Need Help Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions?

Every year, millions of us start the new year off with promises to make positive changes. Millions of others swear this is the year they won't make any resolutions at all! For those of us in former group, there are plenty of resources to help get started and stay motivated. And we'll probably need all the help we can get!

According to ProactiveChange.com, between 40 to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year. However, only about half of those resolutions make it past the six-month mark. You shouldn't give up all hope, as they also found that people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't.

New Year's resolutions are so popular for Americans that even the government wants to help. USA.gov provides links to resources on everything from weight loss to saving money to reducing stress. If you need a little more help setting and keeping up with your goals, check out the New Year's Resolution Kit from Psychology Today. This handy worksheet walks you step-by-step toward resolutions that are, "realistic, achievable, and meaningful."

If your resolutions include lowering your bills, moving to a new city, or making greener energy choices, WhiteFence.com is here to help, too!

Here's to a happier, wealthier, greener 2010!

Make a Resolution to Save on Your Bills in 2010

It’s that time again, when we all make a list of optimistic goals for the year ahead. With economic times still tight for millions of Americans, one of the top resolutions this year is saving money. Home service expenses are one of the biggest components of a household budget and one of the biggest targets for easy savings.

WhiteFence is here to help trim those costs with a list of simple ways you might be able to lower your bills this year:

• Bundle your services – There are lots of savings to be found out there for consumers that bundle their high-speed Internet, home phone and television packages.
• Audit your television package – Are you paying for channels you don’t watch? Are there channels you want to watch that you don’t subscribe to yet? Look over what you’re paying for now and compare that to television plans offered on WhiteFence. It may be the money you’re spending on certain premium channels you don’t watch would be better spent on the channels you’ve been craving.
• Shop for a lower natural gas rate – There is still plenty of cold weather forecasted this winter throughout the country. Shopping for a lower natural gas rate now could still let you save big on your heating costs.
• Find a better deal on high-speed Internet service – With blazing fasts Internet speeds cheaper than ever, it might be the time to see if you’re paying too much for your current service. Shop Internet plans on WhiteFence to see if you could be getting either the same service for less or faster speeds for what you’re already paying.
• Upgrade to a home phone plan with unlimited calling – Did you rack up a lot of long distance calling charges in 2009? Check over your bills and compare the costs with a home phone plan that includes unlimited long distance calling. You might just find it’s cheaper to upgrade.
• Prepare your home for lower electricity usage – Cutting your kilowatts helps save both money and the planet. Investing in CFL light bulbs and upgraded insulation are two easy ways to save big on electricity costs. For more tips check out our post 7 Ways to Easily Lower Your Electricity Bill.

Visit the WhiteFence homepage and enter your address to get started saving now.

Fight the Cold When You Shop Natural Gas at WhiteFence

It’s been a cold winter so far and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting warmer any time soon. In fact, they’re forecasting snow again today here in the Lone Star State. With all this cold weather, many Americans have been hit with high natural gas bills right in the middle of some already icy economic times.

Natural gas rates are currently at historical lows, so if you feel like you’re paying too much for your heating needs it might be time to do some shopping. With WhiteFence you can easily discover and compare your options for natural gas service to find the right plan for your household. You might find that you’ll be able to slash your heating costs for the rest of the winter.

To get started, simply visit our natural gas page and enter your address. WhiteFence will then search for a list of natural gas providers and plans available to you. In just seconds, you’ll be able to compare your options in an easy-to-understand format and identify what plan best meets your needs.

Here is some of the information you will find about each plan:

• Price Per Unit – What price you will pay for each unit of natural gas. Depending on your utility and market this could be therms, Ccf or Mcf.
• Plan Type – What rate type the plan uses, fixed or variable.
• Contract Term – How long the plan’s contract will last. With some plans you can lock in a rate for a specified amount of time, but others are on a month-to-month basis.
• Early Termination Fee – How much you will have to pay if you decide to exit a contract early.
• Monthly Charge – Any recurring charges in addition to your actual usage charges.
• Specials – Promotions the company might be offering for a specific plan, such as a bill credit.

