$mart Money Wednesday: Win something,
clip coupons, save on utilities, and go green!

By Suzy $mart
KyForward Columnist
Suzy@KyForward.com

It’s Win It Wednesday

Christine Luken has a great Win It Wednesday going on. Our fav Confessions of a Coupon Queen! Will have two giveaways today — For her afternoon giveaway is some Bath and Body Works goodies in the latest scent, Pink Chiffon! For her evening giveaway is a Miche wallet sponsored by Amber’s Fabulous Purses!

Follow her giveaway on Facebook at Confessions of a Coupon Queen – and “like” it!

Featured coupon site: Cellfire.com

You can “join” Cellfire and get some additional perks, but you don’t have to join to clip coupons from the site – and you can add coupons to your Kroger card.

Here are some examples of available coupons: 50 cents off Pillsbury Crescent rolls, $1 off Totino’s Party Pizza, 60 cents off Totino’s Pizza Rolls, 50 cents off Betty Crocker Fruit Rollups, 75 cents off Chek cereals, 75 cents off multigrain Cheerios, $1 off Pillsbury Cookie Dough. . .and more.

Other ways to save

Clipping coupons, planning and shopping smart are great ways to save – but there are other ways, and Suzy is happy to share how your electric utility company, LGE-KU offers some really great ways to save on your energy bill.

Here are tips related to lighting:

To save up to $27 a year, change your five most-used light bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. The more bulbs you change, the more you’ll save.

Use light-colored, loose-weave curtains on windows to allow daylight to filter in while maintaining privacy.

Three-way lamps make it easier to keep lighting levels low when brighter light is not necessary.

Use task lighting. Focus the light where you need it so you are not brightly lighting an entire room.

Turn off lights when they are not in use. Consider using timers to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.

Use dimmers, motion sensors or occupancy sensors to automatically turn on or off lighting as needed.

Use ENERGY STAR qualified light fixtures and bulbs.

During the winter, open the curtains on your south-facing windows on sunny days to allow the sun to naturally heat your home.

Close the curtains and drapes at night to retain the heat.

So simple – yet it makes Smart Sense to save money – and save the environment.

Go-Green tips

Suzy also likes Squidoo.com for more going-green tips.

Here are 29 general tips from Squidoo that will help you save time, money – and (Suzy really likes this) the EARTH.

Change to Fluorescent Bulbs – If every house in the United States changed all of the light bulbs in their house, that would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the streets.

Don’t Rinse – Skip rinsing your plates before putting them into the dishwasher. In average you will save 15 gallons of water per load. Plus, you will save time.

Hang Outside to Dry – Get a clothes line or rack to dry your cloths. Your clothes will last longer and you will save money

Turn off computers at night – don’t just put them to sleep. You will save an average of 4 cents a day which ades up to $14.60 a year.

Use Both Sides of Paper – if you have a printer with a double sided print option use it. You will save half of the amount of paper. Then when you’re done, recycle!

Get rid of baths – Don’t take baths, take showers. You will in average save about half the amount of water.

Don’t buy bottled water – Instead of bottled water get a reusable container to carry water. Also you can get a filter to make your home tap taste more like bottled water.

Turn the water off when you brush. You will save 4 gallons of water doing this alone.

Shorten your shower – Every minute you cut from your shower is roughly 5 gallons of water. The less time your shower takes, the lower your impact on the environment.

Recycle Glass – If you do not recycle this, it will take a million years to decompose.

Don’t Pre-Heat the Oven – unless needed, just turn the oven on after you put the dish in it. Also, to see if it’s finished just look through the glass instead of opening it.

Use Warm or Cold Setting on Washer – instead of the hot cycle use the warm or cold setting..

Turn Down your Thermostat – Every degree lower in the winter or higher in the summer you put it is a 10% decrease on your energy bill.

Turn off your lights – An easy one. Turn off your lights when you are not using them.

Get rid of junk mail – There are many services that can help you get rid of junk mail. That will lead to a lot less trees being cut down to take up room in your mailbox.

Use Matches instead of lighters – Lighters are usually considered disposable so they will most likely end up in land fills. You can use the cardboard matches which are much more eco-friendly because they are made of recycled material.

Don’t get a paper phone book. Use an online directory instead.

Give things away – Take things that you are not going to wear or use and give it to a charity or someone who will use then

Go to a car wash – Going to a car wash is a lot more water efficient then washing your car at home.

Stop paper bank statements – Why waste paper getting your bank statement mailed to you when you can just check it out online.

Buy Rechargeable Batteries – Even though it will take a good investment to buy these you will find yourself gaining it back in no time.

Pay your Bills Online – If every house in the US did this then we would save 18 million trees every year.

Get reusable bags – and remember to take them with you to the grocery!

Do Errands in Bulk – Make a list of the things you have to do and make them work in one trip.

Inflate your Tires – If your tires are inflated at appropriate levels your car will run more miles on less gas.

Wrap Presents Creatively – Without going out to get wrapping paper you can use newspaper, an old map, or anything else. Even gift bags make more sense – if you reuse them.

Plant a Tree – It’s good for the air, can keep you cool, and can increase your property value.

Buy Local Produce – Consider how much energy it takes for produce from China or any other country to come here. If you have the option to buy local, do it.

Walk or Ride Your Bike When you can – If you have to go somewhere close consider riding your bike or walking instead driving. It’s better on the environment and healthier for you.