Money Saving Advice : 5 Expensive Mistakes You Might Be Making In Your Home

If you are looking to save money at home, then check out my 5 money saving tips below.

A little background…

With a new home to renovate, and utility bills sky rocketing, I’m starting feel the pinch in my wallet. My monthly out going are through the roof. So I’ve been on the hunt for practical things I can do in my home to save money. I called on the experts to advice me on how I could save money on my bills, and make my home run more efficiently.

In the process, I learned lots of easy and simple ways to cut my household bills and running costs. These money saving ideas are predicted to save me £100s in the short term (and over the years £1000s).

Interior stylist plants inside a home
Saving money on bills means I can spend money things I love.

What happened when my home had a ‘money Saving makeover’

After my mortgage, my biggest out my electricity and heating bills. If I could cut back on these bills, then with the money I could save could fund more exciting home projects.

This is where my blogging partners British Gas stepped in to help, giving my home a Green Energy Assessment. It looks at clever ways to cut your bills, as well make your home more energy efficient. This money-saving advice offers a win-win situation.

For two-and-half hours (and for for an upfront cost of £149) Paul Dickinson from Green Deal & Affordable Warmth, poked around my home. This was all to find money saving tips. He started the assessment by asking how many baths I run (3 per day), how many people live here (3 plus two pets) and how often I pop the heating on (lots, as I work from home). He climbed up into my loft, checked my exterior walls and light bulbs, as well as my appliances.

The money saving results were pretty shocking!

In ignorance, I’d have spent money on things that wouldn’t have had an impact on my bills, and ignored the things that would have saved me cash.

Time to learn from my mistakes, and time to start saving money.

5 Expensive Mistakes You Might Be Making In Your Home

Mistake #1 Putting in expensive insulation

Knowing heat rises, I planned to spent money insulating my loft thinking it would keep the warmth in my home. Paul pointed out increasing the loft insulation would cost me around £350 with savings of £32 per year.

By my maths, it would take up to ten years to claw back that cost. As my house is made of brick, insulating these would cost anything from £4,000 to a whopping £14,000 but only saving me just £169 per year – taking about 23 years to pay for it’s self!!

His advice: not to update the insulation but instead look at other ways to save money.

Mistake #2 Running an old boiler

The boiler I inherited with the house dates back to the 90s. Every morning and night, it heats up a whole tank of water. Paul suggested replacing it with a new energy efficient combi-boiler that heats water when needed.

A new boiler has a £2,200 price tag but that, combined with a new thermostat, would save me about £156 per year. Not only would a new boiler pay for itself in 16 years but it make my property more appealing when time comes to sell the place.

On a money saving drive, I’m thinking about getting Hive – a sexy little app on your phone which is effectively a remote control for your heating. So I could pop the heating on when I’m my way home late from a shoot, or more importantly – turn it off when I’m out for the night.

With my comings and goings, I think that will save me a ton of money on heating an empty home. It costs £199 but could save me up to £154 in the first year alone.

Mistake #3 Not draught proofing

By far the best money saving came from stopping draughts. He pointed out that my letterbox and front door had a huge gaps (which explains why I always feel cold) – a quick fix with a draught excluder and uPVC brushes.

My sash windows needed new insulating brushes for the same reason, and it would stop them rattling in the wind costing just £2 pm. Hanging a thick curtain at my front door and windows will also keep in the warmth. And he came up with an amazing suggestion to put a specialist balloon in my fireplace which inflates to stop draughts coming down your chimney!

They cost £13 but would pay for themselves in one winter! Such simple ideas that totalled up to £80 but would save me £31 in a year –  I’d be stupid not to.

Mistake #4 Keeping old windows

I love my sash windows but they are draughty and single glazed – a big money saving No-No! Replacing them for double glazing, Paul estimated would costs £3,300 to £6,000, saving of £59 per year. 

I’ve decided to call on the help of sash window experts Ventrolla to restore the ones at the front to as good as new. But at the back of the house, I’m going to replace the 1930s windows with uPVC double glazed windows and back door by Polyframe.

