Efficiency Could Be Costing You Money

In this day and age, technology is synonymous with efficiency. Time has value that is easy to understand. We often say that time saved is money earned, and we work hard and try our best to be efficient in order to spend more time on things that we enjoy.

However, there are many situations where investing time in something can result in greater benefit further down the road. So what if we are being too efficient and losing value? Wouldn’t you like to know if taking a little more time here and there could save you a lot more money?

Think about your utility bill for a second. Every month, you go to an ATM and get money out of your savings account, take it over to a local bill pay center like HEB or Walmart, and count out the amount you need to cover the cost for the energy you used over the past month. No? You don’t do that? Ok, so maybe when the bill comes in the mail, you scan the page till you find the total, and write a check for the amount and put it in the provided envelope, slap a stamp on it, and send it away. Not even that? Then instead, several weeks after your auto bill pay service has automatically paid your bill to the utility company and the money is gone, you happen to note that the amount on the statement was more than you thought it would be. This is unfortunate, but it is in the past, and you shrug your shoulders and continue about your daily life.

It’s not too difficult to imagine that taking the time to count out the money and pay your bill in cash would make it a little more painful than having it get paid without you even knowing it. Taking that route might be a bit extreme for most of us, but being aware of what you are paying by having to see the cash or actually having to write out the value every month is often the little nudge people need to be a little more efficient with their energy usage in daily life (there’s that word “efficient” again; it’s popular here). So what’s the lesson here? Don’t automate everything. Sign up for email alerts when your bill is ready to be paid. Take a look at the number before you click a few buttons to pay the bill. Better yet, use a free budgeting system like Mint.com to glance back at what you’ve paid each month over the last year or more to understand how much you’re spending. Are you on target?

Another cool new option for cutting your energy costs by being more aware is prepaid electricity. This option is getting more prevalent as smart meters are installed in more homes everywhere. To learn more about prepaid electricity and what makes it such an intriguing option, check out our blog post here: Can Prepaid Electricity Shrink Your Bills?