The Green and Clean Home: How to Save Money on Your Monthly Energy Bills

If you’re like most consumers, you are diligent about saving money whenever you can, whether it’s by using mobile apps or coupons to get the best deals on products or services you buy or by following a strict household budget. 

While it’s virtually impossible to eliminate all monthly energy bills, here are a few tips to help you save some money on them.

Ask Energy Suppliers If They Offer a “Budget” Payment Plan

One of the fastest ways to put a “cap” on your monthly energy bills is by enrolling in your Energy Suppliers Budget Payment Plan. 

Instead of charging customers in full for their usage every month, the energy supplier averages your use and “budgets” payments across multiple months for a predictable price.

Turn down Your Thermometer

While you always want to make sure that you and your family are comfortable, dropping the temperature of your home by just a degree or two significantly impacts your monthly energy bill. 



If you wear a sweatshirt or cover up with a blanket, you’ll still be just as warm.

Winterize or Update Windows

Did you know that the average home can lose as much as 30% of treated (heated or cooled) air? As you can imagine, this is a devastating blow to your pocketbook and the efficiency of your home. 

If possible, consider upgrading your window system to prevent air leaks. If you’re unable to buy new windows, winterizing them is an affordable way to block leaks and prevent drafts.

Replace Old Light Bulbs

Over the years there have been significant improvements made in the lighting industry. Old incandescent light bulbs fell out in favor due to their inefficiency. 

Lighting solutions and bulbs from companies like LED Lighting Wholesale Inc. are energy efficient and flexible to meet the needs of consumers in the United States.

Smart Thermometer

Smart thermometers are a breakthrough that empowers people with remote technology so that they can control the climate (and many other aspects) of their home using an app or their Smartphone. 

If no one is home during the day, you can adjust the temperature accordingly, so you pay less when no one is home.

Take Advantage of Your Fireplace

Using your fireplace is a great way to save money on your energy bills each month. It might require a little extra work by purchasing for finding and splitting your own firewood, but it is worth it if you can heat your home without having to use your furnace. 

This helps you cut down on your gas and electric bills each month as you will be heating your home naturally.

Go Solar

Solar energy is on the rise. You may have even driven around your neighborhood and have noticed some of your neighbors have solar panels sitting on their roof. 

With harnessing the power of the sun can also go solar with your home and consequently save money each month. 

This way you are not having to pay out all of your money to you electric and gas companies. Instead, by going solar you can power your own home (for the most part) without those other companies.

The chances are good that your monthly energy bills account for a significant portion of your household spending. 

The more money you can save each month, the more your bank account will thank you. It also opens up other opportunities to spend your money elsewhere. 

By implementing some of the suggestions mentioned above, you’re doing what you can do to control your monthly energy usage and controlling your budget.

How to Organize Your Finances When Purchasing a New Car

You think you’re ready to buy a new vehicle — perhaps your dream car, truck, or SUV. The problem is, you aren’t sure if your finances will be able to handle the additional burden. 

Well, there are lots of easy ways to organize your earnings and subsequent spending, to ensure that your monthly budget won’t buckle under the strain of your new investment.

Create a Monthly Earnings and Deductions Sheet

How much do you currently earn per month? How much do you spend on rent or mortgage expenses, groceries, insurance, current car installment loan payment (if any), and other miscellaneous purchases? 

Write everything down on paper, and refer to the list throughout the month to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything. If you earn a significant amount more than is needed to cover your monthly budget, then you should easily be able to fit in the cost of a new car payment. 

Also, keep in mind that you’ll require a budget for upkeep and general maintenance.

Calculate Your Payment

The websites for most car dealerships will not only list the prices of their available vehicles, but provide detailed information about each item on the inventory. 

They’ll also calculate an estimated monthly payment, based on your credit score. Some companies, such as Bay Ridge Nissan, realize that this should help you figure out what you’ll be able to afford. 

And don’t forget to call your insurance company for a quote on the additional coverage. If you’re trading in a vehicle, you should have a rough idea of its value before heading to the dealership.

Save for the Down Payment

Start setting aside the amount you can afford for your new car payment every month, so you’ll have more cash to put down at signing. The more you can afford to put down now, the less you’ll pay in the long run.

Registration and Inspection Fees

It’s always exciting to drive off the lot in a shiny new vehicle, but don’t forget that it still needs to be registered. New registrations can edge into the thousands, depending on the car. 

Be sure you take this into consideration when you’re saving for the down payment. Also, make sure the inspection sticker is current when you visit the dealership.

Whenever you’re making a significant purchase such as a new car, information can be as valuable as money. If you’ve done your research and know your budget, you’re ready to begin shopping.

5 Web Design Trends Startups Should Adopt

Web design keeps evolving from year to year and every startup that is looking to thrive on the internet should be paying close attention to the new trends that rule the web design world. 

Innovative and eye-catching web design can really do a lot when it comes to conversions these businesses are looking to make. The competition is fierce in the online business world so any startup that chooses not to update their web design to better fit current trends is missing on a lot of opportunities when it comes to growing their business. 

