Q: I just got my first wintertime heating bill and I’m reeling. I’ve sealed all leaky windows and I’ve replaced the weather stripping around my doors, but my bill is still astronomical. Short of hibernating until spring, is there anything I can do to keep my heating costs down this winter?

A: Sealing air leaks and weather-stripping are great first steps toward lowering your heating bill. Luckily, there are many other things you can do to hack your way to a lower heating bill this winter.

Here are some creative ways to save on heating costs.

Dust your vents

When’s the last time you removed the covers of your heating vents or radiators to tackle the layers of dust that have built up inside? You don’t have to answer that, but this can be an easy, effective way to lower your heating bills. Dust acts as a natural insulator and can block some of the hot air from heating your home.

Lower your thermostat

Dad was right: If you’re cold, put on a sweater!

You don’t have to set your thermostat to freezing. However, the Department of Energy recommends keeping it at 68 degrees in the winter for maximum energy savings. If you’re still feeling doubtful, consider this: For every degree you crank it down over a 24-hour period throughout the month, you can shave up to 3 percent off your heating bill. This means each lower degree over an 8-hour period can save 1 percent off your bill. If you can lower your thermostat by 10 degrees at night or while you’re at work, you’ll save 10 percent off your heating bill! A smart or programmable thermostat can do the job for you so you don’t have to remember — or even put forth extra effort — to turn it down.

Don’t overdo it, though. Lowering your heat by more than 10 degrees forces it to use more energy than you’ll save to get it back up again. If you can’t sleep unless you’re snug and warm, you might want to invest in a heated blanket or mattress pad to keep you toasty warm on the coldest nights.

Turn on your ceiling fans

Most ceiling fans are equipped with a “summer” and “winter” setting. During the summer, blades should be moving in a counterclockwise direction to draw the cold air upward from the floor so it can cool the room. In the wintertime, you’ll want those blades to move in a clockwise direction so the hot air, which naturally rises towards the ceiling, can be blown downward and can warm up the room.

Use aluminum foil to make your radiator work harder

Tape a piece of aluminum foil behind the radiator to reflect heat into the room instead of into the wall. Don’t worry about how this might look; no one can see what’s going on behind your radiator.

Use zone heating

If you live in a large home with more rooms than you regularly use, keep the lesser-used areas just warm enough to prevent pipes from freezing. You can close some of the vents in these rooms and shut the door to keep that heat in.

On the flip side, be sure to open the doors of the rooms that see heavy use so the hot air can flow evenly throughout the house. Some rooms are naturally warmer than others, and you want your unit to heat your entire home as efficiently as possible.

Rearrange your furniture

Take a quick tour of your home to check if you have any furniture situated near your heating vents. You don’t want to be paying all that money just for hot air to be flowing into the underside of your living room sofa.

You may also want to rearrange your furniture in the wintertime for another reason. No matter how well you seal your windows and doors, the perimeters of rooms are almost always colder than the interiors during the winter. If your favorite armchair is near a drafty window, you’ll feel that cold air blowing in whenever you sit down, which might prompt you to run and crank up the thermostat. Consider rearranging your furniture for the winter so your favorite pieces are in the warmest areas of each room.

Let the sunshine in

The low-in-the-sky winter sun can give you hours of free solar heat each day — if you let it in. Be sure to open the curtains in the early morning hours and to close them at night to keep that warm air inside. You may also want to swap your curtains for thicker, insulated ones in the winter for further protection against the cold night air.

Humidify your air

Remember those hot, sticky days of summer? Use that humidity to your advantage now by investing in a humidifier for the winter. Moisture helps to hold onto heat and will keep the air warmer for longer.

Don’t be left out in the cold! Use our heating hacks to keep your house toasty warm this winter without breaking your budget.

Your Turn: What’s your secret heating hack? Share it with us in the comments.

1. Heat Selectively – To avoid paying for unused heat in rooms that aren’t regularly used, shut the doors and close the vents in those rooms.
2. Trap the Sunlight – Open your curtains when you’ve got sunlight exposure, and then close them when the angle of the sun changes. This allows you to trap the solar heat inside your home.
3. Plug up Holes – Seal up all holes near windows, doors and the chimney to help keep the heat in and the cold out.
4. Digitize Your Heating System – Use a programmable digital thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature in your home according to your family’s schedule and habits.
5. Maintain Your Heating System – Check for proper airflow throughout your heating system and clear any blockages that you find.

