The recession is hitting people hard and many are struggling to meet their normal household expenses. Not only have Utility Bills gone up but so has the general cost of living making it more challenging than ever to balance a monthly checking account. Many people just accept this and continue to pay a lot more for there utilities than they need to others take the bull by the horns and actively manage there domestic power and gas consumption thereby saving money.

The top three ways to save money on your utility bills are:

Use Less: Although obvious you'll pay less if you consume less so using energy efficient devices in your home makes a lot of sense. Simple things like using energy efficient light bulbs, refrigerators, Televisions etc although on there own don't make a massive difference when you add up all the small savings made on each device it can come out at a fairly substantial saving. Don't assume that there's no point go around your home and look with a critical eye at all the large power consuming devices you have and ensure you don't just switch them to standby when they're not in use. A device on standby can use as much as 50% of it's normal power requirements so be sure to actually switch them off.

Switch Supplier: Don't assume you're getting the best possible price for gas and electricity with your current supplier because the chances are you aren't. Even if you where once on a great tariff suppliers change there pricing and have no obligation to inform their customers of the savings they could be making by switching to a different tariff. It's your responsibility to check and they rely of people not being bothered to enable them to effectively lock you in at an expensive rate.

Use Price Comparison Sites: If no one will tell you how much money you could save check out the many price comparison sites that have sprung up on the Internet. It takes just minutes to compare what you're paying now with the cheapest prices available today. Often it's not worth the hassle of switching but you can often shave 10-20% off your bills by shopping around.

Do your own research it's quick, easy and you'd be surprised how much money you could save. Beware though of door to door sales people who promise you could save money by switching to them. Most of them are on commission and it's in there best interests to get you to switch even if it's not the best deal you could get. Never take their word for it and always do your own due diligence and check the prices yourself before you sign on the dotted line.

To save money on your gas and electricity bills you're going to have to be pro active. The days of cheap energy are at an end and for the foreseeable future we're going to be bled dry by the rising prices. It's time to get to grips with our power requirements and do our best to use as little power as possible else one day we'll discover we just won't be able to afford to heat and light our homes anymore.