<p>No! My equake insurance is 600 per year! It’s gotta cost more than that!</p>
<p>^ My house is around 2500 sq ft, the highest months are in the low $300’s… probably around $1500 for the whole season.</p>
<p>^ That’s a lost less than I thought. THANKS!</p>
<p>My dad used to keep his house thermostat set at subterannean/ Sahara desert temperature and his utility bills were ridiculous. Hopefully the house sale will finalize before the temps drop up there this season. There is now a digital thermostat but dad isnt there to fool with it anymore :(</p>
<p>Yeah, but our earthquake insurance (everyone’s earthquake insurance) only covers a major catastrophe. The companies aren’t going to do what they did last time…</p>
<p>BTW: our heating bills (and airconditioning) are WAY higher…but then again, I’m always cold. The heat is set at 71 to 73. And my husband is always warm…air conditioning is set at 69 or 70.</p>
<p>(No…not a missprint…I’m cold.)</p>
<p>December gas + electrical bill (one utility co that provides both): $305. We splurged and used the fireplace a lot, which is the least efficient way to burn natural gas for heating purposes, so I know it could have been less. The house is about 3000 sq ft in Western WA.</p>
<p>I enjoy recycling by taking something that I’m not using and remaking it into something I will use. Mostly I do this by remaking garments that are in the giveaway pile. </p>
<p>For example, I’ve turned cargo pants into totes (love all those pockets), jeans into purses, and skirts and dresses into decorative pillows. I’ve taken hand me down clothing from boys and ‘girlified’ it so my girls could wear it. I take ill fitting clothing and redo the fit, so it is now flattering. And I do a TON of mending so we get lots of wear out of clothing - especially favorite blue jeans. </p>
<p>Last year I look my collection of wooden clementine boxes (I did get some from freecycle as I didn’t have quite enough), painted and modpodged them and voila, I had a very pretty storage system for the shelves in my laundry room - for very little money. </p>
<p>I prepare most meals from scratch including bread. I bake almost all of the bread we eat. While this does save us money, I have to admit that it just plain old tastes better. </p>
<p>Our goal is to put 4 kids through college without any loans (no loans for us or our kids) and to have a fully-funded retirement. I’d hate to have our kids support us in our old age, so we are taking steps to avoid that.</p>
<p>Our (gas) heating bills are always less than our (electric) AC bills. For this month the gas bill will be about $120 -$140 and that includes hot water too. It’s been a mild winter though and our house is also “well situated” being built into a hill facing south/southeast. I keep it toasty (around 72 degrees). I think the people who really suffer are the ones with oil heat. My in-laws go into shock every time they fill their tank! </p>
<p>It’s terrible to feel helpless about utility costs but sometimes that’s how it goes. Our D1 lives in a small 2br apartment in a small town and her water/sewage bill is $80 - $95 per month for two people! Ours is much less just because we’re dealing with a larger, more efficient municipality.</p>
<p>
It is extremely unusual in my area for apartments to be separately metered, because it requires complete separation of the water lines to each unit.</p>
<p>In Boston, which has extremely high water rates, that size bill would equate to 200+ gallons per day, which would be more normal for a 4 or 5 person family.</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>Is anything dripping or the toilet running?</p>
<p>The Boston area water rates are due to the Mass Water Resources Authority - not the availability of water. Other parts of the country just don’t have the water so it has to be rationed and rationing by price is one option.</p>
<p>sk8rmom, thanks for the links. Holy smokes!</p>
<p>3400 SF house, 12 years old–2011 I paid $3200 for LP. Includes furnace, water heater, and stove cook-top (used sparingly-haha). Even though the house is fairly new and should be tight, the Andersen windows are horribly drafty.</p>
<p>75% of those fills were at $1.65, and this winter’s contract price is $1.95. 
Furnace is 3 years old; high efficiency. Cold/wind/snow or awful humidity, tornadoes in between–no one lives in Indiana for the weather.</p>
<p>LP???</p>
<p>D1’s water - she has to have a contract for at least 2000 gal/month. If she uses that much or less, the bill is about $85, if more, it rises. I haven’t compared the per gallon rates, but they must be very, very high where she is. We get billed every 3 months so I haven’t had a bill around lately to look at the fine print for us but I know it is usually around $160 (for three months). </p>
<p>On the other hand, her electric meter is broken so they keep estimating her usage and it usually comes out to be less than $10. Strange town she lives in!</p>
<p>Often being frugal can also mean being “green”, and making less waste for the landfill.</p>
<p>One poster mentioned using half of a dryer sheet. Sounds like a good idea if you have static problems. In our case I’ve skipped dryer sheets and softener for over 30 years (in 2 different climates) with only minimal cling problems. It won’t work for most people, but it’s worth a try for one load. </p>
<p>Years ago I decided to minimize dry-clean-only clothes. It’s even easier to do now that workplaces are “business casual”. Once or twice a year we have a few items that need dry cleaning. I don’t miss the frequent dry cleaner stops we had when first married! </p>
<p>I’m an avid Freecycler, but mostly it’s for giving things away. Less clutter is better. Before making a purchase, I do careful contemplation if it is worth the space - and that saves money too when I opt to not purchase.</p>
<p>LP = liquid propane, which is what those of us who live in the country and don’t have natural gas lines use.</p>
<p>I use oil to heat approx 1800 sf of my house in the winter and also have an oil H2O heater. Last year I used 700 gallons with my thermostat set at 65. October’s oil delivery was at $3.85/gallon after the fuel co-op discount…that’s why I had the energy audit, sealing, etc. done and turned down the darn thermostats! So far my electric bill is only $10 higher than last year and we’re comfortable just switching on the little infrared heater in whatever rooms we’re occupying. When it gets really cold and windy I’m sure we’ll turn the heat up.</p>
<p>I did the math… 700 gallons at $3.85/gallon = $2695! OUCH! No wonder my in-laws turn off the AC so often, I wondered if they were just trying to get us to leave early (which, I suppose, is another way to save money - get rid of your houseguests!). </p>
<p>I also skip on dry cleaning unless absolutely necessary, and don’t use dryer sheets. Mainly because I’m too lazy. Which is also why I almost never use my iron.</p>
<p>sk8rmom, can you supplement with a fireplace? Or take up ceramics and plop a kiln right in the middle of your house? You can fire up some bowls and mugs and heat your house too. Of course, you have to somehow get the kiln fired up…</p>
<p>I saw yesterday that the local dry-cleaner has closed. They weren’t making money because so many people have moved away from needing to get things cleaned…</p>
<p>My favorite frugal resource has been my copy of The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I’ve read it many, many times. </p>
<p>Can anyone recommend another great resource like this one? Either a book or a blog. </p>
<p>The Dollar Stretcher is good as blogs go, but I love how Amy’s personality came through in her book.</p>
<p>Greenwitch, I have a fireplace in the center of the house but they’re really not a very efficient method of heating…even with a blower, most of the heat goes straight up the chimney! I have someone coming out to discuss installing a biomass or rice coal stove as I don’t really want to drag wood through the house in the dead of winter.</p>
<p>Went out to lunch the other day with my parents and a sister. None of us are big eaters. Had a coupon for buy one, get one free. Ordered two cheeseburgers, one with fries, one with onion rings and split them between the four of us. Still more than enough food. Bill came to less than $10. That’s frugal. Tipped based on what the total would have been without coupoon plus some extra for good service. She offered to cut the burgers in half. Otherswise, tipping on the total would have been cheap!</p>