In today’s energy conscious culture, we routinely search for creative means of lowering energy costs.

Unbelievably, almost 20 percent of your monthly electricity bill can be attributed to your lighting costs. If you want to cut that portion of your bill in half, keep reading for 6 smart lighting tips that will reduce your energy costs dramatically.

1. Start using compact fluorescent lights.

The moment you switch away from incandescent light bulbs, you’ll start saving money. New energy-efficient light bulbs have thousands of hours of power and only use a quarter of the energy. In fact, every CFL (compact fluorescent light bulb) you install in your home will save you $30-$60 over time.

While you’re at it, replace your old halogen lights with CFLs as well. Halogen lights throw off a lot of heat and they can even be a fire hazard. Not only will you save on your electricity bill, you’ll save on air conditioning too.

2. Install motion-detector lights.

Motion-detection systems are especially great for outdoor, garage and closet lights. They allow you to leave the porch light on when you go out, but only use energy when there’s actually someone at the door or you’re there trying to find your keys. Installing a motion-detector fixture is simple, but if you have questions about a particular brand or model, your local hardware clerk will be happy to help you.

3. Clean your lights and fixtures.

A clean light bulb and fixture is 100 percent more efficient than a dirty one. Just a quick dust with a cloth every couple of weeks and you can save a surprising amount on your electricity bill.

4. Set your lamps on a timer.

If you like to come home to a lit foyer, don’t leave a light or lamp burning all day. Instead, install a timer to turn on the light a few minutes before you usually get home from work.

5. Turn off the lights when you leave a room.

It sounds simple, but so many of us walk around our big houses with every light in the place burning brightly. Try one month of absolutely diligently shutting off the lights every time you leave a room. If you’re typically a ravenous energy user, your electricity bill will drop by at least 5-10 percent.

6. Use task-specific lighting.

Most well-lit rooms have overhead lighting, accent lighting and task lighting (specific, directed lamps). While it’s nice to have such an array of lighting, that doesn’t mean you have to use them all at once.

Basically, use only the types of lights you need. For example, if you’re simply reading, then opt for just your reading lamp and turn off the overhead light.

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There must be so many stories about bankruptcy today in this becoming even more ridiculous economy but aren’t people fortunate that they can file for bankruptcy. I think the ‘big 3’, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler need to consider that. Hard working people, people who have worked all their lives to support their families find themselves out of a job and unable to pay their bills largely because the greed in this country not only went on unchecked for so many years but also because we the people permitted it to happen by not involving ourselves in our government. However, that said, the rich became super rich, the powerful became super powerful and influenced Congress and the powers that be with their money to do their bidding. Palms were greased in so many ways to pave the way for deregulation of the financial industry. As school funds depleted, as the healthcare system became more unavailable to the people, as our infrastructure disintegrated, as our planet became more polluted, the rich got richer. And the auto companies made bigger gas guzzling cars while they destroyed one hundred thousand electric cars! The car companies should join the ranks in filing bankruptcy!

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We all get 0 balance transfer offers in the mail. Are these really a good idea? What is the catch? Are 0% interest credit cards really what they say? Great deals can be had with 0 APR cards, but you have to read the fine print before you sign your name to one.

You can find several 0 balance transfers with terms that include no interest on purchases for the introductory period, up to 12 months with no interest or finance charges. This card is very good for several situations. If you are good at controlling your spending, and want a 0 APR card that will help you use your money more efficiently, then try one of these cards. It is good to have one of the 0% interest credit cards if you have a large purchase you would like to pay over time without the burden of a high interest rate.

If you’d like to lower the principal balance on an existing credit card, one of the 0% interest rate credit cards can help you. When you transfer the balance from your high interest card, your payments will go directly towards paying down your balance for the length of the introductory period. Keeping interest at bay is the best way to get your debt down, and with the competition among credit card lenders, 0% APR balance credit card offers make it easy to work your debt down.

If you are looking for a 0 APR credit card to help you get out of debt, the most important thing to remember is that getting out of debt is a lifestyle change. If you can control your spending habits, some borrowers have found they can use zero interest credit card offers to their advantage as they transfer the balance to a new card as the introductory period expires on the previous card. If you do this with the mindset of beating the credit card interest, and control your spending, you will be amazed by the amount of money you can save on interest over the course of the introductory period.

Use wisdom when deciding which 0 interest credit cards you want to get. Be aware of the interest rate after the introductory period, what purchases are covered and any penalties that come with the card. Doing your homework and being a wise credit card consumer can help you let the credit cards work for you instead of against you.

3 important factors to be aware of:

• Always look to see if there is a balance transfer fee.
• Do not forget when the introductory offer ends.
• Dont miss your payments or your interest rate will increase dramatically.

It will be tempting to take the first 0 APR card offer that comes along, waiting and researching the right offer on your own will help you find the best deal for you as a consumer. Make sure you know the terms and limitations, and you will ensure that you are happy with your choice.

