We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict
, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here’s an explanation for
Editorial Integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
How We Make Money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
The weather is turning colder in most parts of the U.S., which means many Americans are firing up their heaters for the first time.
Home heating can be expensive. Here are some tips that can help you save money.
Caulk and weatherstrip around your windows and doors. This prevents cold air from seeping into your home. A tube of caulk and a roll of weatherstripping cost less than $5 each at big-box hardware stores.
Clean your warm-air registers and baseboard heaters. This allows heat to more effectively pass through.
Move your furniture away from exterior walls and windows. These are the coldest areas of the house. You’ll feel warmer when you sit toward the middle of the home.
Insulate your attic, crawl space and walls. Insulation can be expensive, but the cost savings over time generally will make it a worthwhile investment.
Clean your furnace filter monthly. This allows hot air to more effectively pass through.
Open the curtains on the south-facing side of your home during the daytime. This lets natural sunlight warm your home. Close these curtains at night to keep the cold out.
Cover your water heater with an insulated “jacket.” That way, it won’t need to work as hard. This costs about $20 from a major hardware store.
Turn your thermostat down a few degrees. Tap your frugal instincts and adjust to living in a colder home. Wear a wool hat indoors, which will help you retain body heat.
Wrap a heating pad or heating blanket around yourself if you’re alone. This is more cost-effective than heating the entire house for the sake of warming one person.
Use a thick comforter at night. That way, you won’t have to heat the house as much while you sleep.
Turn your water heater down to 120 degrees, and install low-flow aerators on your faucets. This will lower both your water-heating costs and your overall water bill.
Close your fireplace damper when the fireplace isn’t in use. This prevents cold air from seeping into your home.
Paula Pant blogs at AffordAnything.com about building wealth and living life on your own terms. She’s traveled to 30 countries, owns six rental units that produce thousands in passive income, and runs an online marketing and freelance writing company. Follow Paula on Twitter: @AffordAnything.
Share