Budgets are already tight this holiday seasons. Retail sales records indicate that people aren’t shopping as much as they’ve been shopping as they have in previous years. That’s a good thing for your wallets. As you try to make it through the holiday season with your wallet unscathed, watch out for those sneaky expenses, like high electricity bills.

You can save money on your electric bill this holiday season by paying close attention to your energy consumption.

  • Purchase LED lights which require less energy than regular Christmas lights.
  • Don’t run your Christmas lights all night. In fact, you might wait until the week of Christmas to even turn your lights on.
  • Only leave your lights on for a few nights each week. You can use a timer to have your lights automatically turn out.
  • Turn off the lights in the room with your Christmas tree. Let the lights from the tree light the room.
  • Buy Christmas gifts that can use batteries instead of electricity.

You can control your energy-consumption by paying attention to the amount of electricity you use. There’s a tendency to use extra electricity during the holidays, so following these tips will help keep your electric bill lower.