Utilitity Bills: Need advice please!

[treesaw]

I hope I don't sound whiny here, but I need some help as I must be doing something wrong!! My utility bills are eating me out of house and home. The cheapest internet I can get in this area seems to be $65 per month which seems very high to me. I also have Direct TV to the tune of another $65 per month. And my electric bill in the winter averages around $500. with my most recent bill being $650. Now, I know I am in an old farm house, but it is pretty small at 1500 square feet. Everything is electric...I have no gas of any sort. I am located in northwest Missouri and I believe the local phone company pretty much is the only available internet provider. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions??? I'd sure appreciate it!!

[mike3367]

turn the net off and tv sounds like a start, i use little electric heater for only the rooms i am in, as im also total electric and my bill was only 154. i keep the main heater at 60 which it may not come on at all most days here, i put 2 feet of blown insulation in the attic when i 1st moved in here it helps a ton

[rambler]

A person can live without pay TV, most area can get a few channels with antennae? For cable/ sat you are fairly low, won't get much below that.

What speed of Internet are you on? If you are over 1meg then your price isn't terrible for country living.
Does your phone co offer a combined pricing deal? Here you can get phone, 5meg Internet, and TV for $110 or so, some savings to you.

The gorilla of course is your heating bill.

You can spend it every month on electric, or spend it on insulation once and be better off month after month.

You are in a pretty warm climate, I heat in MN in a much colder climate with fuel oil in an practically uninsulated farm house, and spend about what you do. You should be able to weatherstrip, seal, wrap, and insulate and vastly improve your situation in such a warm location.

Paul

[agmantoo]

First and easiest thing is to drop Direct TV and go to free to air and watch the local channels.

You did not state the type of electric heat you have so I cannot comment there.

You need to buy a kill a watt meter and start cutting off items that are wasting/using too much power for the benefit they are providing.

Shutdown or cutoff rooms you are not using.

Get electric blankets for sleeping and cut back on the thermostat.

Find out where the drafts are and close them off.

Find out if the well is water logged and repair it if possible.

Heat water once a day and then cut the water heater off.

Cook in the microwave.

[Harry Chickpea]

Originally Posted by treesaw

I hope I don't sound whiny here, but I need some help as I must be doing something wrong!! My utility bills are eating me out of house and home. The cheapest internet I can get in this area seems to be $65 per month which seems very high to me. I also have Direct TV to the tune of another $65 per month. And my electric bill in the winter averages around $500. with my most recent bill being $650. Now, I know I am in an old farm house, but it is pretty small at 1500 square feet. Everything is electric...I have no gas of any sort. I am located in northwest Missouri and I believe the local phone company pretty much is the only available internet provider. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions??? I'd sure appreciate it!!

Exede is $60/mo and high speed. I've never heard of a phone company charging that much. DirectTV - I used to like it, but they have jacked prices so many time that we went with a basic dish package instead. I'm about ready to pull the plug on that too. Just for comparison, used VHS tapes are about a buck, with no commercials, and $60 a month would be two movies a night, every night of the month. A roku box or computer hooked to a tv will get you lots of free programming.

The electric bill is your killer. Dollars to donuts you have electric resistance heat and not a heat pump. See if your power company will come out and do a free energy audit and go from there.

[ChristieAcres]

You probably won't like my first idea, but here goes. Fire your tv! That will save you $65 per month. We did that almost 6 years ago, and don't miss it at all! We hang dry our clothes and save close to $50 per month. Do you have a cell phone with Net Access? There is some method to hot spot that for a computer (don't do it myself). If that works, you save another $65 on Net service. The Oven uses a lot of electricity, so avoid baking. Do you have an electric forced air furnace, baseboard, or individual heaters?

[Terri]

In some homes, a considerable part of the electric bill is from "phantom loads".Basically, everything with a clock on it is plugged in and running at ALLL times.

You might insulate more. It was a true pain taking rolls of insulation into our attic space, but we did it.

Can your walls be insulated? I think you would have to hire that done.

Lastly, I see signs of an early spring. That means the lower utility bills are just around the corner! (I live in Eastern Kansas so I am close to you.)

[copperkid3]

Insulation is your friend . . . and investing in it will pay you back quickly in savings.

