Green is the “in” thing to do, but conserving on your home heating costs is also smart budgeting. $1,400 a year is the amount an average family pays for energy bills. It is, however, possible to save 20% of this amount if you take certain steps to cut back on your heating costs.

It is extremely important that you seal your home. Cracks in the basement or attic may be causing heat to escape and higher heating bills. Your heater is probably working overtime if you have these cracks. Begin sealing these cracks and, if you need assistance as to what you should be doing, visit energystar.gov for advice.

Keeping your air filter clean is very important. Many products say that you should change them every three months. The truth is that it will be beneficial to you to change them every month. This will help you to get rid of the dirt that is the main source of system failures.

Heating systems that are more than 15 years old generally need to be replaced. It is imperative that the new system be the right size for your home as a system that is too big will simply mean extra operating costs.

If you need to have work done on your heating system, hire a professional to be sure that everything is done right and will work to your advantage.

In today’s economy, it is almost impossible to even think of requesting a raise in salary as more and more of your co-workers are being laid off. There is, however, a possibility that this raise may actually be available if you request it.

In times such as these, a trusted, extremely productive employee is very valuable to a company. Frequently, your workload has doubled due to layoffs and your employer can appreciate this fact. This is not an unreasonable time to ask for an increase but, first, you must do your research.

Research the web to find out what comparable employees are paid at other companies. Check sites such as salaryexpert.com and salary.com to determine equivalent jobs in your area of the country.

Be prepared to document all of your achievements. It is important that you have won awards and participated in mentoring young employees, but focus on what you have done to improve the bottom line. Employers today consider the “bottom line” to be the ultimate improvement. Prepare yourself to document what you have done to improve this number or to cut expenses. Either of these accomplishments are the way to an increase.

Sit down with your manager and discuss what he feels you need to do to get a higher salary. Then set a future date for discussing your accomplishments leading towards this goal. This date should be set at three to six months away.

The current economic crisis demands that all large companies review their costs and find ways to cut them as much as possible. One of the areas being targeted by large corporations today is absenteeism. JC Penney is working diligently with their employees in an effort to cut employee absences and the expenses they entail.

Hundreds of our country’s largest employers have estimated that unscheduled absences cost them over $750,000 a year in payroll. Costs are much greater, however, when you take into account lost revenue and lower productivity. Excessive absenteeism also results in lower employee morale, which eventually also affects the bottom line.

JC Penney is trying to resolve their absenteeism problem through a new program they’ve set up. The program is called Power Line and is made up of a team of employees. Any employee who will be out of work for three or more days will contact the Power Line group and the group will determine the type of benefit the employee is entitled to. If forms are necessary, these will be provided to the employee. The team then notifies the employee’s store directly. The Power Line employee follows-up with the absent employee and continues to do so until this person returns to work. Although this new system has only been in use for the past 90 days, the store believes that they are already seeing positive results.

This is just one of the many areas being investigated today to determine how else corporate expenses can be lowered. If major companies want to survive in these troubling times, they will have to make every effort to cut costs while still providing exceptional customer service.

Many people today are making their funeral arrangements in advance so that everything will be in accordance with their wishes and their families do not have to struggle through the process while grieving the loss of a loved one. These contracts are called pre-need and are sold to many with the idea that they can pay today’s prices for a product that will not be used, hopefully, for sometime. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Consider the following before entering into such a contract:

Carefully review the fine print of the contract. Know that some items in the agreement are guaranteed while others may not be. Specifically request to have these items explained to you in detail. Guaranteed prices will not be increased; however, non-guaranteed prices may be included in the contract even though they can be increased when the death actually occurs.

It is always a good idea to have a third party review a contract before signing it. You may bring the contract home with you and have it reviewed by a family member or an attorney. Taking the time to do this now can save both money and aggravation for your loved ones.

Most survivors do not understand the contracts. They believe that everything is paid for in advance and then learn that this is not the case. Pre-need contracts often cause families more problems at the time of death than if no arrangements had been made. Because it is necessary that many non-guaranteed items be included in a pre-need contract, you might want to consider an alternative. Visit your local bank or credit union to inquire about a Totten Trust account. A Totten account is payable-on-death to the named beneficiary. This account remains in your name and you earn interest on the account. You are free to move or close the account at will as you have no contractual obligations and the funds will be immediately available to your beneficiary.

Although the last thing most of us want to do right now is visit the local shopping mall, chances are we will need to make the trip. Almost everyone has at least one or two items to return to the stores after the holidays. Some do not fit, others are the wrong color, or you were not happy with the selection at all. Although stores usually relax their return policies during this time of year, it is still necessary that you be prepared to conform to their requirements so things will go effortlessly. If you can possibly avoid opening the box, especially with electronic gifts, do so. Once you open the box, you are leaving yourself subject to a re-stocking fee, most especially if you are dealing with a big-box retailer.

Read the fine print on the gift receipt if one is available. If not, consider visiting the store’s website where a detailed copy of their return policy should be listed, Follow all the rules and the return should go smoothly. Do not, however, expect to be given cash in exchange for the item. Chances are you will only receive a store credit and will need to purchase your replacement item from the same store.

If the gift was purchased online, you will be responsible for the return postage. If, however, the retailer has actual stores in your area, you will be able to make your return to the store rather than mailing it.

Be very patient while making your returns. This will not only make the entire process go more smoothly, but will also benefit your health. While waiting for the return to take place, practice whatever relaxing techniques work for you. If you are at ease, the whole process will be easier for everyone.