Several times during the summer, heat waves will pop up across the country. For those living in the south, the summer becomes a permanent heat wave that tends to wear on everyone's nerves after awhile. It's at this time that you literally feel like the electric meter is just going to explode. Dealing with the heat and trying to keep cool becomes a mission. Here are some important things to consider when a heat wave occurs.

- If you have a pool, get in it. Get in it several times per day. This will cool off your body and your temper. Get your hair wet and leave it wet. When you return inside the house, it will feel much cooler and you will be able to raise the thermostat.

- Invest in window unit air conditioners for the bedrooms. Even if there is central air conditioning, this can be a big saver on the electric bill. At night, the central thermostat can be raised while the window air conditioning units cool the bedrooms for a good night's sleep. In the morning, when you open the bedroom doors, the cold air will filter through the house and cool it off a few degrees. Remember, the central unit runs on 220 while window units run on 110 which results in a very big savings.

We have done this for about 3 years now. While others are paying $300 per month for electric, out highest bill has been $145 per month during the summer months. At this point, we would never stop doing this since the central unit could never make the bedroom get as cold as it does with a window unit. Most bedrooms only require a small 5,000 btu air conditioning unit which is fairly inexpensive. Our units have paid for themselves over and over in the past couple of years.

- Too hot to cook? Bring the slow cooker or crock pot outside and cook outside. This will help to keep the house cool. Even a counter top oven can be brought outside for this purpose. Do as much cooking as you can outside of the house. I usually will put the crock pot outside to cook a roast. Set it up and forget about it for 3 or 4 hours with all of the heat left outside. Let the aroma fill the neighborhood. Don't be surprised if the neighbors knock at the door to see what's for dinner.

We all know the usual recommendations of staying cool such as drinking more fluids and wearing lighter weight clothing. Think of unusual ways to keep cool and dealing with the heat during heat waves and challenge yourself to see if it really works. If it does, share it with the world.