I just received my electric bill for last month's usage. It was $264.00! Yikes! I have been heating the cabin with wood, but leave two electric radiator style heaters at 55 degrees to keep the pipes from freezing. It gets so cold in the winter. Some of our evenings we have dropped down into the teens. I guess it's better than having a pipe burst. I make sure to drain the water from the pipes and shut the water off when I am out of town.
It used to be cheaper to bake from scratch, but now I am thinking it might be less expensive to buy cookies on sale. I love the Scottish stem ginger biscuits that they sell at Stater Brothers. I may still make a batch of lemon bars and bake several potatoes while the oven is in use. The natural gas prices are causing me to rethink everything.
This is why it is so important to have an emergency fund and to account for inflation during retirement. Things really go up, and it only increases as we age. My health insurance now costs nearly $700.00 per month. It will continue to rise until I am eligible for Medicare at age 65. When I first bought the cottage, it was $35.00 per month. I was 33. At that time I just had a catastrophic policy.
How were your utility bills this month? Have you made any changes? I am doing laundry in cold water, and have been drying everything out on the clothesline. With all of the rain and flooding we experienced, I had to use the gas dryer several times. It really adds up; the more we can save and conserve, the lower our bills will be.
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My PG&E gas and electric bill here in California has gone up very much too. I heat with gas, that is what is terribly pricey now. I have always been careful so really haven't made any changes.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's so much higher lately. I can't imagine what it's like for people with large homes.
DeleteOur electric bill (our house is all electric, two heat pumps) was as usual. Our highest month was a little under $300 and we keep our house at 71. (2400 square feet, so I think our electricity is low here). We prefer gas heat but our development doesn't have it. We can add it if 65% of the homeowners sign up but no one wants to spend the money for new systems. Our heatthcare for 2 (not each) people from my husband's company after he retired was $600/month but now we turned 65 and it is lower ($172 each I think). If utilities go up, we will set our thermostat lower and do larger loads (per load) of laundry. Andrea
ReplyDeleteI've read about the heat pumps, Andrea. I might look into them. I find wearing layers of clothing indoors helps.
DeleteHeat pumps do well if it is above 40 degrees. Anything below, they struggle. They have an emergency all -electric heat backup, which is expensive to run. Some homes have propane backup which is very, very expensive. You can't beat the price and warmth of gas heat. Andrea
Delete40 degrees wouldn't work for me here, Andrea. I love my gas heater, but keep it at fifty-five degrees most of the time. Now that the sun is out again, I can let it stream in through the windows.
DeleteI think I mentioned this before, but, my gas bill this month was almost $700 ($693.34) and they are estimating this month's bill to be around $550. Most of it is due to heating. I bundle up in layers, wool socks, scarves, etc., even my fingerless mitts, but, I am still cold! My electricity usage went up because my daughter was home, but, I was still within my Tier 1 allocation and the higher power bill was offset a bit by the lower water bill (I used very little water for the garden because of all the rain). I'm fairly frugal in a lot of other areas of my life; I guess being warm in the winter is my only indulgence. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, Bless. That sounds like a lot of my neighbors. I think being warm is really important. Layering our clothing and using wool and alpaca blankets really helps. I may buy more sheepskin throws and a rug. My sheepskin slippers are fantastic. I'm glad you can afford the bill.
DeleteOur SDGE bill for January was a bit of a shock, $240, but we did use our very inefficient gas fireplace twice during the holidays. Our usual bill is between $100-$120 a month. Luckily, we live in a temperate area, so we do not use our gas furnace at all and never need the AC. But that being said-our house is really chilly these days with the cold overnight temperatures. SDGE says our gas bills are going down 65% for February because the price of natural gas has dropped. So that is good news.
ReplyDeleteThat is good news, Anita. I am reducing my usage, just in case. It's a relief to be able to use the clothesline out in the sunshine again. What a difference that makes in the bill.
DeleteRising power costs seem to be happening in a few places worldwide. I am incredibly lucky as my water, power and internet are included in my (cheap) rent. Due to the massive rain and floods in Auckland, New Zealand, where I live, I've been using my drier quite a bit. But still drying many things on an indoor drying frame. However, here most of us dry our clothes outside on wire lines, or a standing drying thing. Makes one's clothes etc smell so nice.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I normally do, too, ratnamurti. We just had constant rain in January. When the sun is out, things dry very quickly. Up at the cabin, I use the sauna as a drying room, since it holds the heat well.
DeleteMy bills are reasonably high but not excessive, as I don't have the heating on during the day when I'm at work. I don't use a tumble drier but use a dehumidifier to dry my clothes, which I believe is much less expensive as well as being safer to run. X
ReplyDeleteMy fuel bills have trebled since last month. I got such a shock when I received our latest monthly statement. I've gone around the house turning radiators down low and am thankful that the sun is starting to warm the house up now. Thank goodness for thermal underwear and savings in the bank.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is happening here, too, Cherie. I am relieved that the sun is streaming through the windows now, too. It makes such a difference. Like you, I am very thankful that I had that emergency fund in place for the high heating and electric bills.
DeleteOh, I've never heard of those, Jules. Fortunately, the sun has returned, so I can resume my line drying. I'm glad your heat bills are affordable. Some people here are having a very hard time.
ReplyDelete