This has been a very hot summer in my area, and it seems like the air conditioner is kicking on every fifteen minutes or so, increasing my electric bill significantly. No doubt, it is time to make sure your home is as energy efficient as it can be and seal up gaps in your home.  Winter is a prime time of the year to do this, as it is easy to feel with your hand any cold air that may be entering in unwanted areas, so if you missed taking care of that earlier this year, it makes it a little tricky now that we are in the warmer months.  With the typical family wasting upwards of $350 per year in air leaks into our out of your home, if you want your gas bill to lower in the winter and electric in the summer, now is as good of time as any to do the most cost-effective approach:  do it yourself.

Caulk around Windows and Doors

Double check each window, inside and out, to make sure there are no cracks, and re-caulk around any windows and doors in need.  Replace any doors that lead to the outside that may be in need of an upgrade, whether it is a front door or a door that leads to the garage.  Make sure it is a tight fit between the ground and bottom of the door to ensure no excess air escapes.

Gaps to the Outside

If you have any lines from the outside coming in, whether it is cable, or electric, this would be a good time to check to make sure there are no gaps leading to the outside.  Take the outlet cover’s off on the inside and add insulation if necessary.  Check around any water lines, as I had recently discovered bees were getting in, so I used foam insulation spray to make sure there was no room to enter.

Time to go in the Attic

If you have not been up to your attic in a while, this may be the opportunity.  As the hottest place in your house, you will want to make sure that no additional air is coming in or out.  Make sure there is ample amount of insulation on the floor between the attic and living space, to ensure that air is trapped up there.

With the summer months beginning to wane, it is time to take the cover off the grill, refill your propane tank, and get it cleaned up for the remainder of the summer grilling season.  Cooking on the grill is fun and it reminds you that the warm weather is still here.  Everything tastes better on the BBQ, whether it is vegetables, meat, or fish, there are plenty of ways to prepare a summer dinner.  Enjoy a cold beer, fire up the grill, and get some use out of your patio furniture that goes unused for many months out of the year.  In addition to taste, there are other reasons to cook outside.

Propane is Cheap

With the cost of refilling your propane tank around $16-20, it is inexpensive to use the BBQ grill.  Depending on the size of your family you can probably get away with cooking on half of your grill, so there is no need to run all four burners, wasting unnecessary propane.  Just a word of advice as I have learned from experience with having a cold grill in the middle of cooking, have a spare propane tank on hand;  you will thank yourself instead of having to run out and get one and then start the grill again and try and salvage your dinner.

Save on Running the A/C

When you cook in the house, whether it is the oven or stove top, it gets hot.  As the temperature inside increases, the air conditioner will start to kick on more and more, especially if you are starting to sweat from cooking and you lower the room temperature.  Your energy bill will rise as it tries to maintain a constant temperature; it is hot enough outside, so you do not need to give any extra reason for your A/C to work any harder than it needs to.

Plenty of Health Benefits

Not only does everything taste better coming off a grill, it is also a healthier option to cooking.  You actually eat less fat as the excess drips off and away from your food and into the drip pan.  The vegetables you grill actually retain their nutrients more when you grill them (and you can add salt and pepper to give flavor instead of sticks of butter).  Chances are if you are grilling outside, you were doing some sort of activity, such as cutting the grass or playing catch, so at least you were staying active before you eat instead of watching TV on the couch.

For starters, just shopping at the grocery store instead of eating every meal out is a positive.  By eating breakfast at home, brewing coffee before you leave for the office, packing a lunch, and eating dinner at home can save hundreds of dollars a week depending on the size of your family, let alone over the course of an entire month.  Doing the shopping every week or at least every other week not only keeps your refrigerator stocked, but also helps to resist the temptation of going out to eat.  I am not saying that you need to eat every meal every day at home, but even avoiding during the week and saving for a nice dinner out of the weekend is perfectly acceptable.  While grocery stopping saves on your wallet, there are still some items that you may not realize you are wasting money on.

Already Cut Fruits and Vegetables

Sure buying a container of pre-cut pineapple is convenient, but the markup is huge.  With so many kitchen gadgets on the market now, you can purchase an easy pineapple slicer for $6.99 on Amazon and it can be cut in less than a minute, hardly worth paying double or triple the price to have it cut for you.