Your Turn: How do you keep warm when the weather’s cold? Ugly sweaters? Visualizing a beach? Share your best tips with us in the comments!

“Wow, Grandma! This is awesome!” Sean exclaimed as he toured his grandmother’s new boat.

With delight in his eyes, he admired what he was seeing. It was big. And it was beautiful.

Sean and Grandma sat down on the upholstered bench at the back of the boat and watched the passing waves.

“You know, Grandma,” Sean said after a while, “this must have cost a whole lot of money.”

Grandma laughed. “Well, yes and no,” she said.

“What does that mean?” asked Sean.

“Well, it did cost a lot of money, but because I saved up for it over time it wasn’t so hard. It was just a little bit at a time.”

Sean thought about this. It still sounded tough to save up so much money.

“Plus,” Grandma went on, “my saved money also earned interest, so it took even less time than I expected.”

“Interest?” asked Sean. “What’s interest?”

“Interest,” Grandma said, “which is actually referred to as ‘dividends’ by the credit union, is money that my savings earns while it’s in the account. It’s what helps my savings grow without any extra work on my part.”

“The money earns? For doing what?”

“For doing nothing!” Grandma laughed. “My credit union uses my money to loan money to my fellow members of the credit union so they can buy cars, homes and cover expenses for many other needs. Then, the credit union pays me some of those earnings since the money in my account allowed them to do that. It’s sort of a reward for saving money. You get it?”

“I’m not sure,” Sean said slowly. “Would this work for me, too? How much money do I need to save in order to earn interest?”

“Not a lot at all,” said Grandma. She sat quietly, looking out into the ocean. “I’ll tell you what,” she said after a minute. “How about I teach you about savings and interest by acting like your credit union?”

“What do you mean?” Sean asked.

“I’ll give you an extra dollar for every $10 you save over the next six months,” said Grandma. “That’s a great interest rate-10 percent! Do we have a deal?”

Sean smiled. This sounded cool. “Deal!” he said.

He was excited for the challenge. How much would he be able to save?

***

At first, saving some of his allowance money was easy for Sean. He put away a little at a time, a dollar here, two dollars there. It was just like Grandma had said she had done when saving up for her boat. This way, it wasn’t too hard for Sean to reach his first $10, and then his second and third. Soon, Sean had $40 saved up in a little glass jar at the edge of his desk.

But then came Sean’s birthday. His parents threw him an awesome Star Wars-themed party and all his friends and relatives came to celebrate along with him. His friends gave him presents, but most of his relatives gave him cash gifts.

When the party was over and everyone had gone home, Sean counted up his birthday money. He had gotten $250 in cash! Sean had never had so much of his own money in his life. He was thrilled! Now he’d be able to buy a few new Wii games, a new football and all the pizza he wanted. This was the best birthday ever!

But then Sean saw the little glass jar on the edge of his desk and the pile of money inside. He remembered Grandma’s boat and all she’d said about earning interest. He had $290 saved up already. With Grandma’s interest, that would be $329! And he would be making all of that money, just for holding onto his birthday money a little bit longer.

There were still five full weeks until the six months would be up and Grandma would pay him the interest he’d earned. But he really wanted to buy something with his birthday money. Could he wait that long?

After thinking about it, Sean decided to buy a new football for $25 and put the rest of his money away until the six months were up. He’d also continue saving as much money as he could.

It wasn’t easy to hold onto that money, but Sean knew it would all be worth it in the end.

And it was. When Grandma came to visit after the six months were up, she asked Sean how much money he’d managed to save. Sean told her he had $270. When Grandma handed over the $27 he’d earned, he knew he had made the right choice.

Talking points:

• Why do you think Grandma offered to reward Sean for his savings?
• Why do credit unions offer interest/dividends on savings?
• In your opinion, is it more important to have an account that offers greater convenience or a higher rate?