Everyday Essential Services Strategist | Social Media Sphere Strategist
A utility bill is a residual expenditure every month, and over a year an average household in the UK spends around £1,250 a year on heating and power, according to Ofgem! That makes energy one of the biggest annual costs for UK families.
It can be very difficult even if you consistantly stick to a budget. It is so easy to feel like you are not getting anywhere. Are you like me and wish you could save more, but how and where do you start?
Lets start with the home
Try and Implement some simple "everyday essential services strategies" around your home and cut consumption and increase your disposable income every month...
Lets start with energy conservation which can be as simple as turning off lights or appliances when you do not need them.
Also use your energy-intensive appliances less by performing household tasks manually, for example hang-drying your clothes instead of putting them in the dryer, or washing dishes by hand.
Other adjustments that have the highest potential for utility savings are turning down the heat on your thermostat in the winter and using your air conditioner less in the summer.
Heating and cooling costs are amazingly costing nearly half of an average home’s utility bills, so these reductions in the intensity and frequency of heating and cooling offer the greatest savings.
Energy conservation is so beneficial for many reasons.
1) You can save money
2) increase your property value,
3) protect the environment
all this through simple energy-saving measures.
You can potentiall gain great benefits from saving energy no matter your exact motivation is. By simply taking a small step towards living a more energy-conscious lifestyle, you can begin to enjoy all of the perks of being energy efficient.
Richard Parkes | Everyday Essential Services Strategist | 00 44 (0) 121 820 0555
The Film is based on a true story, about the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) at Wiley College, which is a historically black college related to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South(now The United Methodist Church), to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when lynch mobs were a fear for blacks. The Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debate Harvard University.
James L. Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), who, at 14 years old, was on Wiley's debate team after completing high school (and who later went on to co-found the Congress of Racial Equality). Another character on the team, Samantha Booke, is based on the real individual Henrietta Bell Wells, acclaimed poet and the only female member of the 1930 Wiley team who participated in the first collegiate interracial debate in the US.
- Use Siri For Location Based Reminders
Example: Siri remind me when I get home to call Rod about Energy Bill.
Example: Siri remind me when I am at Sukiy Cafe to tell him Mobile Contracts - Communication Reminders
Example: Siri remind me the next time I message David to tell him about ID theft - Current Location
Example: Siri where am I? - Foreign Language Translation
Example: Hey, Siri how do you say “where is the bathroom” in Polish? - Measurement Conversion
Example: How many Litres are in a gallon? - Basic Math
Example: What is 3% of £58? - Locate Family Member
Example: Where is Ewa? - Emergency Services
Example: Call 911 ON SPEAKER 
Get the Latest Headlines
Example: Give me the news- Make Siri Mobile Phone Your Personal Interpreter
Example: The assistant can translate words and phrases into Polish French, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. - Make Siri Your Sports Companion
Example: Siri give me kickoff time for Next Aston Villa Football Game and the TV schedule. As you get closer to the big game, you'll be able to pepper Siri with questions about the players and team If you've got an Apple TV with built-in Siri, you can ask the assistant to tune into the game for you if it is live - Where Did I Park My Car?
Ever since iOS 10, your iPhone can remember where you parked your car by recording exactly when and where your phone disconnected from your car's Bluetooth system. Now you can just ask Siri Where did I leave my car? and you'll get an answer in map form. - Send a Message Via a Third-Party Mobile App
iOS 10 added the ability to have the virtual assistant send messages via third-party apps like, LinkedIn, or WhatsApp, and that feature continues in iOS 11. Just say Siri, send George a message via WhatsAp.
Tell Siri what you want the message to say, confirm it, and off it goes. (Shortcut this by saying, "Tell Sunny via WhatsAp that zoom call on Saturday sounds good.") - Take a Selfie!
The next time you want to take a selfie. Example: Siri take a selfie" your iPhone will jump to the front-facing lens mode in the camera app. - Locate specific Photos
Finding photos of a specific item or from a certain event can be so annoying,
Example: Just say show me my Horse Racing photos from earlier this year, Siri will then open up Photos with the relevant pictures displayed. - Start a Fitness Workout
Start workout routines in certain apps with the virtual assistant.
