Tower Federal Credit Union

Following these savings tips for home, entertainment, food and travel can help stretch your dollar and add to your savings.

Home
Cooking indoors can generate extra heat and increase the temperature in your home. In turn, your AC will work harder and your energy bills will be higher. You could save between 10 and 25 percent on your energy bills by grilling outdoors or serving chilled meals as often as possible. Time your buys right and save big. Buy an air conditioner in January instead of July, and pay nearly half price. July is the best month to buy tires. Knowing when to buy certain items can save 25 to 40 percent. Save on energy costs by replacing your home's traditional incandescent light bulbs with new compact fluorescents. These new bulbs use 75 percent less electricity and last up to 10 times longer. Compact fluorescent bulbs cost more initially—about $5 each—but you'll save on your electricity bills. Depending on the size of your family and the amount of washable laundry you take to a dry cleaners, you could spend anywhere from $15 to $40 per week, or $780 to $2,080 per year. Washing, drying and folding the laundry yourself at a laundromat or at home could cost you only about $260 a year. Comparing checking account features, telephone and cable bills and eliminating services you don't use will save money. When you bundle your Internet, cable and phone bills, you'll pay just one bill and save between $30 and $60 per month. Or, save as much as $165 per year with a credit union checking account rather than a bank's. Check out the benefits of a Tower Regular Checking Account. Wrap your water heater with an insulating jacket and save $18 to $30 each month on your heating bill. Deposit the money you save to your Tower Holiday Club account and you'll be able to buy your loved ones gifts they can enjoy all year long. Got a leaky toilet? Replace the flapper valve in the tank that lifts up when you flush and lets the water flow through the bowl. The part costs only $3 to $5, but a plumber will charge you $70 or more.	It's important to drink water every day. But the money you spend on bottled water adds up quickly. Purchase a filter for your faucet instead. The upfront cost is about $34—but if your family consumes 12 gallons a month, you'll save about $15 per month. Are you paying too much for phone and cable? Review your service plan and cancel the features that you rarely use—like premium cable channels, call forwarding or extra calling minutes. You could save as much as $500 a year. Even in sleep mode, computers and other electronic devices still draw electricity. Put as many electronic devices (TV, DVD player, computer) on the same power strip as you can, then flip the switch off at night. Or use an energy-saving power strip to do it for you. Replace your old shower heads and save about 15,000 gallons of water per year. Plus, save over $150 on electric heated water or $60 for gas heat. The money you save can be deposited into your Tower "New Appliance" Club account. Turn your thermostat down if you're going to be away from home for several hours. For every degree you lower your setting, you can save 3 to 5 percent on each monthly heating bill—adding up to $15 or more per month. Lower the temperature automatically with a programmable thermostat. Most cost less than $100 and will pay for itself in less than a year.

Entertainment / Shopping
Do you own shoes you love, but think you have to discard them because of worn down or broken heels? Instead of spending an average of $200 to replace four pairs of damaged shoes in a year, have the heels replaced for about $15 a pair—a savings of $140. Entertaining the family during the summer can be costly. A trip to a popular theme park for a family of four costs about $50 per adult and $35 per child—a total of $170. For a low-cost alternative, take advantage of what Mother Nature has to offer. Visit a local park and hike, have a picnic, fish, and kayak or camp under the stars. Men spend an average of $160 on Valentine's Day. Women spend on average about half that amount. Why not save some dough and make homemade gifts or treats for your sweetheart? Save even more—create your own e-cards online and send them for free!	It's nice to rent a DVD movie and watch it from the comfort of home. But spending an average of $5 a week can add up quickly. For $1 a night, you can rent a DVD from Redbox kiosks at your nearest grocery store or fast food restaurant and save about $16 a month or $192 a year. Love seeing the latest movie on the big screen? Catch a matinee and save. A regular adult ticket for an evening flick is roughly $10. If you and a friend see a movie every week, that's $1,040 a year. Matinee tickets cost about $7.50 each, or $780 a year—a savings of $260 for seeing the same movie at a different time. Add your savings to a Tower "Rainy Day" Club account to chase away the clouds. Don't go to the mall when you're in a lousy mood. Research shows that people who are feeling depressed when they shop spend an average of 30 percent more than their cheerier counterparts.

Food / Dining
Stop drinking bottled water and instead buy a filter for your faucet. The filter costs about $34, plus $25 for replacements. If your family consumes 12 gallons a month, you save about $15. Rather than going out for lunch five days a week, pack a brown bag. Bringing your lunch to work every day can save you about $2,340 a year. Add your weekly savings to a Tower Club account, and your savings will pack a wallop in no time. Visit restaurant.com and save money by purchasing restaurant gift certificates. Search for a favorite eatery by state or zip code. You could pay just $40 for a certificate valued at $100, a savings of $60.	Grocery shop once a week. The more trips to the store, the more likely you are to buy on impulse. It is estimated about two-thirds of grocery purchases are unplanned, so always take a list and stick to it. Cut your grocery bill. It makes sense to save money on your grocery bill by using coupons every time you checkout. You can save between $5 and $10 a week by printing coupons of your favorite brands from a Web site like RedPlum.com. That's a savings of up to $520 a year.

Travel / Auto
Raising your auto insurance deductible from $250 to $500 could save you 7 percent on your premium. Increase your deductible to $1,000 and you'll save 14 percent. Gas prices can vary as much as 20 percent. Visit a Web site like gasbuddy.com to find the best deal in your neighborhood or along your commute. A 20-cent difference on 60 gallons of gas per month adds up to a savings of $12 per month or $144 per year. Keeping your tires at the proper inflation could save you between $100 and $200 a year on gas, depending on how much you drive and how under inflated your tires may be. Deposit the money you save into your Tower "Emergency Savings" Club account.	Getting your car washed costs about $5 at a gas station, or as much as $15 to $50 if you choose a thorough hand-wash, vacuum and detail package. When you do the job yourself, it only costs about 30 minutes of time in your driveway. Purchase your flight and hotel accommodations together and save big. Travelers who do this using Expedia.com, for example, save an average of $220 per trip. Deposit the money you save in a Tower "Summer Vacation" Club account. A fuel-efficient car can cut gas costs dramatically. Driving 1,200 miles a month in a car that averages 18 miles per gallon costs $233 (at $3.50 per gallon). Switching to one that averages 25 miles per gallon only costs $168 every month—a monthly savings of $65. Put aside the savings in a Tower "Road Trip" Club account.