[Sparticle]

Wow that is a lot, glad you are trying to reduce. I second what Terri said about phantom loads. Fortunately we heat with a wood stove so our heating is free. I don't know your situation but it would be worth looking into. My mother in law cooks with a gas stove. It took 8 months to use $60 of propane, not bad. You can heat water in 2 liter bottles outside for dishes and baths. I'd also cut the TV bill, but that's me. Is a gas heater for the room you are in possible? In the winter hubby and I sleep in the living room with the woodstove and block the rest of the place off. We literally sleep a couple of feet from the woodstove, but it's free. In my MIL's house which we've properly insulated and is underground it only takes one fire a day and the house is warm the rest of the day. Maybe cut out as much as possible and look into converting to gas and wood.

[Taratunafish]

are you able to sign up for a "budget billing" type plan with your electric supplier? They estimate you usage for the year then split that amount up into 12 monthly payments. They adjust the payment once a year and reassess your plan once a year. It's helpful for me to have set bills wherever I can. Around here (Maryland), we have the option of "bundling" internet/phone service/direct TV. It's called a "triple play" for all three, but they also offer a "double play" for two of those 3 services. Those plans save a good bit of $$.
We have installed insulated blinds for our windows to ward off the incessant winter winds in the winter and to cut out the 100 degree heat during the summer. Those blinds were expensive, but we're seeing a payback on our electric bill. Last year, since I was a loser and couldn't get the woodstove going, I learned to live with the thermostat set to 64 degrees. Husband repointed the 120 yr old stone foundation on the house and that has helped cut out some of the cold. I have draft logs placed in front of some drafty windows and doors. Each year we try to fix something up to tighten up the house. I've seen a positive difference in our bills.

[Zilli]

Dump the cable t.v.!

If you have internet, you can watch almost anything you want. I watch current network shows, as well as the cable shows that I want (Shameless, Nurse Jackie, and a whole bunch of others). I can even watch my soaps ((Young and the Restless and General Hospital). You can also watch "oldies but goodies;" I'm currently on season eleven of the original Dallas. There are also countless old t.v. sitcoms that you can watch. There are very few shows (current and old shows) that I haven't been able to find on-line. I do have Netflix but rarely watch it; when my youngest son flies the coop, so will Netflix (he's really the only one who really watches it).

I do have a t.v. and a DVD player in my bedroom for watching DVD's, picked up at garage sales, Goodwill, and occasionally, Amazon.

Here, in order to have internet, I have to have telephone but I was recently able to drop my phone/internet bill in half by eliminating long distance, caller i.d., and call waiting. So, for everything (internet, which provides me with whatever t.v. I want, and bare bones telephone), my bill is around $45.00 a month.

As for your electricity, I don't know what to say about having a bill of $500.00 a month (that's more than my property payment!). I know I've been spoiled living here in the Pacific Northwest where we have relatively cheap power - I heat with wood but supplement the back bedrooms where the heat from the wood stove doesn't reach with space heaters (only when there is someone in the rooms, such as at night) - and my bill is never over $160.00 for two months (we're only billed every two months). I do unplug lots of the smaller appliances unless they're in use - the toaster, microwave, electric can opener. I don't know if that makes a huge difference but it sure can't hurt.

I also wash clothes in cold water only. In the summer, I use the clothes line for drying.

Good luck.

[bja105]

Don't bother quitting baking. The electricity it uses is also going to heat the house. Assuming you don't have a heat pump, the electric heat and electric oven are equally efficient, 100%.

If you have a heat pump, you need to get it checked out.

Get a wood stove, drop TV, insulate the attic to R-39. I'm sure there are obvious problems we are missing, but we can't see the house from here.

What kind of heat do you have? Electric baseboard? Forced air resistance (electric furnace)? Heat pump? Electric boiler? Radiant panels?

[ChristieAcres]

Ovens aren't efficient heat sources, but do give off heat. That is an "extra" that can be dropped to save on the electric bill. I save on my electric by the following:

1- Don't use the Oven
2- Use our Propane Range OR cook right on our Wood Stove
3- Heat our Home with our Wood Stove
4- Heat our Water with our Wood Stove
5- Hand dry our clothing on interior Steel Clothing Racks (built by DH)
6- Unplug all appliances and gadgets when not in use
7- Use less light bulbs and don't use lights when not needed.
8- Have all double paned vinyl wrapped windows (put plastic on your windows if not double)
9- Use thick curtains on big windows in main living areas when light not shining in windows and at night.
10- Keep the doors closed to our extra rooms, not in current use.
11- Don't watch tv

Yes, a Wood Stove is a real must, especially if there is a reasonably priced source for firewood. Be sure and get one with a blower!

Besides occasionally thinning our forest, we get free firewood every year. This last Winter, DH cut down all the leaning Alders on a neighbors property. He regularly picks up logs left out for locals to get (clearing for lines, etc...). When we sold our big Maple tree, the leftover branches (some quite large) equal to a number of cords. The trunk was 7 feet in diameter...