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As we are seeing base lending rates plummeting to an all time low, now is a good time to be looking for a new mortgage offer in the hope of saving some monthly financial budget, and hopefully a lot of cash in the future. But if you are thinking about starting to compare today’s mortgage rates, what precisely are all of these different types of mortgages available from the lenders?

First, for about 30% of home owners, the fixed rate mortgage is the favourite type of product. With this type of mortgage you agree with your selected lender that for an agreed length of time you will be charged a fixed . The fixed term duration might be a few months up to a few years, it depends on the offers you can select from on the market. How attractive the interest rate is will vary by on how long you are signing up to it. The briefer the time period, the more reduced the chance there is to the lender that the rates could go back up in that time period, so normally the interest rate is typically lower. It is this fixed aspect of the mortgage that many home owners do want. For the agreed time you know precisely how much you will be spending on your mortgage. There will be no interest rate increase surprises to affect your budget. You know that unless you change your mortgage, precisely what you will be paying.

But this is not just an advantage, it is also seen as a disadvantage. If base rates do fall more, as has been taking place currently, then the rate that you are paying doesn’t fall. And this is the chance of this sort of mortgage. You know exactly what you will be payingeach month, regardless of whether interest rates increase or decrease.

When your fixed rate mortgage has come to an end, you can possibly then have a tie in period with the lender during which you have to remain with the lender and pay the variable rate product. This is the return for the lender when they have given you a good fixed rate mortgage. A variable rate mortgage is the basic mortgage that a lender will offer. It is their basic no frills mortgage and moves with the base rate, although not always matching the base rate exactly.

Usually mortgage brokers will suggest that all customers on the lender’s variable rate mortgages should review their mortgage and think about switching to another product, or lender. It is usually not reduced in any way and is at risk of increasing with every rate change. Some time this type of product is looked at as the lender’s way of making money. They are typically no frills, no reductions and a sign that you should be reviewing your mortgage. If this is what you have currently got, then it is well high time that you decided to compare today’s mortgage rates and find yourself a brand new mortgage.

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Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each type of mortgage. A fixed rate mortgage, also called a conventional mortgage carries an interest rate that does not change over the life of the loan.

A fixed rate mortgage has the benefit of a predictable payment and locks you in to today’s interest rates for the future. Because interest rates are low now but predicted to rise in coming years, you should definitely consider this aspect of the fixed rate loan to be a benefit.

Variable rate mortgage loans have benefits as well. Typically, the initial five or ten years of an adjustable rate loan carry an interest rate that is lower than that of a fixed rate loan. It is after that time that the adjustable rate loan adjusts its rates to be in line with the current prime rate.

That said, there are several different types of ARM’s and the specifics of how interest rates are handled are different for each type vary.

In order to choose the best mortgage for your circumstances and lifestyle, you must ask yourself a few questions. First, how long do you plan on living in the home?

The average family moves every seven to ten years. If you do not plan to live in your home for very long, you may be better off with the lower rates offered to you during the initial period of an ARM.

If you can reduce your monthly mortgage costs by 0.5% then you could be saving yourself a lot of monthly expense.

This could be a reduction that you can spend elsewhere or if you are unlucky and expecting a huge rise in mortgage costs, just a reduction in the increase of the monthly cost.

Mortgage comparison tables tell you what remortgage is the cheapest on the market today, but is it available for you?

AND, will it actually reduce your outgoings in the long term?

Yes, interest rates have crashed at the moment and are expected to stay low for some months, some experts believe a reduction is on the cards in the near future.

Locking into a 2-year, 3-year or longer fixed mortgage rate, by the end of the term you might be paying more than a variable remortgage if you had stuck it out.

On the other hand, we might be surprised by a recovery and interest rate increases and then you would be better off. That’s the nature of this game. But this isn’t the only area in which you could be paying a lot more than you need to.

Look carefully at those best remortgage offers that you see in mortgage charts and study the small print. Look for the upfront fees - arrangement fees, legal fees etc. Take a look at your existing mortgage, how much is involved in closing that? There may be exit and deed release fees. These fees may also exist in the new mortgage - are they a lot higher than the current mortgage - that’s as good as a cost in the future?

If you can afford to pay these fees at the time of the move then in the long term that way is going to be cheaper. But then look at your existing mortgage. If you are having to pay ?2,000, maybe even more to swap mortgages, could you instead pay off a small chunk of the mortgage, or at least put that cash away in a high interest account instead? Then take a look at how that would offset your payments - or work out what your net payments are after the money put aside earns some interest.

Changing to a new lender may not always be the right thing to do. First, speak to your lender and see what monthly charges they can get you down to with your existing mortgage. Then, instead of relying on tables to find how to compare mortgage rates, speak to a few mortgage brokers and get them to do all of the leg work for you and write down exactly what you will be left paying each month.

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