Gas bill? For what period of time? What has the temperature been?

$96.00 for a month of heat does not seem outrageous.

Below Freezing, that is $158.90 for one month, hope that clears that up for you.

I gather you paid $96.00 for one month of heating. Exactly how cold was it? The bill doesn't tell me. But apparently (and again not exactly obvious to the casual observer since you don't show the entire bill) it was a lot higher the next month.

Again, how cold was it?

I'm also guessing that you have the misfortune to live in a place with crappy insulation, which is no fun at all. Even if the cost of heating were free, it takes a lot of heat to be something close to comfortable.

I sympathize. As a child in upstate NY (a bit north of Utica) in the 1950's and early 1960's, we regularly experienced temperatures well below zero. Minus 20 was not uncommon. And the home my parents had built had zero insulation, which was typical back then. I can recall feeling the cold seep into the walls while the furnace ran without stopping.

However, the cost of heating does tend to be less than the cost of cooling, so living in, say Phoenix, when it's 110 or 120 degrees is not all that different from heating up from 0 degrees.

I've lived in both Minnesota and Phoenix as an adult, and know.

it is in the summer. No surprise since I have gas heat and it's colder in the winter than in the summer.

My numbers aren't that high, but the percentage difference is similar.

I paid that already. This is my new bill.

up here in VT. So, that kind of sucked.

I'm in NH and I use about that much every month. I rent a small apartment so my tenant is never cold, but I freeze my ass off trying to keep my oil bill a bit smaller.

usually close to 51 or 52 degrees. And still...........

I have a cord of wood that I just started burning last w/e (well, once!), but I hope that will help.

bill. l live in Florida and I do live in a house, my FPL bill was $607.00 last month and in the summer it's never under $500.00. We are a family of 6, everyone is usually shocked by the amount, it is killing us. I have tried all the tips and tricks nothing makes much of a difference.

Your bill is never under $500 in the summer? How big is your house?

About 2000 sq ft.

Heat in the Winter and AC in the Summer. The bill with PSE&G is for both electric and gas. I on a year round averaged payment plan of a bit over $300/month. Check the price of your supplier. Check the prices of competing suppliers (if any).


OTOH there's no free lunch. My property taxes are $600+/month.

Which is $120 a year, or water which is approx, 35.00 a month, I guess we are lucky that isn't more. Our home owners insurance is approx. $3000.00, a year, at least that's not terrible considering the hurricanes, it's rolled into our mortgage so it may be more now. We did get it down to $450.00 for a couple months a few years ago. It's ridiculous, we don't even have a pool, we do have a hot tub we barely run. The town I live in is considered the Hamptons of Florida, flipping Betsy Devos lives here half the year.
Our bill is still consisted very high, some of the mansions on the beach here aren't that high, of course many of the wealthy people in this town are some of the cheapest people I have ever met.

Went from over $400.00 per month in the summer to less than $200.00.

This was in Fort Worth, Texas.

2200 square foot single story.

How?

Radiant barrier spray coating and insulation upgrade.

Wasn't cheap, about $3400.00 if I remember correctly but made all the difference in the world.

Also cut my winter heating bill by half.

Definitely worth looking into.

In the long run it doesn't sound too bad.

Not sure if I am allowed to promote an individual company.


BTW...the procedure may still qualify as a tax-deductible energy improvement.

problem.

We have our bill set up so that we pay the same amount year round. Then once a year they adjust it up or down. This way we don't have any nasty surprises along the way.

If that way of paying is available in your area, you should give it a try.

all my other electric bills due to the cold, Christmas lights, and increased visitors to my home.

FPL's year round program, we didn't qualify. Although I need to reapply now, my husband has been a contractor, for the last 20 years so basically the couple times we have needed help for anything we were turned down. He makes literally 75% more money on our taxes than his take home pay actually is. He also had 4 employees and paid for all his own fuel. (He is a mover/lead driver) In August he left the company, and now has a new job, is no longer contractor.

just makes making a set payment all year long easier to handle - no big bill suddenly.

Even some oil companies have something like this.

I worked there for 2 years. Zipcode 49512. I remember driving past a lighted temperature display that often said single digits in the Winter... not always on the plus side either.

we learned to put plastic over the windows. Now you can get stuff that is clear and it works. I still use it. We covered the patio door that leaks like a sieve and my Moroccan dna memories taught me to cover the walls with rugs or blankets.

That is a hell of a heating bill for sure. Sorry for that.

Here in Florida our AC bills are similar in the summer.

But I'm heating a whole house, and you say this is for a 4-room apartment? It does seem high.

I keep my thermostat at a chilly 62 degrees. And I use small electric space heaters to warm up the area by the computer, or the TV or the bathroom, whatever. So it keeps my gas down but the electric goes up in the winter months. All my friends are used to seeing me in heavy sweaters over turtleneck shirts (layers) during the winter months.

According to the landlord it was built 101 years ago, it is 4 apartments, two on the lower, two on the upper, side by side. Absolutely no insulation at all. I imagine the wood is beautiful underneath all the coats of white glossy paint over the years, trim and ceiling. We did have a brief warm up of 51 degrees, and we are now in another Arctic blast. Got to keep the cats warm.

I am extremely heat intolerant, so my thermostat stays at 52 degrees. I worried that my cat was cold. People who come to my house keep their coats on. The blanket idea was vet approved.

When I get my gas bill here on Long Island, I'll post it so you can feel better.



Actually, Here's my last dashboard, before the cold snap:

I know there are lots of higher gas bills out there, this was my highest gas bill in all of the 4 years that I have lived here. I was kind of shocked. Sorry for the rant. Stay warm.

But since you are a man who appreciates music, Roger, here's something to look forward to...

I was 11 when this song came out, loved it then and still love it today. Do we know each other? I love all music from A to Z. Thank you True Dough. You know me too well.

but I see your music posts periodically in the Lounge. There's a bit of a generation gap because I wasn't born until '73. I have an appreciation of some of the gems before my time but there's still a lot of that music I've unfamiliar with, of course.

Anyway, be well, Roger. Better days ahead!