[Laura Zone 10]

Originally Posted by treesaw

I hope I don't sound whiny here, but I need some help as I must be doing something wrong!! My utility bills are eating me out of house and home. The cheapest internet I can get in this area seems to be $65 per month which seems very high to me.

My internet (satellite because nothing else is available) is 45.00 a month.
It's worth 20.00 a month to do an search to see if anyone else provides internet in your area.

I also have Direct TV to the tune of another $65 per month.

My DTV is closer to 100......but......we do not go out to the movies, we do not go to live sporting events, we do not go out to eat, and we do not do fast food.
For the 5 of us, this is 'our' entertainment.
Having said that, if push comes to shove, and it's food or fun.......the DTV will go.
You can call DTV and tel them your bill is too high.
Look at your bill and see if they are charging you for HDTV, or a fee for the equipment.
The last time I called and said my bill was WAY to high, they gave me 15.00 per month in 'credits' (took 15.00 off my bill).
Check and see if you have a more expensive package than what you need.
If you are paying for channels you don't watch, reduce your package. That will save money too.

And my electric bill in the winter averages around $500. with my most recent bill being $650. Now, I know I am in an old farm house, but it is pretty small at 1500 square feet. Everything is electric...I have no gas of any sort. I am located in northwest Missouri and I believe the local phone company pretty much is the only available internet provider. Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions??? I'd sure appreciate it!!

Wood Stove ASAP
Seal windows and electrical outlets
Seal doors
Insulate
Plant fast growing trees / bushes to break the wind.
Turn your thermostat down (ours is set at 65) Lots of blankets and fuzzy slippers.

[bja105]

Originally Posted by lorichristie

Ovens aren't efficient heat sources, but do give off heat.

An electric oven is, by definition, 100% efficient. One watt of electricity makes one watt of heat. Just like the toaster, the water heater, a space heater, strip heaters in an air handler, or an electric baseboard. All are located entirely inside the house, none are vented outside, so all of the heat is going into the house. The only improvement is a heat pump, which produces over three watts of heat per watt of electricity.

[Horseyrider]

Go to www.lowermybills.com and shop for some better rates on your utilities, credit cards, insurance, internet service, even your mortgage.

If your income allows, contact your electric supplier and ask about their grant programs. My daughter gets one every year for $350. That's free energy. Many areas now offer alternative energy suppliers, where they buy on the futures market and sell to you for less than the one you have now. Check that out; it can be hefty savings.

[mmoetc]

Treesaw- you don't say what your thermostat is set at but the easiest way to cut your heating bill is to lower it. Sweatshirts, sweaters, long undies and blankets go a long way to keeping you warm which is easier than warming space. Get a programmable thermostat if you can and set it for drastically lower settings when you're sleeping or not home. Simple behavior modification can save you money. I'm not sure our thermostat goes over 62.

[wally]

Does unpluging things that use electricity 24/7 really save any money. is the inconvience of plugging back in worth it..

[Chucknbob]

I agree with the others, cancel the dish. You can get Netflix for $8 per month and watch tons of movies and tv shows. Hulu and Crackle are free, youll have even more options there you can get a DVD or blu-ray player that streams them to your tv, you don't have to watch it on your computer.

On the electric front, insulate. I just bought an old farm house, 1300 sq ft, all electric, and had the same issues. I insulated my attic for about $350 (i also insulated my garage) it will have paid for itself by spring.

Buy outlet and switch insulators (little foam pads that go behind switch plates and electric outlets) put them behind the outlet covers. You only need to do the outlets and covers on your exterior walls. A box of these at Wal-mart is about $5 and I did my whole house. It really cut down on drafts.

Switch to CFL light bulbs. Call your electric company, mine mailed me 24 FREE bulbs.

Buy or make draft dodgers (little tubes) that sit in frost of your doors if they're drafty.

I did all of this and saved close to $100 per month.

[Gianni]

It will be tough to do much if it is a rental. If forced air make sure that your filters are clean. What were your bill like non airconditioning, say in Sept-Oct and Apr-May. That is the cost of the elec in the home non heating or AC. You need to figure out how much is heat, pumping water, freezers and appliances/lighting. Log how much your well cycles and fix any water leaks. Get a timer for the water heater. Your electrical use is more than it would be to heat all elec in Butte, MT and I can gaurentee that you are warmer than it is here. Take the steps to find out why with a real professional if needs be.