8 Ways To Save on High Winter Costs When You’re Living on Social Security

For the financially secure, retirement can provide many opportunities to save, spend or invest your money. However, many American retirees can’t afford to be carefree with what they’ve saved or with the Social Security benefits they’re receiving.

This is especially true as winter approaches and the cost of home energy use and utility bills increase. According to CBS News, the cost of electricity has increased 28.5% from 2019 to 2024 ($0.14 to $0.18 per kilowatt hour), with the average American spending almost $300 a month in utilities alone.

Although there are assistance programs to help out seniors and low-income households – for example, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) – there are many ways customers can take on some of the responsibility for keeping their homes energy efficient and use less power in retirement.

Given that it replaces approximately 40% of a person’s pre-retirement income, Social Security is not enough for most people to comfortably retire. However, using the eight strategies below, you can lower your winter expenses and better manage your Social Security income during the colder months.

When my neighbor’s father — a heating contractor — first visited years ago, it took him about three hours before he grew restless, grabbed his toolbox and set about installing weatherstripping around the front door frame and a draft sweep underneath. He knew how important sealing air leaks was in saving on utility costs.

According to the Energy Star site, homeowners can save up to 15% on heating (and cooling) costs by air sealing openings, attics and basements.

As recommended by every HVAC business for years, programmable thermostats help you save money on heating and cooling, minimize your carbon impact, and manage your energy use. Installing a programmable or smart thermostat to automatically lower the temperature when you’re sleeping or away from your home is a worthwhile investment that will save energy without sacrificing comfort.

Taking a good look at which appliances and electronics can be put on timers or unplugged around your house can save you as much as $100 a year, per the U.S. Department of Energy. You’ll be able to reduce standby power by unplugging products when not in use and using power strips with on/off switches. 

In lieu of central heating, many seniors use space heaters to keep warm in winter. Space heaters can cost less to run than a furnace, but unless you use them sparingly and in occupied rooms only, they can still consume a lot of energy and are effective in heating small rooms only. They should only be used when necessary and unplugged when not.

Swapping out older appliances for energy-efficient ENERGY STAR-certified models can save you plenty on utility bills. Spending money to upgrade might be difficult for someone on a fixed income, but you should be able to recoup the initial cost quickly and start saving right away. Some states offer assistance programs for seniors for upgrades and you may also be eligible for significant federal tax benefits for improving equipment.

Physically manipulating things in your apartment or house can help those on Social Security save money. Depending on the size of your home and how many people live in it, close off extra rooms that don’t get used regularly (but don’t let them get too cold). Additionally, use the sun to your advantage: open up your curtains and blinds and let the sun heat your house for free. At night, close them for an extra layer of insulation against the windows.  

Using common sense — for example, switching off lights and appliances and turning down your thermostat when you’re not using them or away from home — will help you save on high winter costs. So will bundling up to stay warm. The more clothing you layer in the winter, the less you’ll need to crank up the thermostat to heat your place. Also, using electric blankets might be a more cost-effective way to stay warm at night without heating the entire house. 

Most light bulbs and lamps produce more heat than light, so depending on the season, understanding whether to use a lamp or the sun can save you a lot of money on energy bills. Incandescent light bulbs may heat the area where they’re located in your home (e.g., at a lamp, on a ceiling), but they waste a lot of energy. “LED string lights consume much less energy than standard lights, and switching to LED lights can produce serious savings if you tend to keep your lights plugged in for hours at a time,” Red Ventures’ Rob Caiello told GOBankingRates back in Feb. 2023.