Seasoned Meat at the Counter

The meat looks nicely prepared with seasoning, but it is not worth paying the extra charge to have a rub or a bottle of marinade added that you can do yourself for a fraction of the cost.  Items like steak kabobs have a large markup, as the meat was cut into cubes, and put on skewers with pre-cut vegetables.  Cutting meat and vegetables takes seconds to do, so spend the extra time doing it yourself, and you will even be able to net a few extra kabobs buying the whole ingredient items.

Produce that is Not in Season

Nothing beats corn on the cob off of the grill, slathered with butter and salt, but frozen corn can be enough to tide over until summer, when you can get a handful for a dollar.  Buy produce when it is in season, it is fresh, and it is cheap.

Small Bags of Snacks

Getting a pack of small snack bags of chips can be easy to grab and go, but it is not cost efficient.  Instead buy a large bag of chips, and divide into sandwich bags, and you have a snack for every day of the week for pennies compared dollars.

Think it is awesome to drive around a sweet car around town, even if you can afford the sticker price?  From the 2000 movie The Replacements, “do you know how much insurance costs on a Ferrari mother…?”  When deciding on a car, do not forget about the insurance cost.  Car insurance does vary from state to state, as Michigan has one of the highest insurance premiums as it is a state that has no-fault insurance and provides medical benefits for accident victims.  States with less large cities where accidents are least likely to occur are paying the lowest premiums.  If you do happen to buy or lease an expensive car, make sure you shop around.  According to a J.D. Power insurance study, those that shop around can save under $400 annually by switching insurance companies, so try and at least get a few insurance quotes before deciding on the one for you.  Check all discounts that you qualify for, including insuring multiple cars and home, married, a student, or even pay the entire premium at once instead of installments.  You might even be surprised about getting discounts for driving short commutes.  You would not think that buying insurance would be like retail with different sales, and while there may not yet be a Black Friday sale, according to a survey by InsuranceQuotes.com, December is actually the least expensive month to buy insurance, while March tops out as the most expensive.  When you do decide to purchase insurance, think about who the drivers are going to be, as having your teenage child on your policy may double it, let alone imagine the amount it would be on their own policy.

According to Insure.com’s recently released annual insurance survey which reviewed the average annual insurance rates for 2016 models from Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, Nationwide, Farmers, and Geico within 10 zip codes in a state.  The most expensive cars to insure are below, in annual amounts:

1. Dodge GT Viper – $4,808
2. Mercedes LS65 AMG – $3,797
3. Mercedes S600 BI-T – $3,539
4. Mercedes S63 AMG 4Matic – $3,513
5. Porsche Panamera S Executive – $3,484
6. Nissan GT-R Nismo – $3,476
7. BMW M6 Gran Coupe – $3,309
8. Land Rover Range Rover SV Autobiography Black LWB – $3,245
9. Audi RS7 Quattro Prestige – $3,229
10. Porsche 911 Carrera GT3 RS – $3,212

Has your spending gone out of control?  You are not the only one.  Even though we are well into 2016 now and getting back on track with finances may not have been in your resolution, it is not too late.  Most people create a New Year’s resolution and break it the next month anyways, so might as well start now and you will be happy you did with a little extra in your savings account and less debt.  While others are focusing on losing a few pounds, you should work on better spending habits this year.

First, set a budget, and not any budget, a realistic one.  Believe it or not, 1 in 3 households operate with a budget, so that leaves 2/3’s of home do not have any kind of plan.  Makes you wonder that how many of those households without a budget are successful and are not in mounds of debt, and even those homes that do, how many of those budget’s last an entire year?

Second, once you have a budget, look to remove unnecessary spending.  Take a detailed look at your account statements from the previous month and circle charges that you feel could easily be removed and start with those.  A great way to start is to look at your eating out and going to bar habits.  Now I’m not saying to avoid all together, but having a few drinks at home before you go out and getting to the bar later to finish the night is ok.  Same with dinner; eat at home as much as you can.  If you do go out later, there is nothing wrong with sharing an appetizer instead of having full meals, and it will be much easier on the wallet.

Third, repetition and discipline is the key to success.  Now that you have a budget and are working on eliminating unnecessary spending, now review your finances to see how you end up at the end of the month.  Do you have a little extra in savings?  Are the balances lower on the credit card statements?  Well if so then you are off to a great start.  It may not be easy and there will always be unexpected expenses, but try to take everything into account to your budget, even occasions such as birthday’s and holiday’s, where you know there will be additional spending.