We may not have control on a variety of factors such as fuel costs or indeed, the weather, but you can learn to be clever about how you prepare for the winter.  As the weathermen are predicting a cold snap very shortly, now is the time to make sure you and your home are prepared so that your heating bills do not shoot through the roof, literally.

If you set your heating timer to come on a little earlier in the morning or when you would normally have it come on, especially during the cold spell, you will avoid being tempted to turn the heating up full blast.

Another quick and easy way to help keep the heat in a room is to put a shelf above the radiator which stops the heat rising – this is particularly effective if your radiator is  below a window.  Don’t put your couch or chair up against the radiator as it will soak up the heat and stop the heat going out into the room.  During the day keep your curtains open so any sunlight can come into your room and this can help to warm the room up.  Remember to close those curtains when the sun sets and keep the heat in your house. Have heavy thick curtains as these will really help retain the heat in the room.

It can be more cost effective to heat only the rooms that you are using in your home.  To do this effectively you need to reduce air movement inside your home.  Successful draft excluders can be made very cheaply using pipe insulation which is available in different thicknesses, so be sure to get the size that will fit snugly under your doors.

If you prepare in advance you will reap the rewards.  Prepare for all  your household bills by using BillsManager.com.  It takes one minute to register and once your budget plan is set up, BillsManager will enable you to maintain your household budget which should only take 10 minutes a month.