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Many costs are associated with living somewhere beyond rent or mortgage payments. Most of these overheads are necessities like utility bills or council tax, but this does not mean that you couldn’t save some money. Here are some tips to help lower the running cost of your home.

Council Tax

There are a few ways that you can reduce your council tax bill. Firstly, if you are the only person living at your property, you can apply for a 25% reduction in your annual statement. It is relatively easy to do this, as you can often ask for the discount online or over the phone. You might also be eligible for a council tax reduction if you care for someone in the home. The person has to have a severe impairment (such as Parkinson’s) to apply for this.

Finally, it is worth checking what your property is worth and, therefore, whether it is in the correct council tax band. There are hundreds of thousands of properties in the UK that are charged more tax than they should be. If you think this could be true for you, it is worth petitioning the council to change it.

Energy Costs

Energy bills represent a significant outgoing for every household, but there are steps you can take to decrease your spending.

We all know that using the heating less, or turning off the lights when we are not using them will decrease our energy usage. There are some ways of doing this that are a little less widely known, however.

A great way to save on energy is to transition to LED lighting in your home. These are more practical and energy-efficient than the more traditional filament or fluorescence bulbs. Typically, an LED bulb will use up to 90% less energy to produce the same amount of light as a conventional light bulb. This energy saving will undoubtedly be reflected in your electricity bill, especially if you use these bulbs in all of your light fixtures. If you are concerned about the upfront cost of LEDs in your home, you might want to look for a g9 LED bulb. These are available at various price points and will last much longer than conventional bulbs, saving you money in the long run.

Subscription Services

Many households spend significant sums each month on television subscription services. Whether you pay for a television license or shell out for Sky, it can be worth considering what you value from these subscriptions and whether you can make savings somewhere.

Many people also pay monthly subscriptions for streaming services like Amazon Prime or Netflix. These can cost up to £96 per year for the most basic packages, so it may be worth considering whether you can go without one or the other if you are trying to cut down your household spending.

In Conclusion

To summarise, many people view their monthly outgoings as a fixed amount they can’t do anything to change. However, there are ways that you can significantly decrease your energy spend and subscription costs and, in some circumstances, even your council tax.