I am a phantom power ninja

We’ve been going over the budgeted amount for utilities.

I try to keep our utilities part of our budget under $300 a month. This includes: water, electricity, cell phones and cable/internet. The last two have the same fixed cost each month. And electricity is the bill that fluctuates the most.

In an effort to get that number under $300, I took to powering down Riley’s computer while she was at work. I started this two months ago. The difference in the electric bill? A cool $7.00. What I did was turn off the power strip that her computer is plugged into - and turned off the computer which she used to leave on. So, that meant no phantom power from the computer, the speakers, the two portable hard drives and the cell phone charger.

So, last month I decided to see what else I could find that was sucking phantom power right out of our budget. I kept turning off the power strip for Riley’s computer. I also started unplugging everything that I could find that was not in use. That amounted to two coffeemakers, one toaster, 4 lamps, 1 fan, 3 Glade oil plugin nightlights that do not have the oil thingie in them, and an additional night light. I also turned off the power strip that the TV was plugged into. And no leaving lights on when you are not in the room!

The result? The bill dropped from $90 to $74. Granted, I do not attribute the entire $16.00 drop to me being a phantom power ninja. It has been pretty cool here which means lots of open windows instead of using the AC. But, it is still pretty sweet.