Ways to Get Ready for a Long Winter
Ways to Get Ready for a Long Winter
With Christmas now firmly on the horizon it can be easy to forget about the season changing.
How about the weather getting worse?
People tend to focus on Christmas as the priority and with the potential tightening of the pursestrings, other things can be forgotten.
It’s easy to do, but certainly something you need to think about. Before you go splurging on all the tech goodies of Black Friday it’s sometimes good to take stock of the non-Christmas things in your life.
Check Your Energy
The one thing you don’t want to cope without is your heating system. It happens to people all the time. Winter brings stress to all kinds of energy usage as it copes both against the cold and with increased usage.
Providers like heatline.com can offer options. In the first instance that you notice something is wrong, it’s best to get things serviced. In the future, try to get your boiler and heating serviced in the summer months as there is less demand and it’s cheaper.
If any issues come of the service you can get them sorted now before the cold really sets in.
Making sure you have an up to date and working carbon monoxide alarm is also important. At the same time, you might want to check your electrical and gas supplier and the amount of money you’re paying.
You might be able to trim down before your usage kicks up a gear. It’s certainly a nice way to save some money before Christmas.
Check Your Car
Again, if you’re not one for car maintenance this might be for you. For a start, you could think about getting your car serviced.
Check your tires and see whether the tread is getting a little worn. If you live somewhere where the roads get icy it might definitely be worth going for better tires.
Make sure your windshield fluid is topped up and that the fluid you use has antifreeze or anti-ice properties.
Keep some de-icer in your car, as well as a blanket in the boot. Some water, maybe even a first aid kit.
It pays to be prepared.
You’ll want to do the same to the engine coolant. Make sure the battery is up to scratch too because they can go bad over winter, especially if they’re old.
Check Your Finances
One of the things you really need to be careful with is your finances going into winter. Especially if you have difficulty managing them.
Things break over winter.
Technology doesn’t work as well in the cold, that’s why you need to make sure you have the finances in place to counter any issues that come up.
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With Christmas in the mix, this can be harder than it sounds. Try not to overspend in the first few months. Always leave yourself a bit of space on your credit card for emergencies.
Your credit score will thank you, too.
In the future, think about putting a little away each month over the year for Christmas and winter. It can be tough, especially if you’re saving for something else, but it’ll be worthwhile.
In fact, there is still time to save and put these tips into practice!
How do you get ready for a long winter?
Let me know, til then–cheers m’deres!
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Nancy Polanco is a freelance journalist, lifestyle content creator, and editor of Whispered Inspirations. She is a proud Mom to Gabby and Michaela and partner and best friend to Darasak. Having worked as part of a health care team for almost a decade, Nancy is happy to be back to her passion. She is a contributor to the Huffington Post, TODAY’s Parents, and an Oprah Magazine Brand Ambassador.
