money... I know its been asked

[sept09bride]

Im looking for creative ideas on how to make some extra money. We are getting married in September and going to Disney for our honeymoon, I want to try to get ahead of the bills so there are none in September. We've been lucky enough to pay for everything in cash thus far... but Im interested in others ideas on making some extra dough.


Also how successful are people at getting there monthly bills lowered, utilities and such??

Thanks in advance

 

[oldbay]

To lower your monthly bills I have been switching light bulbs to the energy smart ones and unplugging appliances when not in use. This has lowered our electric bill by about 15% already! I was shocked it made that much of a difference. I unplug everything when not in use or have it on a power strip to turn off now.

I read somewhere once the secret isn't how much money you make but how you spend it, anyone can make money but how you spend it makes the difference. Good luck!

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Well, if you are getting married, you might be combining households. Go ahead and start selling off duplicates or things that you plan to replace (like getting rid of one living room set or selling the extra lawn mower). You can have a nice garage sale and make a bit of money that way, or set things up on Craig's list. I know I bought several nice pieces of furniture from friends that were setting up house together and had two of everything, plus they got enough money to do things like buy a whole new living room suit.

You can also clear out your closets in a garage sale or on eBay.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Oh, on lowering bills. Move your thermostat to the warmest setting you can stand in summer and the lowest in winter. We keep it at 65* in the winter and 74* in the summer.

Run the dishwasher and/or the washing machine overnight, when rates can be lower.

Trade in old appliances for Energy Star rated ones anytime you need a new appliance.

Replace as many of your bulbs as possible with flourescents. We have more than half the house on cfls now, and not only does it help the bills, they puts out less heat which helps the a/c.

Make sure to change your furnace filters very regularly. A dirty filter makes the furnace / a/c work harder than it has to.