It seems like an obvious money-saving tip to reduce household bills. This will make my currently freezing kitchen feel instantly cosy…and more importantly, save me cash.

Mistake #5 Ignoring my radiators

In my house, I have only four radiators that actually work. Freezing! As I’m getting the boiler replaced, it makes sense to update the radiators too. Using this handy little tool on the B&Q website, I calculated what output my radiators need for the size of my rooms (called BTU). Clever, hey? Start saving money on heating bills with this useful tip!

With my BTUs as a guide, I picked Mode radiators by Vogue which are both super stylish AND efficient. Doesn’t matter how great your boiler is, if your radiator is not giving out enough heat – then your wasting money on bills.

Money Saving Advice For your Home

All good advice, don’t you think?

What was great about having my assessment as soon as I moved in is that I feel confident to go ahead with replacing my boiler, radiators and windows. I know in the long term, these changes will save me money – around £1875 in three years.

And I would never have thought that small tricks to stop little draughts would have such a big impact on my household bills. You can also decrease costs in repairing and maintenance of your home appliances if you protect your home with a warranty, this way you’ll be saving money on all fronts.

These are things that if I hadn’t had the home money makeover, I would have thought were really not worth doing.

Just goes to show , when doing up your home – every penny can count. 

Maybe think about giving your home a little money makeover too? I’d love to know how much money saving you will do by following the advice of this feature. Let me know in the comment box below.

Image curtesy of Pexels

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15 thoughts on “Money Saving Advice : 5 Expensive Mistakes You Might Be Making In Your Home

  1. I loved this article, such practical and sensible advice. I will def use the chimney pillow and sort out the drafts from the front door (like you, I can see the gaps in it). I may even look to sell some draft excluders this winter. I even forwarded this onto my hubby in a bid to persuade him that buying a new combi boiler is a good idea!

    1. Hey Lucy. That is so kind of you to say. It’s taken me a while to be sensible. I’m looking at new front doors to replace this summer – good excuse to freshen up the front. Go for a boiler – it’s so a worthy investment. Have a look at the green deal – run by the government which help you finance your boiler change

  2. Great advice — I love these tips. We’re DESPERATE for a new boiler but just can’t afford it at the mo. Plus we live in a listed house too so new windows are a nightmare to replace. We have secondary glazing on our windows as we weren’t allowed to replace them.
    BTW, I co-host a little homes/interiors linky on a Wednesday — #HomeEtc — and would love you to come and join in with us! Pop over tomorrow if you get a chance 🙂 #HomeCorner
    Caro | http://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk

    1. Hey Caro – there are lots of otherways to cut the costs without replacing your windows. And you can get government money to help you pay for your boiler – check out the green deal. I’d love to join your linky. I might be in London this week but next week could be ace.

  3. I have to show my mother this! Her energy bill were 7k and she is so ignorant to how she could change things

    1. Me too! I had no idea how simple changes can have such a big impact on bills! I’m obsessed with turning off lights and stopping drafts. So pleased you found the piece helpful!

  4. Insulation is an acknowledged way to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels which add to the greenhouse effect. Golden Fleece insulation products are environmentally friendly.

  5. Condensation can occur on the inside surface of a roof or ceiling at any time when the temperature of the surface is at or below the dew-point of the air in contact with it. Golden Fleece insulation raises the temperature on the insulated surface above the dew-point temperature.

  6. Selecting the appropriate construction and building materials for a project entails more than just placing an order at a building supplies firm. There are several other factors that you need to consider to come up with the best choices and in compliance with building regulations.

  7. Consider the function of your renovated basement when choosing flooring for the space: a playroom will benefit from a soft floor made from play mats or carpet while laminate or hardwood flooring will add warmth to a guest bedroom.

  8. By keeping more heat inside your home during the winter, decreases the number of times the heat has to kick on. Resulting in lower utility bills and putting more money in your pocket.

  9. If you’re going to be doing any insulation in your home, check out open cell spray foam. It’s definitely your best bet. Listening to your experience of doing your own insulation will really come in handy as I do my own. Thanks for all your help and input.

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