me spend less on the gas bill!

I truly enjoy when my utility companies send me tips on how to save money by giving them less of it!

Ha ha, it’s quite a deal, really. I often wonder if they do this because they want their customers to be more likely to be able to afford and, therefore, pay their bill each month. In any case, these tips are great and worth implementing, so give them a try.

My gas company’s 10 tips for saving on winter energy bills

  1. Open curtains during the day, allowing sunlight to heat your home naturally. Not only will this tip heat your home a bit for free, but it also provides natural light so you may not need to use your light bulbs in every room.
  2. Cover drafty windows with heavy-duty, clear plastic sheets found at home improvement stores. You want to keep the warm air in and the cold air out as much as possible.
  3. Turn down your thermostat 7-10 degrees for at least 8 hours a day and save as much as 10% annually. This is where a programmable thermostat is well worth the investment. (Some electric companies will even install them for free if you call.) When you’re at work, you can program your thermostat to turn down the heat and turn it back up right before you get home. You’ll save money and you won’t even notice the change! What’s 10% of your bill? 5, 10, 15 dollars that you can save each month with this easy, no-discomfort tip. If you don’t mind the cold, you can even take this one step further and keep the heat turned down a few degrees cooler even when you are home. Wear those sweaters and cuddle up under the blankets on the couch.
  4. Seal leaks around windows and doors to prevent warm air from escaping and cold air from entering your home. This tip is in the same vein as tip #2. Keep the warm air in- you’re paying for it so you don’t want it to go right out the window.
  5. Maintain your furnace performance by servicing it annually and changing filters regularly. Keeping your furnace in top shape will help it perform at its best.
  6. Reduce heat loss from the fireplace by keeping the damper closed when not in use. If you don’t use your fireplace in the winter time, you can even cover it inside with the clear plastic sheets so you don’t lose heat up the chimney.
  7. Turn down your water heater setting to 120 degrees. This is a good tip to keep implemented all year long. If your water is getting too hot, not only are you wasting energy to heat it but it is also a scalding hazard, especially with small children. So keep your water heater temperature turned down.
  8. Lower your holiday lighting costs by using LED lights when you decorate. When your lights burn out, replace with LED and save on your electricity bill.
  9. Adjust your ceiling fan to rotate clockwise at a low speed to pull cool air up and warm air down. This is another free tip that will get your house to work for you.
  10. Wash clothes in cold water to save energy used to heat your water. We do this all year round at our house. It seems to help prevent stains as well. You can also set up a drying rack to hang your clothes to dry and save energy used by your dryer.

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to save money on your gas and electric bills this winter. These tips are totally do-able. My challenge to you is to implement at least 3 of these tips this winter and compare your energy bills to last year. How much did you save?

It just takes a little frugal savvy and preparedness to pay less on your utilities in the winter months. And that means you can use that saved money in a way that will better benefit your family–maybe for a bigger holiday budget.

Implement just a few of these to bring more holiday cheer to your home.

Now that’s something we can all cheer about!