Rotorua budget adviser Pearl Pavitt said people didn't have to spend a lot to keep their homes warm in winter.
She has just applied bubble wrap to the glass panes on her back door in a bid to keep warmth in the house. She said it was a way to insulate your home on a budget.
You can also pick up a plastic insulation kit from your local hardware store if you don't want to use bubble wrap.
Mrs Pavitt said if people were trying to cut costs in winter but still keep warm, opening their ovens and turning them on was definitely not the way to go.
She said this was not only dangerous, it was also expensive and wasn't cheaper than a heater.
Heating children's bedrooms wasn't always important. She said children who chose to run around in T-shirts and shorts in winter were likely to have a high tolerance for the cold, so heating their bedrooms might not be necessary.
Throwing an extra woollen blanket on a bed and using a hot water bottle or electric blanket on their beds would probably be enough, she said.
Other cheap ways to keep your house warmer included closing curtains before it got dark to retain heat from the day and using draught stoppers around the doors.
Meanwhile, Mrs Pavitt said if people were trying to cut their winter power bills they should stop using their clothes dryers and get a clothes airer. Leaving a clothes airer in the same room as a heat pump - at a safe distance - would get your clothes dry without a dryer.
Hot water bottles, wheat packs and electric blankets were also good ways to keep cosy in bed.
Tips to keep your home warm:
Drawing curtains before dark retains the heat from the day.
Door draught-stoppers will help stop draughts in your home and keep your house warmer in winter. You can pick them up cheaply enough from places like The Warehouse. Until you head to the shops to buy a draught stopper, roll a towel up and use that to stop draughts coming through doors.
If you have a heat pump, make sure you clean your filters regularly in winter. You may have your heat pump on high but if your filters aren't clean you could be wasting your time.
You may be used to pulling out the floor fan in hot weather but it can help to blow heat around in winter too. If you're using a heater of some sort, try putting a fan behind to help share the heat around.
Put on extra clothes. Obviously adding an extra jersey, putting on socks and wearing a woolly hat don't necessarily provide you with a nice and cosy home but wearing more clothes will mean you won't need to turn your heating on so high to reach that cosy temperature sooner.
Insulate your home with bubble wrap. Pop some bubble wrap over your windows to keep the warmth in your house. You can also pick up a plastic insulation kit from your local hardware store.
Use a woollen blanket on your bed to keep you warm.
Also, try an electric blanket, hot water bottle for your bed or a warm wheat pillow - so getting into your bed is nice and cosy - instead of using a heater to heat the bedroom.
