Shorter days can mean just one thing, fall is upon us. Unfortunately, like every year before, it promises to bring along with it lower temperatures and higher bills. From the additional energy needed to heat the home, to the increased energy used keeping it lit through longer nights, fall and its colder, harsher sister winter, can bring undue financial strain to families; especially in our current economic down turn and energy crisis. With a little preparedness and planning however, the inevitable burden of the season can be minimized before it ever even arrives with these no to low cost tricks:

Block Drafts

The age-old wisdom of our grandmothers still applies today; draft blockers are big time money savers. Check around doors, windows and even electrical outlets for leaky airways in your home. Using a stick of burning incense or a lit candle walk through your home holding it near the walls, windows, and doorways. A drafty area will be immediately evident when you see the flame of the candle or smoke from the incense stick change directions and flicker with the breeze coming through. Once located block the drafts appropriately according to their location.

Door jambs can be most effectively blocked using draft blockers made to sit along their bottom on the floor. Windows on the other hand may benefit from storm windows applied to the outside of the home, plastic sheets made for the purpose of weather proofing windows, or even a little caulk or weather striping depending on the circumstances.

Don’t have enough draft blockers for your home’s doorways? No need to buy an expensive one in the store an old tube sock, rolled up towel, or pant leg will do. Fill partway with dry beans for weight and then stuff with quilt batting. Secure the ends with ribbon, rope or twine and you have an effective, custom draft blocker for your doorways.

Change Furnace Filters

Furnaces must work harder to pull air through dirty, clogged furnace filters which means they run longer, harder and heat less efficiently than they would with a fresh, clean filter installed. Now is the time to change those filters from last year and stock up on filters to get you through the winter. Depending on the type of filter you use it will need to be changed every 30 to 90 days throughout the heating season for best results. Even with longer rated filters however, it’s always wise to keep an eye on its condition as you go along since every home is different and will require different filter changing schedules for best results. A furnace in a home with pets for instance, is likely to need a filter change before one in a home without.

Re-Examine Lighting

With nights and mornings becoming progressively darker and longer you may want to consider the lighting arrangements in your home. Each room should have a single light source that can be turned on by itself. If for instance, in your kitchen you only have an overhead lighting system that burns six light bulbs at once you may consider placing a lamp in one corner to allow you to light the room moderately when full overhead lighting is not necessary. Being able to turn on just one light bulb, as opposed to several, when you desire will help decrease the amount of energy needed to light your home through the long season ahead. Just don’t forget to turn them off when you leave the room.

Additionally, if you haven’t already now would be a good time to start switching to Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs as your standard bulbs burn out. According to GE Lighting each CFL bulb uses up to 75% less energy and saves an average of $34.39 over the life of the bulb.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

The initial cost of purchasing a programmable thermostat is far outweighed by the cost savings reaped in even the first year of use. You can find them in most big-box stores, local hardwares, and home improvement warehouses beginning around forty dollars. Easy to install and set up, it’s a foolproof way to save big bucks on heating costs. Most even have separate settings for weekdays and weekends. The trick to gaining the biggest savings is to set the furnace to a lower setting for the hours during which your family is not home or asleep and then for it to automatically turn up the heat just before you wake or arrive home. Experts recommend settings of 62 degrees Fahrenheit for times when you are away or asleep, and 68 for times when you are both home and awake, but you can adjust those to fit the individual comfort level of your family. Just remember, the key is in turning it down. If you must, start with baby steps, bringing the temperature down a degree or two at a time, soon you won’t notice the difference.

Plan ahead and cranky, crotchety old man winter won’t catch you too off guard.

Diana writes about all of the other things in life that *do* however, catch her off guard at her personal blog Of The Princess and The Pea.

I visit a lot of coupon forums, where almost everyone is a bargain shopping queen (or king). So it’s always something of a surprise when someone asks, “Is this a good deal?” And whether the item in question is laundry detergent or hot dogs, the same answer always pops into my head: You’d know if it was a good deal if you kept a price book along with the coupon binder.

