What could you do with an extra $75,000?
I know I could do a heck of a lot with that amount of money: I could pay off almost all of our debt, I could get my master’s degree, or I could buy my husband a pretty awesome truck.
But that doesn’t matter.
What matters is what YOU could do with an extra $75.000. What would that amount of money mean to you and your family?
Your answer determines whether or not your actually going to do these next 14 things, so think hard.
Did you know that the average American family wastes $350 a year in utility costs each year becuase their home is not sealed properly against the weather? That’s certain quite a bit of money, but not near the $75,000 I promised, so consider this:
Do you consider your family average?
Or worse, are you above average?
That $350 of wasted utility costs breaks down to a little over $29.00 per month. That also doesn’t really seem like a lot of money, now does it?
But if you were to take some extra steps to seal your home against the heat and cold, and then invest that $29 you’re saving each month, you know how much money you would end up with?
That’s right: $75,000 smackeroos.
It doesn’t take much time or money to seal your home, folks. These things can be done in an afternoon, so let’s get to it!
Outlet Seals:
While they’re completely new to me, these things are fantastic! We recently changed out our outlet covers to match the paint we’ve been slowly working on, and I noticed that there was a lot of air movement behind out outlet covers. So I went online and discovered these 50 Pack Stick ‘N’ Seal Home Sealing Kits
They take about 3.5 second to put in place and they seal your outlets – and lower your utility bills!
Window Caulking:
Windows are one of the biggest culprits in raising your utility bills. Often are installed incorrectly, leaving gaps around the edges that let in the heat or cold. Luckily, these gaps are (hopefully) less than ¼ inch in width, so they can be sealed by caulk. Personally, I have no experience in caulking, well, anything, but I found this super helpful tutorial on YouTube to guide me through it! To get this job done you’ll need caulk and a caulk gun – don’t forget those!
Re-install windows:
We re-caulked what windows we could, but in the office and kitchen window the gaps were too big to just be calked. Instead, we uninstalled the window and re-installed it correctly. Honestly, I have no idea how to do this, but my husband and his friend took care of both windows one afternoon and there was minimal tool-throwing, so it couldn’t have been that hard. Don’t be afraid to rope in your friend that’s good with stuff like this to help!
Door Draft Stoppers:
Draft stoppers are the single easiest way to lower you utility bill. It doesn’t matter if it’s summer or winter. We bought our becuase I don’t sew…..like, at all….but I’ve seen people fill long socks with rice, tie them off at the end and use them as draft stoppers. I”ve also seen versions with materials ranging from ratty old towes & T-shirts to cute fabric purchased specifically to make draft stoppers. But those are for people who sew. And I don’t :-) Check out these draft stoppers
on amazon!
Window Film:
A tried-and-true fix to high winter utility bills, window film is not the most aesthetically pleasing option. Still, it’s one of my favorites! Window film kits can be purchased at virtually any store that carries home products or hardware. They run us about $45 each fall, but they generally pay for themselves after 2 months of utility bills. My favorite are the 3M Indoor Window Insulator Kit
from Amazon, but there are tons to choose from!
Blackout Curtains:
This one DOES look nice! Blackout curtains are only moderately more expensive than regular curtains and the energy they save more than recoups the cost. There are some really cool options too, like these:
Insulate Around Recessed Lights:
Most recessed lights have vents leading directly to the attic – and this creates a passageway for air to get into your house! Since the average home has 30-40 recessed lights, the small bit of air from each light can add up to a big energy expenditure! However, someone may have caught on to this because if your recessed lights are labeled ICAT, which stand for “insulation contact and air tight” don’t need extra insulation. If your don’t have ICAT recessed lights, don’t fear! Insulating them is very easy. Airtight baffles can be purchased at any store that carries hardware for a cost of about $8.00 each. They slide up in the housing after removing the bulb. Then, screw the bulb back in and you’re airtight.
Check out this cool YouTube Tutorial:
Weatherstrip Attic Access Door.
How many of you use your attic access door once per year or less? Yeah, I’m in that camp. Needless to say, I never, ever think about our attic access door. But think about it: that door is direct access to the attic, and air you don’t want in your house. Weatherstripping is really cheap on Amazon
!
These 8 steps don’t seem like much,
And I get that.
Really, I get it! After all, they’ll only save you $30 a month – and you’ll have to give up an afternoon to put them in place.
Have you ever been guilty of seeing an area in which you could save a small amount of money….say $30….and passing it up becuase it didn’t seem worth it?
I have.
What could you do with $75,000?
Are these 8 things worth $75,000 to you?
I thought so :-)
*This post may contain affiliate links
Brittany @ Equipping Godly Women says
We actually need to do a ton of these things. Our house is very drafty. Thanks for sharing!
Kristina and Millie says
all great ideas! I noticed as well a draft by some outlets so I need some of those outlet seals at least! Thanks for sharing :)
Allen @ TheDailyCent.com says
Also, don’t forget around plumbing pipes around the sinks. Many times if you remove that little silver disk you’ll notice a nice sized hole with hardly any insulation around it. I’ve felt some nice drafts in the past coming from those areas.
Helene says
I was thinking the other day that we needed to winterize our home (we moved recently to a more northern clime) but didn’t have any idea how! Thanks for the help!
Kim says
Our windows are pretty good, but I could use some of those outlet covers. All the little things do add up. I’ve noticed our electric bill is generally about $25 less per month since we changed our light bulbs, started unplugging power strips when not in use, and got rid of satellite TV. I guess those little cable boxes eat lots of energy!
Rebecca says
I LOVE blackshade drapes! I made all the curtains in our home, and made blackout curtains for our bedroom only. The blackout lining is a great deal more expensive than my regular lining (a $5 flat sheet), so I only did for one room. In our next home I would love to do it for more rooms because it definitely helps with the drafts!
April says
Great tips on weather proofing your home, and we do most of them as well. I especially like your tip on insulating recessed lights. We will be installing some next spring, so I’ll be sure to tell my husband about insulating them. Thank you for joining us at Friday Frenzy. We loved having you at the party, and cant wait to see what you share with us next week!
April
Gretchen says
I would never have thought about the recessed lights either – thanks for stopping by!
Herchel S says
Very informative tips. I never really thought of saving money by sealing up the house and who knew you could get outlet seals!
Thank you for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party!
Gretchen says
Outlet seals were new to me too! Aren’t they a great idea?
Annie says
How does investing $29 give you $75,000?
Gretchen says
Plug $29 a month at 7% interest for 40 years and see what happens :-)
Michelle says
We need to do a lot of the things listed. We know we are wasting a lot of heat in the winter because we can feel the cold air straight though the cracks.
Gretchen says
Yeah, we have the same problem. Is your house older?
Judy Murray says
Thanks so much for your great advice. Being in the insulation business I can also say that checking out your attic insulation can be a big money saver. So many builders don’t put proper insulation up there and adding to it can make a huge difference in your energy bills!
Gretchen says
That’s a great one!
Steve McNeice says
Saving $30 per month, it would take 208 years and 4 months to save $75,000!
Retire by 40? Don’t you really mean 240?
I “retired” at 43. My secret? It was my DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease) of my spine.
I was in so much pain that I collapsed at work, and had to get a disability pension.
Not easy to live on $11,500 per year!
Gretchen says
Actually, if you were to take that $30/month and invest it with an average return of 7%, after 40 years you would have slightly more than $76,000! It really won’t help much with our retired by 40 plan, but for those retiring at a regular time, $76,000 is nothing to scoff at!