While comparing, keep an eye out for our Best Price Guarantee, which is an agreement we have with many service providers to ensure you’re getting the lowest published prices in your neighborhood. WhiteFence can give you the confidence that you’re getting the best deal while also saving you all of the time involved with researching every provider on your own.

Once you’ve made your selection and are ready to order your new natural gas service, you can place your order directly through WhiteFence. We can then work with you to make sure the provider gets everything up and running correctly.

With plenty of cold weather left in the forecast this season, you still have the chance to save big. Click over to our natural gas page and get started now.

How to Switch Electricity Providers Online with WhiteFence

Looking to save on your energy bills? With WhiteFence, switching to a new electricity company is quick and easy. If you live in a deregulated area, you have the power to choose your provider based on what matters most to you — whether that is the lowest price, the best customer service or the availability of green energy choices.

To get started, simply visit WhiteFence.com and enter your address. WhiteFence will search for the electricity providers and plans available at your location and present you with a list of results in just seconds. You can then compare all of the plans to find the one that best meets your needs.

Here is some of the information you will find about each plan:

• Price per kWh – What price you will pay per kilowatt-hour. On average, most homes use around 1500 kWh per month or more, depending on the size and energy efficiency.
• Pricing Type – What type of rate the plan uses, whether it is fixed or variable.
• Contract Term – How long the rate is guaranteed not to change.
• Energy Type – Whether the electricity you will be using is renewable or not.
• Cancellation Fee – What you will have to pay if you cancel the contract (if there is one).
• Specials – Any special promotions the company might be offering, such as a rebate.

Once you have made your selection, it’s time to order your service. For most states, to switch your service to a new provider, you will have to provide your current provider and account number (Texas residents do not have to provide an account number). You will also have to enter your service address, contact data, billing details and other pertinent information.

After you have submitted your order, it will be processed by your new electricity provider and they will contact you if any further action is needed on your part. Depending on your state, your new electricity service could start as soon as within three business days, but might take one to two billing cycles.

Happy Cyber Monday!

The long Thanksgiving weekend is over and now you’re stuck behind your desk for another grueling day of work, with weeks separating you from your next day off. Don’t be too depressed though, as today is Cyber Monday, the day where online retailers unleash their hottest holiday deals.

If you didn’t empty your bank account last week with all of the Black Friday deals, there are lots of cool things to be had at a deep discount today. Did that huge new HDTV you had your eye on sell out before you got to the store at five in the morning? What about that sweet new laptop? If you missed out last week, you might just be surprised to find even better deals today.

If you’re ready to start wasting company time shopping online, check out Eddy’s blog from last week to find a link to all of the best deals available online today.

Happy Black Friday!

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone again and as tradition dictates, today we turn from one national pastime to another—from eating to shopping. Today is known as Black Friday, and is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, the day that retailers unveil their best holiday deals.

Whether you’re in the market for big-ticket items like laptops and HDTVs, or just looking for some cheap stuff like DVDs and videogames, there’s something for everybody out there today. So get out there and start spending!

To help guide you through the maze of great deals to be had today, check out Eddy’s blog from last week to find a catalog of all the hottest money-saving Black Friday items.

8 Ways to Have a Green Thanksgiving

It’s that time of the year again, where as a nation, we collectively devote an entire day to gorging ourselves on rich foods and having awkward conversations with obscure family members. This year, why not help the planet alongside all the overeating with some of these stress-free green tips:

