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Three habits to help you save hundreds of pounds in 2023

Published: 31-01-2023

Are you one of the 15 million British people trying to make financial resolutions this year^[1]? Well, we are here to help! Here are three money-saving tips to make new habits last.

With inflation topping 10%^[2], utility bills at an all-time high and the cost of living at unprecedented levels, a financial New Year’s Resolution is becoming a ‘must have’ for millions of people in the UK. 

But with only one in ten British people keeping their resolution all year and the majority given up by February^[3], we have shared our top three energy saving resolutions to will help every homeowner get a better handle of their spending into 2023 and beyond.

1) Be An Energy Saving Superhero

You’d be surprised at how much leaving unused appliances on standby can rack up your energy bills. Sometimes the smallest changes have the biggest impact. Technology is a core part of our life but remember to turn off your appliances when not using them. By switching things off at the wall, you can save upwards of £120 per year^[4]. 

If you don’t already, upgrade your lighting to use LED light bulbs. If we all switched to LEDs it would reduce domestic energy bills in the UK by £2 billion^[5]. The initial costs of LED bulbs (and other LED fittings) have come down a lot over the past couple of years, so a small investment can be recouped within as little as 3-4 months. And you can go on saving money year after year.

2) Get Smart

When you’re smart with your boiler controls and your energy usage, your bills will show it – using Smart Controls could save you £70 a year^[6]. With smart heating controls you can control your heating remotely using your mobile, managing your home temperature wherever and whenever. Make full use of this – especially when you are not at home and do not need your boiler working as hard to heat your home.

Room thermostats monitor your home’s temperature and automatically switch your boiler on if it drops below your preferred level – you don’t even have to do anything. The best way to keep your energy usage down is to tailor your heating schedule to your lifestyle, so you’re not using energy when and where it isn’t needed.

Martyn Bridges, our Director of Technical Services, explains: “You cannot underestimate how important it is to take control of your home heating. These simple but effective changes, such as turning your radiator down by a single degree could have a significant impact on the planet and your savings too.”

3) Say ‘NO’ to Non-Essentials

The third step is identifying what your non-essential spending looks like, and how you can make changes in your lifestyle to reduce that spend. Be critical – what can you do without? For this to be sustainable, take a look over your last three months of expenditure, identify where the majority of your money is going on non-essentials and work out how you can curb that extra spending.

A recent survey showed the top three non-essentials as eating out, clothing, takeaways. Replacing expensive regular expenses can save you big in the long run. The average UK household is expected to cut back £887 of non-essential saving per quarter, so see if you can save some money this year^[7]!

Click here for more general energy saving tips; https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/energy-saving-tips

^Sources:

• ^{[1]  https://www.etoro.com/news-and-analysis/press-releases/15m-brits-will-make-finance-focused-new-years-resolutions-trumping-fitness-and-health-goals/}
• ^{[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/business/uk-prices-inflation-september.html}
• ^{[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawngraham/2019/12/27/why-new-years-resolutions-dont-work-and-what-you-can-do-instead/?sh=1de64cf96604}
• ^{[4] https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/uk-news/electric-save-appliances-unplug-energy-21924303}
• ^{[5] https://www.savemoneycutcarbon.com/learn-save/is-my-electricity-bill-reduced-by-installing-led-lights/}  
• ^{[6] https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62738249}
• ^{[7] https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/news-centre/households-look-to-cut-back-25-billion-worth-of-non-essential-spending/}