Tips & Ideas for Saving Your Money, Time and Resources – Top Money Saving Ideas for Australians

Use fluorescent and energy efficient light bulbs. These bulbs save a lot more energy compared to incandescent ones and the savings really add up. The Australian federal government is currently providing free low energy light bulbs to Australian households. To access this offer, contact your electricity company or ask for a free Home Sustainability assessment.
Ask for a free Home Sustainability assessment. Call 1800 895 076 (9.00am-5.00pm EST, Monday-Friday) to eavaluateevaluate what green sustainability government subsidy or rebate your household is eligible for. Current possible offers include $1,200 rebate for installing home insulation or solar hot water systems, interest free green loans for installing solar, water saving, and energy efficient products and $500 for households to install rainwater tanks or grey water systems. For more information see www.environment.gov.au/rebates and www.homegreen.com.au/rebates/ for rebates by state.

Buy high energy star rating appliances. Although higher star rating products usually cost more to purchase than a lower star rating one, in the long run you save much more money from less energy consumption and lower bills.
Replace old whitegoods that are more than 10 years old. Most of these goods do not use energy efficient technology and in the long run the energy savings exceed the cost of purchasing a new item.

Save money by switching companies. Next time an electricity, gas or other utilities salesman comes knocking at your door, don’t dismiss the person but have a good listen to what he or she can offer as they frequently do price cut whatever your current utilities company is charging, to win your business.
Make a habit of turning-off lights and other unused appliances. Do not leave TV or radio running if you are not going to be in the room for a while, you will be surprised at how much energy you end up saving from this change in habit.
Switch your computer off when you are not using it. Don’t leave it on screensaver mode as it still consumes energy.
Avoid the dishwasher if you only a few plates to wash, or only use it when it is full. Wash dishes by plugging the kitchen sink and letting dishes soak for a few minutes in soapy water. Then stack the dishes to one side and refill sink with water to rinse dishes. This helps you cut down on water and energy costs.

Wash clothes in large loads, or by hand. Washing machines use a lot of energy and water, especially washing in hot water. Unless otherwise instructed, wash clothes in cold water. With the enzyme detergents we have today, washing in cold water is just as effective as in hot or warm water. If just washing a few items, it is more efficient to wash by hand.
Work with nature to warm or cool your home. Draw the curtains up and close the blinds during the day in summer to keep cool instead of turning on air conditioner. In the winter, draw out the blinds and curtains to allow natural sunlight to warm your home. This will save your electricity and gas bills. Insulate your house further with door wind stoppers and repair cracks in walls and windows. Rug up with more clothes rather than using a heater. When using air conditioner, close blinds to prevent cool air from escaping.

Unplug power adaptors when not in use. Even though appliances are not on, they still consume small electric charges when plugged to a power point. These small charges accumulate when there are many appliances in the household left plugged in for months.
Use water efficient shower heads. Some state governments have been giving away free water efficient shower heads to help save water.
Recycle washing water. Do not use running water to wash fruit and vegetable in the basin. Instead, wash it in a bucket and re-use the water for your plants.

Do not leave your tap running when you brush your teeth. Use a mug.
Bundle up telecommunication services. Bundle up your telephone, internet and pay TV services, as carriers provide discounts on bundled packages compared to providing services separately. It is also easier to manage as you only have one bill to take care of.
Get rid of your landline phone. Evaluate whether you really need both a mobile and a landline phone, if not get rid of one rather than paying for an unnecessary service.
Remove add on services from your mobile. Consider whether you need mobile services like voicemail, internet, call waiting as these add to your mobile bill.

Buy mobiles online. There is a multitude of new and second hand mobiles on the internet on sites various auction sites.
Use a calling card when dialling overseas or interstate. This is a low cost method of making long distance calls. They can be purchased online for less than what you will need to pay through purchasing at a newsagency, for the same calling card company.
Sign-up for Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) for long distance phone calls. VOIP allows you to use your computer and internet to make overseas phone calls and you do not pay anything more than your usual internet charges. With VoIP, a phone call is converted from an analog telephone signal into bits of digital data that are transmitted (like email) over the internet instead of telephone networks. Because there's no phone company involved, internet calls don't incur a surcharge beyond what the user is paying for Internet access.

Hang dry clothes. Drying clothes under the sun saves energy costs and helps kill germs. During winter hang clothesthem dry near the heater or fireplace. Your home could also do with a bit more humidity as the air can be quite dry due to heaters.
Use a programmable thermostat. Use this to control your ducted heating, and have the thermostat slightly lower in winter, and likewise for air conditioners, set the temperature slightly higher.
Clean wire coils at back of refrigerator. This increases the life of your refrigerator and energy efficiency. When these wire coils clog up with dust, your refrigerator works a lot harder to circulate cool air and uses more energy until it breaks down from over exhaustion.

Change or clean air filters in your home heating or cooling system. This will help you save energy as well as improve air circulation in your home.
Make sure you get bill concessions. If you are a pensioner, make sure you get your pensioner discounts from you utilities bill.
Close-off doors in homes and let air conditioning or heater fill up one or two rooms only. Most families spend most of their time in one or two rooms only. Rather than leave on your heater or air conditioning until the entire house is cooled or heated up, save energy by partitioning the house.