• Buy organic food—Organic foods are not only more healthy, but also keep dangerous chemicals out of the eco-system. For extra green points, see how much of your meal you can buy from local producers.
• Decorate with natural materials—Instead of buying some cheesy store-bought decorations, make your table green and classy at the same time with an assortment of pine cones, leaves and mini-pumpkins.
• Buy carbon offsets—If travelling is part of your Thanksgiving plans, consider buying some carbon credits to offset the carbon emitted during your travels.
• Eat leftovers—Sure, after a few meals turkey can get a little boring, but using the food that you’ve already cooked saves both time and energy. One great way to use leftovers is to make a soup with leftover vegetables and stock made from leftover turkey.
• Use your dishwasher—It may seem a little counter-intuitive, but studies have found that dishwashers actually use less energy, soap and water. Just make sure you air dry the dishes, as heat drying wastes electricity.
• Plant a tree—What better family activity could there be than to take time to go outside and plant a tree? Bonus: yard work can help burn off some of the calories from that second slice of pumpkin pie.
• Don’t put hot food in the fridge—It may be tempting to just throw everything in the refrigerator when the eating is through, but waiting a little while can help keep your fridge cooler, which saves both energy and money. Just don’t leave it out for hours on end, as you will probably end up with a nasty case of food poisoning.
• Always remember to reduce, reuse and recycle—These three concepts are the keys to green living. Use them to see if you can find some inventive new ways to cut your energy consumption. If you do, let us know about them in the comments!

Fighting the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Monsters

As we all know, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, meaning that we get to eat absurd amounts of food while watching football or talking to relatives. Or at least, that's what it will be for me.

However, it's the weekend after Thanksgiving that many savings-savvy-shoppers look forward to. Black Friday is the day when all of the stores are dropping prices, and Cyber Monday is when the online retailers follow suit.

Both of these days are looming in the not-so-distant future, and they are ready for you to enter them with impulse and reckless abandon. To combat that, you could always eat an absurd amount of food, which apparently increases the production of an amino acid that makes you less impulsive. See? Eat more and save money. Science proves it, and you can't argue with science.

However, the best strategy for tackling the big shopping days is to go in prepared. If you're looking for the best deals for each one, there are some online resources that can help you out. For the shop-a-holics that prefer Black Friday, Black-Friday.net is an excellent catalog of all the deals you can find and where. And for those that wish to avoid the rabid swarming masses and do your shopping online, CyberMonday.net is a similar grouping of all the online deals and where you can save the most money.

So, which of these two days do you use to get most of your shopping done? Have you ever found any great deals? Tell us in the comments!

Save Money and Go Green by Upgrading Your Home’s Insulation

Yahoo! Green has posted an in-depth guide on how to lower your bills and reduce your carbon footprint by upgrading your home’s insulation. On average, heating costs make up about one third of a home’s energy budget, making insulation upgrades one of the quickest ways to make your home more energy efficient.

The article walks you through how you can identify trouble areas in your home and how to choose your new insulation. Included is an in-depth breakdown of every style of insulation on the market, featuring innovative new green choices like bio-based fibers, radiant barriers and blown-in insulation. To help you determine which type of insulation is best for your situation, the guide even provides a link to a handy cost-to-savings calculator.

With winter just around the corner, there’s not much time left to protect your home from the cold before temperatures drop and energy rates soar, so consider upgrading your home’s insulation today.

Saving Time and Money with the Freezer

As a new home owner, switching food over between refrigerators and freezers has made me more acutely aware of just how bad I am about preserving food. After cleaning out several sets of leftovers, it's hard not to feel like there's more I could have done to freeze the food that wasn't going to get used right away. Using the freezer better not only results in less time preparing food, but also less money spent since you're using the leftovers so well.  I've tried to do this a few times in the past, but I've never been able to find the right balance of time and effort.

I'm not sure if any of you are in the same boat as me, but if you are, I found a recent post on Lifehacker to be fairly helpful when it comes to the freezer. 10 Simple Freezer Tricks to Save You Time and Money has some practical guidelines to follow that will make your life easier. For instance, one of the tips talks about using a chopstick to break apart pieces of frozen meat for portion control. Also, saving hard drives in freezers can help damaged recover lost data, or may at least allow it to boot long enough to get what you need.

To read more freezer tips, be sure to visit Lifehacker. How about you guys? Do you have any freezer or refrigerator tips to save time and money?