A price book is a notebook for tracking the lowest price of an item. Simply put, it’s the best way to cut back expenses without changing your lifestyle.

The best thing about a price book is that you don’t have to maintain it forever - just until you’ve been doing it long enough to be able to recognize a good deal when you spot one. I have maximum price points in my head for almost all of the things we buy regularly, and I adjust that price as the deals get better or worse.

For example, a few months ago, I was happy to see Kleenex (our preferred brand) on sale for $1 if we needed it, and if we didn’t, I tried to wait for a price of around 90-cents. But during the last few weeks, there have been some amazing sale prices of 64 cents for Puffs (after coupon at Walgreens) and 77 cents for Kleenex (this was at CVS, and the price came down to 47 cents if you factored in the Extra Bucks that you received with a $25 purchase). So now I’m looking for a sale price under 80 cents.

No Credit Needed has a handy downloadable price book template that I highly recommend.

Find more articles like this visit Cathy at Chief Family Officer, where she writes about family finances, parenting, and cooking.

Image credit: No Credit Needed.

In “Saving Your Clothes Equals Saving Money” Part I, I convinced you all that by taking care of you clothing-washing less frequently, taking care of stains and making mending easy-you would increase the life of the clothes and save yourself money!

But I’m not done yet! There are still more money saving ways to be discovered in laundry care! I’m going to look at the actual process of washing and drying your clothes and show you where money can be saved there.

Remember-Washing clothes costs money. It is estimated that the average family of 4 spends around $300 a year washing and drying their clothing.

How can you cut down those costs? We already discussed washing less, now let’s look at drying less!

Photo by WaveCult

Do you use a clothes line? If not, you really should consider it. When you bypass the dryer you can save a lot of electricity. That’s both frugal and green. Additional benefits are your clothes come out smelling wonderful, the sun naturally bleaches out some stains, and you reduce wear and tear on your clothing (hey folks, that lint in your dryer trap used to be part of your clothing!).

Some folks-like my husband-complain that towels and jeans are too stiff when dried on the line. Fine. You can always throw them in the dryer for just a few minutes to “fluff” them.

Photo by Fragglerawker_03

Speaking of the dryer-you don’t have to buy dryer sheets. You can make something that works just as well for pennies. Just buy the biggest bottle of cheapo fabric softener you can find. Fill a container (I use an old cottage cheese container-hey, it doesn’t have to be pretty) with a mixture of 1 part softener to 6 parts water. Then take a couple of celloloid sponges (dollar store is great for these) and cut them into about 6 or 8 peices each. Toss into the liquid and let them live there. When get ready to dry a load of laundry, just wring out one of the little sponges and toss it in the dryer. Viola! One bottle of softener has lasted me over 2 years now.

When I fold the laundry I just take the dry sponge and throw it back in the container. I’ve read that some folks like to put their mix in a spray bottle and either spray it on a washcloth and throw it in, or else just spray it onto the laundry.

Another way to save is to look at your laundry detergent. Are you using too much? Have you ever actually read the box or bottle to see how much you are supposed to use for each load? A lot of times the scoops or measures in the lid are bigger than what you need for a load. It’s very deceptive. Of course, the manufacturer wants you to use up the detergent faster and come back to buy more. You can experiment with using less detergent until you find the smallest amount you need to still make a load clean. Then take a permenant marker and mark your scoop. I don’t use this tip, because for the last 2 years I have been making my own detergent.

Now I know making your own detergent sounds extreme and difficult, but it really isn’t. I make the powdered type, and there are only 3 ingredients.

1 Cup Grated Soap *
1/2 Cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
1/2 Cup Borax

Mix together and use 1 Tablespoon per load, 2 Tablespoons if it is a really soilded load.

This laundry soap really works well, and YES-you only need a tablespoon. I use it in cold water and have never had a problem with it dissolving. An added benefit of homemade detergent? You avoid a lot of the dyes/perfumes etc that cause people with allergies problems. Isn’t it nice to know exactly what is going into the product you are using?

