Here are the 20 best tips culled
from your entries in this month's Frugal $ense contest.
Click on any of the links to read a tip and rate it.
You may rate as many tips as you'd like, but please
only once per tip. See
rules.
•
The tip with the highest average at the end of the
month earns the tipster $100!
•
Parul Goel
, of Metuchen, N.J., won $100, for her tip, which was
rated No. 1 by Bankrate readers last month. For more
information on this tip and its author, read our interview
with the Frugal $ense contest winner.
Winning tip:
Call your energy company to find off-peak hours
"I used to receive an electric bill from my energy company every month. I noticed that there (were) two rows in this bill -- one for off-peak usage and the other for 'on-peak' usage. I also noticed that the off-peak price is almost 40 percent of the on-peak price. When I called the electric company, they explained that they offer reduced rates for off-peak hours, which are from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends. Since I load my dishwasher every day, I started to run it only at off-peak hours during weekdays, and to wait till 9 p.m. is not an effort at all. I also started doing my laundry on weekends and in emergencies on weekdays, again at night."