Example: Siri, start my workout in Pedometer or I want to work out in Seven
Siri will launch the app and, generally, kick off any workout function. - Make Calls Via VoIP App
Another long-running feature with the capability to third-party Voice over IP (VoIP) apps,
Example: "Call Mike via Office UC" to launch the appropriate app and initiate a call - Pronounce a Name Correctly
Example: Just tell Siri to learn how to pronounce John Whittaker
it will ask you how to pronounce both the first name and last name, providing multiple options in each case. - Define Relationships
Siri understands the names of your contacts by default. However it can get relationships too.
Example: Tell Siri "Ewa is my Girlfriend" or "Keith is my Cousin" and you'll then be able to refer to them simply by that moniker, saying text my Girlfriend or call my cousin Keith. - Open or Close or adust settings
Scrolling through the Settings app to find one particular thing can be a pain, but Siri can simplify things.
Example: Tell Siri Open Accessibility settings It will take you to that specific section.
Example: You can also tell it to turn certain features on or off by saying turn on Bluetooth or turn off Wi-Fi. - Search the App Store
There are a zillions apps on the App Store, and the number is only growing daily. Save time by typing what you're looking for.
Example find me the best calculator app or download the Twitter app
Siri will launch the App Store and will find it for you 
Which Plane is Flying Overhead?
Wondered what plane that is up there in the sky? Ask Siri
Example: what flights are overhead
Siri will query the Wolfram Alpha service for a list of current plane flights visible from your position, including current altitude, angle, type of plane and even a sky map.- Find Correct Spelling
You cannot quite remember whether or not BOURNEMOUTH has one "e" or zero?
Example: Ask Siri how do you spell BOURNEMOUTH? you will not only provide a definition, but will even spell the word out loud for you!!! - Hold All Calls
Have a really important meeting? tell Siri not to bother you by
Example: Hold my calls.
Siri will turn on the Do Not Disturb mode to ensure that a ringing phone won't interrupt you in the middle of a Zoom Call - Identify that Song
I happens to me all the time!!! a song on the radio, or a song being played in the coffee shop, and you have forgotten the song title. Siri has a built-in support for Shazam, which means it can answer that question for you.
Example: What song is this? or Who sings this?
Siri will answer answer. If the song is also available through iTunes, Siri will throw in a buy link!!! - Read or send your Twitter Tweets
Example: Ask show me tweets from Birmingham Mayor Andrew Street
Siri will give you a rundown of that person's latest posts,
Example tell Siri to Post I'm having tacos for lunch to Twitter to do your own sharing. - Find out about a movie
Want to watch a movie,
Example: What movies are playing?
You will get times and nearby locations as well as ratings.
Example: Show me the ratings for the movie Steve Jobs.
Example: Show me the trailer for the movie Steve Jobs. - Create a Calender Event
Creating an appointment is much faster than doing it manually.
Example: say, Schedule dentist on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Example: edit that appointment by saying, Change the time of my Tuesday appointment at 2 p.m.
Siri will then ask the new time and date!!! - Reminder Texts
Creating reminders with Siri is Easy.
Example: Remind me tomorrow at 10 a.m. to call my Energy company
Example: With the Proactive feature, you can ask Siri to remind you of what you're looking at on the screen.
Example: If you receive a text message but can't immediately reply, you can say, Remind me to reply to this when I get home. -
Create an Alarm
Example: Set an alarm by saying Wake me up tomorrow at 7:30 a.m or,
Example: taking a nap, Wake me up in an hour.
Example: Change an alarm, Turn off my 6:30 alarm or Change my 6:30 alarm to 7:00.
Example: Set a timer, say, Set the timer for a half hour.
8. Your cooker is one of the most energy-guzzling appliances in your house.
Get ahead and cook multiple meals at once – iIt will save you a lot of hassle later on in the week and save you energy!!!
9. Keep your Fridge Stocked Up
Have a full-to-the-brim fridge can save you energy - because you may not realise but an empty fridge will use more energy to keep the food cool. So if you make sure you keep your fridage stuffed with food it will keep cooler and use less energy.
Oh and by the way, the ideal temperature for fridge is around 5°C.
10. Have a Smart Meter
Always keep an eye on what yur using on gas and electricity as you go along with a smart meter.
It will rshow you what your using the most energy on!!! and you will start creating good energy saving techniques and habits and you will also notice if you have accidentally left something switched on.
Richard Parkes | Everyday Essential Services Strategist | 00 44 (0) 121 820 0555