There are also versions of this recipe available to make liquid laundry soap-which apparently comes out more like a gel. Personally I think powdered is less messy and takes up less room, but if you are interested in the liquid you can find a recipe HERE.

Keep your eye out for my video tutorial on how to make your own laundry soap-coming soon!

New York mama Jenn has been blogging about ways to “Use what you have, get creative an save!” over at Frugal Upstate since 2006. As one of the “Eleven Moms” (Walmart Money Saving Gurus), she creates fun and informative vlogs on a variety of money saving topics.

Calling customer service can be a huge pain, but calling to ask for discounts and other benefits can save you lots of money. Here are some tips to make picking up the phone a little easier:

1. Always have the necessary information in front of you. This includes your account number and any information the customer service rep (CSR) might ask for.
2. Always have pen and paper at hand and take notes. I usually write directly on the bill or relevant paper if there is one. Be sure to write down the date, the name of the CSR, and the important details of your conversation. It’s okay to ask the CSR to speak more slowly or hold on a moment because you’re writing things down (in fact, they may provide better service because they know you’re documenting the call).
3. Make sure you can find the paper you wrote on when you follow up. This actually goes along with tip #1. If you have to make a follow up call, it’s best to have your notes from the previous call in front of you. That way you can start off by saying, “On September 6, I spoke to Mary, who said that she would give me a credit but it hasn’t appeared on my statement yet.” You’ll be able to answer the CSR’s questions about your prior conversations and make it clear that you are on the ball.
4. Be polite. I’ve had the best results when I’ve stayed calm and polite, even if at the same time, I’m stomping my feet because I’m so frustrated. It helps to call when you’re in a relatively good mood and not pressed for time. Which leads into the next tip . . .
5. Do something else that can be interrupted when you call. I hate being on hold, so I make sure that I’m doing something else that can be easily interrupted when I call. This can include going through posts on Google Reader, writing thank-you notes, or simply flipping through a magazine.
6. If you do snap, apologize. I’ve done this when my frustration has gotten the best of me. I say something like, “I’m very sorry for speaking harshly. This is very frustrating and I’d really like to get this resolved.” If appropriate, I mention the prior, ineffective calls that I made. This is also a good time to ask to speak to a supervisor.

Follow these tips and I think you’ll find calling customer service a little less dreadful.

Share your tips for calling customer service over at the Blissfully Domestic forum.

And find more articles like this at Chief Family Officer, where Cathy writes about family finances, parenting, and cooking.

You don’t have to waste the gas driving around for great sales and deals. Let your fingers do the walking right from the comfort of your home computer.

You’ve probably heard of the big ones: E-bay, Freecycle, Craigslist, Overstock for getting online sales and deals but have you heard of these?

1. Go-Optic and Frames Direct for tons of discount designer eyewear frames. Most opticians let you bring in your own frames to fill with prescription lens and get adjusted. Don’t just order direct and never get them adjusted. Glasses can be at the wrong tilt, improper height on face and basically useless if a professional does not help with the final fitting.

2. CityPass for half-price admissions to museums and valuable insider tips on the best attractions the big cities have to offer.

3. FREE books at Project Gutenberg for the Internet’s best source for free e-books with more than 18,000 titles in its catalog. The site also offers free selections public domain sheet music.

4. FREE online celebrity gossip at People, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. They all give lots of entertainment news freebies. Did ya know. . .? Have you heard . . .? You don’t have to stand at the grocery aisle reading the mags for free when you can get lots of the same stuff online — probably more current.

5. FREE online games at the aptly named Free Online Games which offers humorous video clips, optical illusions and jokes and other funny stuff.

Happy Bargain Hunting! Go Get ‘Em! Do you have any more to share? Check out our Blissfully Domestic Living Forum.

Sarah blogs her crazy life at Genesis Moments, contributes beauty product reviews to Chic-Critique and is a featured storyteller at Story of My Life.
Picture by Manky maxblack