Answer: Cooling & Heating systems (47%)

Questions: 

• How does you family try and conserve energy in your home?
• Your family is looking at ways to reduce their energy bill. Your brother suggests using energy efficient lighting systems while your sister suggests investing in an energy efficient dishwasher. Where do you think there is more savings opportunity?
• Who do you think has higher cooling and heating bills? Homeowners in Phoenix, Arizona or Minneapolis, Minnesota? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from Visual Capitalist): 

In practically every house in America, capital is being wasted on energy consumption. That’s because the average electricity spend per year is $1,368.36 per year, and 35% of the power used is actually wasted.

This is neither good for your bank account or the environment.

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Energy bills are only one element of a family budget. Check out NGPF's Budgeting Unit page for additional resource ideas. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.