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Very similar to mortgage interest. Heloc (Home equity line of credit) interest is also to be included in “Itemized Deductions”.

This is a big one! For most families owning a house, this will be the most important deduction to include in your “Itemized Deductions”.

Short-term savings
The following suggestions require no investment on your part and can be implemented immediately. Use cold water, whenever you are using the washing machine. Hand wash dishes instead of using the dishwasher.
If the outside temperature happens to be cooler than the inside of the house, open a door and/or a window. Leave a few windows open during the night to cool down your home This will prevent your air conditioner from working harder than it has to. Make use of fans to cool off, as opposed to turning on the air conditioner. When no one is home, turn off the air conditioner.
Before leaving a room for an extended period of time, ascertain that you have turned off all the lights, television sets, sound systems, computers, etc. If your dishwasher has a switch or a knob allowing you to select between “Air dry” and “Heat dry”, opt for the “Air dry”.

Long-term savings
To lower your electricity bill, update all your old appliances with new ones that are more energy efficient. The refrigerator and freezer are the most wasteful. Unfortunately, it will take a while before you recuperate your investment.

Utilize gas instead of electricity for the air conditioner, the range and clothes dryer, whenever possible.

Air conditioning
Air conditioning is very demanding when it comes to electricity. If there are window coverings, such as blinds or curtains, already installed in your home, take advantage of them. Cover your windows while you are gone. This will result in your home staying cooler, and as a result allow you to save on air conditioning. If your windows are bare, consider installing blinds or curtains.

As far as the gas bill goes, do not leave the dryer on once your clothes are already dry. Select the energy-saver cycle. Even better, do not use the dryer and let your clothes air dry on hangers or racks specifically designed for this purpose.
Turn off the range and/or the oven as soon as the food is cooked (or baked). Use your toaster oven to cook or reheat small portions. Doing so will not raise the temperature of your house as much. This, in turn, will reduce the quantity of electricity required by your air conditioner.

Some long distance carriers will go as low as five cents per minute. By thinking outside the box, you can purchase a calling card that will provide you with a long distance rate of one cent a minute, anywhere in the United States. You can find such a card at your local 99c store. It would also be wise to use this calling card if you do not make many long distance calls. This way, you would not find yourself paying for minutes that will go unused.
Should you make calls to countries other than the Unites States, you will most likely get the best rates using a second calling card. As an example, the rate of the calling card referenced in the above paragraph rises from one cent a minute to 4.5c per minutes when calls are made to Canada. There is another calling card (from a different provider), the rate of which, at the time of printing, was only 1.9c per minute for calls to Canada. Typing “calling cards” in the search box of your favorite search engine will yield websites that you can browse in order to find the best deal.

Similarly to electricity, you cannot shop around for a better rate per gallon. Thus, you must use less water in order to save on your water bill. The most important thing not to do is to waste water.

Beware of leaking toilets, bath and sink faucets, and garden hoses, especially. These last culprits will skyrocket the amount you owe on water. Should you locate one or more of the above mentioned leaks, fix them (or have them professionally repaired) immediately.

Your lawn, plants, trees, fruits, vegetables or flowers will probably be just as healthy and look just as gorgeous even if you water them only once every other day, as opposed to every single day. Another alternative is to lay synthetic grass in your backyard. It requires no water, whatsoever. However, it will take time before you can recover your investment. Also, you have to remember to spray your artificial lawn with water before having your kids play on it, as it becomes hot when exposed to sunlight.

Try to limit your time in the shower reasonably. You will not be any cleaner if you spend thirty minutes in the shower, instead of five. You will, though, notice an inflated summary of charges.
Hand washing the dishes will yield some savings, as well. If you would rather use the dishwasher, wait until it is full before starting a cycle. It will require the same amount of water (and just as much electricity) to run the dishwasher half empty as it would to do so when it is full.

This last advice can also be applied to laundry. Wait until there are enough clothes to fill the washing machine completely prior to getting it started. If you must wash a few clothes immediately, and cannot wait until you have accumulated a full load, make sure that you switch the setting to Small loads, or hand-wash them.