13 January 2011

S.L.I.M. your Fuel Bill the MoneyMaxim way

Using the MoneyMaxim S.L.I.M. plan you can quickly find ways to slash your energy bills and help save the environment as well!

Rising fuel bills are a concern for all of us, and keeping them under control is a topic that is constantly raised with our relationship team when they are contacted by worried householders – so we developed a simple acronym to help us, and our customers, remember the key ways to both reduce energy consumption and costs. Follow our S.L.I.M. plan and you could find yourself making a significant difference to your bank balance – and to the environment as well!

S – Survey

Carry out an energy survey on your home – you can do it yourself using tools on the energysavingtrust website. They are a impartial organisation whose role it is to encourage lower energy use – and their survey looks at everything from low energy bulbs to cavity wall and loft insulation – and they then go on to help you find grants which will help you pay for improvements.

L – Lower

Lower your usage – get an energymonitor (it looks like an oversized iphone and tells you what you are using at that moment on time – put on the tumble dryer and see the difference it makes!), and learn how to use the machines that consume most as much. Get a standby switch – which can turn of all your tv's, videos, and dvd player in one switch. Check out your energy company as some are offering gadgets like these free of charge at the moment.

I – Investigate

Investigate your Gas and Electricity tariff – make sure you are on the best deal – never rely on what you are told by your power company, a salesman in a supermarket or a person knocking at your door – do your own research. Use a ConsumerFocus approved comparison tool which covers every company and every tariff and wherever possible use your own kilowatt kWh usage rather than the ‘average consumption' figures as this can make a big difference to the right company for you.

As you would expect the MoneyMaxim comparison service is full accredited by ConsumerFocus and is totally impartial.

M – Monitor

Once you are on the best tariff carry on monitoring it to make sure it remains the best for you – put a note in your diary or on the calendar to review it three or four times a year or sign up for a service where you can compare / monitor – where we will check it for you every four months and alert you if we feel you would be better off on another tariff.