Almost every where we look, it is obvious that everything is costing more these days. Most electric bills are higher due to the increase cost of fuel. There are some very easy remedies to saving money on your fuel bill. These may have an upfront cost but will pay for themselves in a very short time.

First of all, let us look at your kitchen stove. It is either natural gas, propane gas or electric. All three of these types of stoves cost significantly to run. Kitchen stoves, or ranges, are big and although they may be new and energy efficient, they require a lot of fuel to use them. The easiest way to reduce the use of your stove is by purchasing a countertop oven that runs on regular household 110 volts. A good countertop oven will have a baking, broil, toast, rotisserie and keep warm setting. They also will have a temperature dial and a timer. Although they are smaller than a regular size oven, you can find them with 2 racks which gives enough room to cook a regular meal.

In addition to this, purchasing a countertop grill for about $15 also helps when you are looking to grill sandwiches or meats. Again, these use 110 volts instead of the 220 volts that your regular stove uses if it is electric.

Another idea to cut back on the use of oil, gas or electric for heating your home is to purchase a good room size heater at a cost of approximately $100.00. By lowering the house heat and using the portable heater in the room that you and your family are in, again you can save significantly on your fuel bill. Most heaters come with a low and high setting that can be adjusted as needed. For anyone living in the southern states such a Florida, where most homes use electric heat, this is the most efficient way to save money through the winter. You will be very surprised to see how much your monthly electric bill is reduced. Our highest bill this past winter season was $95.00

For everyone out there who has central air conditioning, they are aware of how high those summer utility bills can go. By purchasing an air conditioning window unit for each of the bedrooms to use mainly at night instead of the whole house unit, you can again save significantly on your electric bill. Keeping your house thermostat at a higher than normal degree and then using just the window units at night will definitely put more money in your pocket. Usually a 5,000 BTU unit is more than sufficient and again runs on 110 volts. We did this last summer and our highest electric bill was $132.00.

Of course, everyone�s situation is different and the number of people in their home is different and so the cost savings are going to vary. But by taking just a few steps to improving our homes to become more energy efficient will help each individual to become less dependent on the luxuries that contribute to the higher use and cost of energy.