That is amazing. Our electric bill use to be around what yours is. Our power company is Ameren and it's rates has constantly gone up. But now with all the coal power plants being shut down, it has become a nightmare on people's electric bills. They sent out letters informing customers of the rising rates, and plus there might be some brown outs due to the reduction of power. This has sent many people scrambling to invest into in-house generators.
Your profile says you live in TX. still do? Everything is Big in TX. Wide Open Spaces. Just talking to a gf in my old h ome town, she lives in Senior Housing and her rent is $675, she loves loves loves her little place. Says her son who lives in TX built a 12 room house years ago and he only had 1 child and that child is away in college.....he had a room for everything, cat, dog, computer, office, gym, blah blah...I said what a Waste...people don't know what to do with their money.... We NEED so little.
Yes, I live in the Houston area, not in the "wide open spaces." We've been in this house since 1994 and raised 5 children here. We needed every inch and every bathroom with kids, and there are memories here that will never be replaced. Just because you don't approve of people living in large houses does not mean that everyone agrees with you, so bloom where you are planted. We love this house, it is our home, and we can easily afford to live here. I don't presume to tell others where/how to live.
Wide open spaces on Texas..not many. Open range in the past of Kansas we moved to. A sample of what we see on drive to store.
Hubby wanted a big fancy house. Maybe bigger than yours. And then I finished the basement for a woman cave. But the house was built so tight it heats better and cheaper than our little ranch house (with one bathroom) We had to get an air exchanger to let the house breathe a little bit.
Of course you don't, Beth, but there are many in America that do. People in different states are telling those thinking about moving "please don't come here, our population is already too big". As far as telling someone "how to live", there are thousands of people that really need to be told that, because of the way they live.
Our utilities for Dec 12the day we moved in to Ja 15th Gas 235 - Elec , with water, sewer, trash, some sort of fuel charge $ 212 So much for saving money. This is a two story house little over 1900 sqf. The upstairs is closed off and heat is not on up there. We have paid it but do not know how we will next time. I heard of someone, not sure where whos usual lite bill is $180 this time of year. Last month was $700 dollars!
That is a scary feeling. Call your power company and ask them to put you on the budget plan. That way, your bill will be averaged over the year. They can compare your present usage to previous years.
We have been on budget billing forever. I always liked the idea of knowing what my bill was going to be each month. It gets adjusted over the year, going up or down so it all works out in the end.
Well, here's an expression you can relate to: You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.