We'll give you an insight into some of the best current web design trends that you should be aware of as a startup owner. 

Fewer Navigation Options 

Another trend that came out of ever-increasing mobile devices usage is the need to simplify website navigation. 

Streamlining visitors towards 3-5 options helps users stay on track and quickly find what they're actually looking for because no one likes to get lost on a website - a thing that happens a lot on smartphones with overly complicated websites. 



Easier navigation translates to preventing users from abandoning the website, which automatically translates to more conversions and potential sales.

Another big change that happened to navigation is a trend of keeping navigation static, which basically means that those 3 important options will always be available - no matter where on the webpage you are.

GIFs and Animations

GIFs and animations have been a huge hit with websites in the 2017 and they are going to stay that way next year as well. It's just a great and simple way to show important content in a way that's easiest for your visitors to digest. 

It's a well-known fact that professional website design is all about conveying the right message in a quick and easy way, which is something that becomes a lot easier with visual content when compared to the written content. 

Both GIFs and animations are actually lighter on your website speed, so you can actually keep the pages really fast while still maintaining a focus on the visuals. 

Brutalism as a Trend

Recently, as an answer to so many websites opting for minimalism, a new trend has emerged that's completely opposite of it. Instead of going for simplicity, brutalism is all about creating websites that are overly-complicated. 

Sure, this trend isn't for every website out there, but there's something attractive to its ugliness. Web designers focus more on collages of images and text, rather than caring about UX at all. If you go with brutalism design though, you've got to be prepared for people to call your website ugly. 

That's just the way it is, you can't have it both ways - brutalism websites aren't pretty, but they don't even care. 

Handwritten Elements

Using handwritten fonts, graphics, icons, or even buttons is a great way to be unique about your web design yet don't go too far out of the way. It's certainly a great change considering that most websites employ boring, flat fonts that only care about readability. 

Giving your website a unique touch in this manner will provide a great contrast to that and make your website stand out from the crowd.

Minimalism is Still a Thing

This web design trend is actually a fusion of many other web design styles. The idea behind it is to give priority to performance, speed, as well as very simplistic layouts. 

The main reason why this trend came to prominence is a huge shift to responsive websites, which happened due to ever growing requirements for the websites to be mobile friendly. 

Before that, websites usually wanted to put every piece of information on the top to avoid scrolling, which gave websites a cluttered feel. Teaming up with a reliable website design company can do the trick of helping you avoid such problems. 

Mobile devices, however, encourage scrolling so various options can be arranged in a better way. Another important element of minimalism is its usage of white space, which really helps the websites look a lot cleaner. 

The Rules are There for a Reason

By employing the most useful techniques in web design you can ensure that your website stays in line with your competitors, or better yet, even become a leader in your niche. 

Of course, there are other important elements of running an online business beyond having a cool looking and functional website, like SEO for example, since you'll get very little out of your web design if your traffic is really low. 

The trends we mentioned in this guide are all there to inspire you and maybe even motivate you to experiment with web design on your own, which can really turn the table for your business if you do it right.

3 Great Ways to Spend Less Hosting Parties This Holiday Season

As exciting as it can be to throw a big holiday party, the lead up to it can be stressful, especially when it comes to managing your party costs. 

Since the holiday season is such a popular time for parties, throwing one can be hard on your wallet, as you may need to pay more for an event space, a caterer and anything else you need to make your party memorable. 

Keep these three tips in mind to spend less on any parties you throw this holiday season.

Figure Out How Much You Can Spend First

Before you start thinking about what foods you want and where you’d like to throw your party, set your budget for it. 

This is the simplest and most effective way to ensure that you don’t end up spending more on your party than you can afford. 

It’s easy to convince yourself to spend more once you get married to the idea of booking a specific venue or serving certain foods, which is why you’re better off deciding on spending limits first.

Try Snacks and Desserts Over Entire Meals

When you’re throwing a party for a large group of people, the biggest expense is usually the food, and this is especially true if you’re serving any meats. But there’s no rule that holiday parties need to include fancy dinners. 

You can keep your guests’ taste buds just as satisfied with snacks, appetizers, desserts or a combination of those options, and you’ll save quite a bit of money in the process.

Trim Those Pesky Party Supply Costs

Another big holiday party expense is the supplies to seat and serve however many people you’ve invited. You’ll need tables, chairs, plates and silverware at a minimum. 

If you’re planning to book an event space, you should see which of them include those items, as that will be one big expense you don’t need to cover anymore. There’s also the option of renting tables and chairs from a company like Party People Rentals & Sales. 

This costs less than purchasing them, and you don’t need to figure out what you’re going to do with those tables and chairs once the party’s over.

You don’t need to start the new year with a huge party bill on your credit card statement. With smart party planning, you can avoid certain party costs and keep others as low as possible, while still throwing a party your guests enjoy.

5 Tips On How to Make Money Playing Golf

A lot of people end up resenting their jobs due to stress and workload. One particularly relaxing outdoor activity is golfing. If you are a fan, regardless of the level your game is at, there are opportunities for you to mix business and pleasure. 

