Easy tweaks to save money on energy bills

Energy bills can be expensive, especially if you're on a pre-payment meter. Fortunately there are some easy tricks to help you spend less and get some money back in your pocket.

When you're on a pre-payment meter, the biggest way to save is to switch, and possibly fix, your energy supplier. However, if you aren't able to move onto a Direct Debit, join in with our energy tweaking ideas and you could find yourself saving.

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Your energy tweak week

Light it up Monday

Buy some energy saving bulbs. They last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs and don't cost much more. Using one can save you around £55 over the lifetime of the bulb. What a bright idea!

Thermostat Tuesday

Reduce your thermostat by 1°C and you could cut 10% from your heating bill – it usually saves around £55 per year. Kerching. No more eating marshmallows over hobs to keep warm!

Bath-free Wednesday

Fan of a bath? Swap it for a shower. Want to take it even further? uSwitch reveals you could shave £20 from your bills each year by cutting two minutes from your shower time. You don't have to take your cat in there too though.

Laundry Thursday

If you can, do all the washing on one day to save energy. One full load uses less energy than one half load. Try to avoid using the tumble dryer if you can avoid it, and use drying racks instead for further savings. So easy a baby could do it.

Fridge fun on a Friday

Defrost your freezer to shave money off your bill, and don't put hot food straight into the fridge – it will have to work hard to cool it down for you. uSwitch says the cost of running your fridge and freezer accounts for 7% of your bills. What better fun is there to have on a Friday? None!

Switch it off Saturday

Unplug all the appliances you aren't using regularly. Even chargers continue to use electricity when they aren't charging. Also, don't be thinking standby is the same as turning your appliances off - £80 a year is wasted in the average home this way according to The Energy Savings Trust. You don't need your appliances today anyway – you're going out after spending your Friday night defrosting your freezer.

Stock up Sunday

Why don't you cook a few meals to stock up your newly defrosted freezer? uSwitch suggests that if you're going to use the oven, bake a few meals at a time to get the most out of having it turned on.

Find more money around your home with our guide to selling your junk

This article is provided by the Money Advice Service.