“Economy” is almost becoming a dirty word in American lexicon, as it offers only a stubborn and frustrating comeback – if you can even call what we’re experiencing a comeback. The “economy” has proven to be extremely temperamental, and is leaving scores of financially crippled families vulnerable to its wild mood swings. While families attempt to do the financial equivalent of holding their breath underwater, Gamby Insurance Agency CEO Tyrone Gamby offers six key ways they should re-evaluate household spending. It will help them save money and hopefully stave off ruin. –terry shropshire
Unplug it: “Any unused appliance in the home, that you go a long period of time without using, just unplug them,” Gamby says. “The meters are constantly running on your electricity in the house even if it’s not being used, but the power is still being made available to them. So unplug them. And some people go to another extreme, where you … cut off certain breakers in your household that connect to certain things that are not in use. The only thing that is in use when you are gone is your furnace or your refrigerator. Everything else can be cut off until you return home. That’s a bit of an extreme for some, but other people say [they reduce] … their monthly energy costs by 20 to 30 percent by doing this.”
Put a timer on your home thermostat: “Efficiency [means] taking a look at the hours that you are running your thermostat or that your heater is running during the holiday season,” Gamby explains. “When you are not home you can set [a] timer to kick in a half hour before you get home, therefore your home is warm when you get home, but it doesn’t run as long as it would if you cut it on as soon as you get in the evening to warm the house up.”
Insulate: “Take a look at the weatherization of your home. Insulate your doors and your windows … to cut down on the cost of heating during the winter months.”
Re-evaluate home insurance: “Are you adequately covered or … do you need to shop around? People tend to have coverage [that] they haven’t shopped around to see if they can get better deals or if their coverage needs to be evaluated. It’s a good idea once a year to just take a look to see if you can save money.”
“Avoid online insurance quotes. It’s always best to speak to a licensed agent. Online of course you’ll have access to that information, but you don’t necessarily get the personalized service [of] speaking with a person.”
Make a grocery list and stick to it: “Grocery stores are designed [to encourage] impulse shopping — it’s marketing. Vital essentials are usually located the furthest point from the entrance of the store [such as] milk and bread. And they force you to go through the aisles in order to get to them because they know that when you go shopping those are the things you are going to get. They know if they can make you go past a few more enticing items along the way, chances are you are going to pick one or two of those items up. Be mindful of what you are going to get and make a list. It kind of eliminates the effort that they put forth to make you impulsively shop.”
