The holidays are here, and a familiar dread may have already started to wash over you. If you have a tendency to overspend during the holidays, there are measures you can take to avoid doing so. Read on to see five effective methods you can use to save both your energy and money during the holidays.

Gift Yourself an Energy Efficient Gift

As a treat to end the year well, you may obtain a new electrical appliance for your home. In this case, make sure that the electrical appliances you get have a good Energy Star rating, which will ensure you play a role in keeping the environment green. An average American household spends about $1,945 on appliances, lighting, electronics, heating, and cooling each year. This is an amount that can be decreased by simply switching to energy-efficient appliances in your home and encouraging the people close to you to do the same.

Set Timers and Use LED Lights

You don’t have to burn a hole through your bank account just to light up your outdoors this holiday season. Find creative ways to keep energy bills low, including setting timers on your outdoor lights to have them turn on periodically. You will realize that you can have amazing bright lights around your house while not paying a premium for them. Alternatively, only have them turn on at the darkest time of day so that they don’t burn energy during daylight when they won’t even make a noticeable statement. Use LED lights instead of traditional ones, and you will keep your energy expenditure low while also leaving a smaller carbon footprint. Nothing will say holiday like an amazing display that’s great for the environment!

Insulate Your Home

An estimate has been done by EPA that states homeowners can save about 15% on their heating and cooling costs or an average of 11% on total energy costs by making sure that their homes are air-sealed. This involves adding insulation in the accessible basement rim joists, attics, and floors over crawl spaces. To make these protected savings, take time to insulate your house, replacing any missing weather stripping and filling visible cracks and gaps with caulk.

Decorate With Candles

The holidays have a signature brightness about them, and you can get the most of it while making savings by turning the bulbs off and lighting some candles. Take the necessary precautions to avoid the risk of fire, including making sure the candles don’t burn unattended or near combustible materials and that they’re beyond the reach of any children in the house. Once all this has been put into consideration, find your favorite scents and arrange them decoratively around your home.

Watch Your Water Usage

The final way to save some money this holiday season is to make sure that your home doesn’t have any plumbing leaks. In America, one out of every 10 homes has plumbing leaks, and this can waste about 90 gallons of water each day. This is a reason to change that old tap or showerhead. If it’s something that you can handle by yourself, do it at your earliest convenience, but don’t keep putting it off; doing so will end up costing you. Alternatively, call a plumber to do it for you, and you can get up to other holiday activities like shopping and decorating.

Follow the five tips above to spend these holidays in a green and energy-efficient way, and you will be sure to remember them come the next holidays!