I got our gas and electric bill, and it was the most pleasant shock I'd had all week. $127.09, down from $304.60 last month. (My share is one half.)
I thought it had to be a mistake, it's down over 50%!
Now, part of the savings was because we reduced our gas usage by 10 percent from Jan 1 to March 31, which gained us a 20% discount. However, that accounted for about 30 bucks.
Our current electric bill is 43% of what it was. Fantastic. I'm able to compare bills month to month online, and it will tell me about how much of an increase/decrease is accounted for by usage, taxes/fees, rate, days in billing period, etc. Our change in usage alone resulted in a decrease of over a hundred dollars. The rate even went up, and my bill plummeted.
Our usage went from 37 KWH a day to 23 KWH.
I think most of the decrease was just stopping heater usage-I didn't think they could be so much when used on low in small spaces for limited periods of time, but now I'm a believer. We already had flourescent compact bulbs, low appliance use, etc. I do feel, however, that my attention to detail-paying attention to lights being on, turning off my computer sometimes, line drying even more, made a dent too.
I needed good news this week, and this helps. I may be willing to go ahead and get the haircut I was delaying-since my prescription and insurance co-pays were such a hit this month. However, I overspent Medical by 40 some odd dollars, and underspent what I budgeted for electric by over 60 dollars.
Oh, did I need this boost. Not the money, just a bit of good news.
Bill Thrill
April 14th, 2006 at 07:16 am
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