Here is how you can earn some money on the side while having fun and give your day job a rest from high expectations and the never-ending rat race.

Be a crash dummy

… Luckily, not in a literal sense and in a very safe environment. There are companies paying mystery shoppers to evaluate various experiences offered by various businesses. This refers to the golf industry as well. 

There are companies which are willing to pay you for playing one of your favorite games and evaluating your experience related to the certain course afterword. Not too shabby at all!

Test equipment

You can apply with various companies to use different pieces of golfing equipment or golf balls in order to test them. All you need to do once you have obtained the object you need to test, is see how it responds to certain criteria given by the manufacturer, leave your comment, and grade your overall experience. 

You can also benefit from this by observing the equipment and it’s preferences from a whole new angle and thus improve your game.

Design

This essentially refers to those who have studied architecture and are fond of golf. You can use your architectural knowledge to carve the landscape but more importantly, you need to know what it feels like to play on the course and what it is that the players are looking for and enjoying the most in order to be able to do your job effectively. 

Of course, you can always run a survey to find out, but it is much easier if you are personally familiar with the rules and have experienced the game.

Be good and win

Here is an obvious way of earning money doing any chosen thing. Invest your time and your effort in being the best or one of the best. Be dedicated and organize your schedule so as to allow you enough time to practice. 

The best golf training by Swingeagle is the one where you repeatedly manage to get the ball as close as possible to your target by using approximately the same movement when pitching. Once you feel you are in control and you can rely on your technique more than you do on your luck, you are good to go.

Be good and endorse

Marketing is an ever-growing part of any industry. If you prove to be a good marketing tool, you will shower in money. You can either be an extremely good player or just a good one but with a lot of charisma. 

Whatever the reason for your popularity may be, if people take interest in you or look up to you, you can expect offers from various businesses asking you to endorse their products. 

Most of these will be for sports equipment but looking at the culture and tradition behind the sport, you may catch an eye of the fashion industry.

Alongside tennis, golf has a long history of being a game for the privileged. This has been changing within the last couple of decades but the industry still consists of a great number of reputable clubs attended by the rich. 

Consequently, a lot of money is circulating and there are a lot of different opportunities for it to end up in your pocket. Be wise and creative in finding ways and never forget to have fun.

How to Relocate Your Office Without too Much Hassle

Every move, whether it's to your new house or to a bigger office, can be stressful and exhausting. Things get broken or lost in the process. Relocating a company is can be additionally stressful, as you need to consider all your employees, your current projects and your customers' needs. 

Still, the stress doesn't have to happen to you, too. If you are planning to relocate your office, avoid all the fuss by organizing carefully your steps. Here's what you should do:

Be Prepared for the Move

In order for the move to be cost-efficient, it needs to be time-efficient. It means you should be preparing for the move for at least three months, so when the time comes, the process runs smoothly. 

First, you need to inform yourself on the exact location of your new office. Make sure you know the exact dimensions of each room in it, so you don't get surprised when you realize that some office desk that you brought just won't fit in a room. 



A floor plan previous to the move is a smart step. It includes the number of employees with their allocated offices, furniture, plants, and everything else you've decided to bring along. 

Give a copy of the floor plate to each of your employees, so that stress on the moving day is reduced as much as possible.

Communication With Everyone Included

It's important to inform everyone included (employees, landlord, and movers) on every detail regarding the move. This will prevent misplacing the furniture or important papers or any other problem. 

Movers should be informed of the exact location of every piece of furniture - the floor plan will show them which floor each thing goes on. You could label each thing belonging to a certain floor with the same color, which helps the movers. 

Also, if there are similar desks that belong to specific employees, separate them by putting initials of a specific employee on them. 

Your supervisors should be responsible for ensuring that employees read and follow their instructions, while the employees should be expected to pack their own items for their office according to the instructions they receive.

Dealing With Items That Have to be Moved

These include small stuff like pencils and personal items, as well as huge bulky objects, such as office desks and cabinets. 

Employees should be told to pack and move any personal items on their own, so it wouldn't get lost during the moving. All the content from the desk drawers should be packed in small boxes and sealed so they don't get spilt (like paper clips and pencils). 

All security files should be locked before the moving and even consolidated. All the items that won't be relocated to your new office should be labelled with "Don't move" to avoid unnecessary expenses when you realize you have some extra stuff at your workplace. 

These items don't have to be discarded completely because supercheap storage enables you to keep them away from the office for any future purposes.

Careful With Electrical Machines

All electrical devices should be handled with extra caution. Be sure that the employee responsible for dismantling them knows how to properly do it and how to safely pack each of the comprising parts. 

The fluid from the photocopy machines should be removed. Water dispensers should be emptied. Every electrical machine or its parts should be fastened. 

Remember - any part of a machine that gets lost during the relocation means more money to be spent afterwards.

Final Words

Relocating your office will definitely need a lot of effort, excellent organizational skills and careful planning prior to the actual moving. 

The important thing is for each person to be completely involved in their part of the process and fully informed. Then the actual moving will have only beneficial consequences for you and your company.