**Bumped, 8/23/22 8:30pm ET**
My jaw came near the floor when I opened July’s electricity bill to find a notification of a 28% increase in electricity rates, effective immediately. An increase of 28%…. just like that. This month, August, even higher with less use.
After the initial shock wore off, I started thinking about what this means to the working-class people in my community.
Already struggling with a doubling of gas prices, massive food price increases at the grocery store and the pain of all costs for goods far outpacing any rate of wage increase, this type of uncontrollable increase in price of electricity is going to hit hard.
In the past we have used CTH threads to spotlight the smart thinking and resourcefulness of Treepers from all walks of life. A discussion thread where people can share tips, things that can actually be done, to help offset the financial pressures during severe economic times. I think we may all benefit from starting a series of post like that again.
Let us share our wisdom and experience again. There are many thousand who will benefit, as I have always done, from reading your smart tips and suggestions.
What ideas, tips and suggestions do you have to help people save money on ordinary life and living expenses?
These are painful economic times and the stress that is caused by financial worry is some of the most horrific family stress that people can face. Let us come together with tips as a community to help each other. No suggestion is too small. What advice do you have that can help people save money on monthly expenses?
During one of our previous discussions someone gave a tip about putting a clean dry towel in the clothes dryer as a way of cutting down drying time and energy used. I tried it and jumping ju-ju-bones it worked fantastically. Simply putting a dry towel into the dryer when you add the wet clothes from the washer reduces laundry drying time by around 25%. Not only does that save time, but it also saves money – and it was so simple.
So, what suggestions do you have? Tips about anything and everything that might lower the monthly cost of ordinary life. No tip is too small. No suggestion is too odd. Your advice can/will make a difference.
Please use the comments section to drop your advice.
Thanks again for being part of our fellowship.
Love to all.
Adorable photo. We have Solar which helps a lot now that we are on fixed income, but the Sun has to shine and the days arent sunny like they used to be. lots of cloudy days, and when fires are burning more clouds. Great suggestions, thanks everyone and thank you Sundance. I tried the leave lights off for 2 mo never saw a difference in the bill so i went back. Same w unplugging things.We have an old house w huge windows so even w insulation bill goes high, we keep it at 64 in the Winter and just layer up. By Mar it can get up to round 175.00. Have a great wknd be safe
Have you tried a space heater to keep warm? Vornado makes some very safe ones. I don’t need one anymore (we had 5 or 6 nights below freezing last winter) but it might help you.
I too tried the lights thing and saw no savings but my lights are all warm LED so I just use them when I need them.
Be careful with them. I accidentally burned down a house once with a space heater. Got out of bed while the heater thermostat was off and the bedsheet (I presume) got too close to the heater. I was downstairs making coffee and the front door burst open. I thought it was just a strong wind till I look upstairs which was engulfed in flames. All my clothes and photos were destroyed. Middle of winter and all I had was my bathrobe. The firefighters finally found a long coat I could use.
The Vornado have a housing that stays fairly cool and they only work when standing upright if they get knocked over, they turn off because the base is no longer engaged. They should also be kept well away from anything flammable, such as bedsheets.
I raise chickens and used to use the heat lamp to keep them warm, but always worried about fires.
So I found a heat plate for baby chicks, so no more fire worries.
Also it draws much less power to keep those peeps toasty.
In the winter I use a little “bed buddy,” easy to make. Just fill an old tube sock with flax seed, then tie up the top. Put it into the microwave for 45-60 seconds. Won’t leak like a hot water bottle might.
I live in North Florida where it is always sunny. The sun used to flow in thru all the windows, increasing the heat in the house.
So.
I went to Home Depot and purchased ten “4 foot by 8 foot by 3/4 inch” white styrofoam panels in the INSULATION section.
I cut the panels to fit all of my house window frames, and they now block all windows.
From outside the house, all of the windows look like they have WHITE CURTAINS.
From the inside, NO MORE LIGHT AND HEAT FROM THE SUN flowing into the house.
The house is now much darker inside, and MUCH COOLER in the Summer, and MUCH WARMER in the winter. (although we don’t have much of a winter anyway.)
From Home Depot i also bought and intalled a “LITTLE GRAY BOX” timer on the hot water heater that now has my hot water heater running only for about half the day, thus saving half the cost of what i had been paying to heat water.
I have a number of flat screen tv’s, and pc monitors in the house, and i used to leave them on most of the time. NOW, i turn them off whenever i leave the room, as they use up a ton of electricity.
I swapped out all light bulbs for new low wattage LED bulbs.
I keep the AC at 78 degrees, and have ceiling fans in every room.
I bought a backup generator. 13kw. and am in the midst of having it installed.
That is all i have done so far.
Would love to go solar, but i am old , and poor, so i can’t afford it.
Hope this helps.
Here in AZ there’s solar companies that say you won’t pay a dime cuz you’ll be selling electric back to the power company. IDK if true cuz I’m a renter. I may be wrong but I think that in most cases you can figure that if a house has solar that it’s owner occupied. Renters, who really need the savings are the ones propping up the corrupt power companies.
Oh PS LOVE the styrofoam idea!
I have two skylights over the kitchen which are great in AZ winter, adding a little heat. In the summer I cover them with the styrofoam panels. I like how they darken the room which I think has a psychological effect, giving that refreshing feeling of being in the shade.
Alaso, a clear shower curtain hung over an area of the house you don’t need to heat or cool will keep only your chosen temp-controlled area cool or warm.
I did the same thing with insulation board for the windows but I covered the panels with decorative cloth, in the off seasons I use them as wall hangings (art).
Styrofoam – awesome. Am definitely going to do that. Easier than applying the blocking tape I bought and am returning.
Buy an old Scottish cashmere sweater on Ebay, no later than 1985 or so. The vintage cashmere is SO MUCH better than today’s cashmere from China. It’s a marvelous value for layering for retention of body heat in winter. You can get a vintage sweater for under $50. Buy one for each family member.
I’m always cold since I slimmed down and low thyroid doesn’t help. I have some cashmere a couple of decades old and in winter I live in it.
There’s a company called Cuddlduds that makes excellent thermal long underwear, very comfortable, very washable. In New England they are always under my jeans for something like half the year.
alpaca is even warmer than cashmere
I was told by someone lights are the least drawer of wattage–dryer, I don’t use; oven, I’m widow and don’t use that either, but do eat real meals; water heater, I keep off till ready for use.
I prepare meals in huge amounts and freeze in one serving containers. I have a huge selection when I get ready to take out night before.
Yesterday was meat loaf.
Buy an electric car, you deplorables!
That will create rolling black outs. Trust the science.
I’ve always wanted a nuclear/coal burning car.
I knew a guy that built a wood burning car.
I like the Batmobile.
Atomic batteries to power! Turbines to speed! Ready to move out…
When the wind stopped in Texas last week, the first thing they did was tell people not to charge their cars. I think this was voluntary but you know it is only a matter of time before it becomes mandatory. I understand that the electric cars all have a kill switch so you cannot outrun the police. If they can turn your engine off, they can stop you from charging your battery.
They installed remote-controlled meters on all homes here in the greater Houston area. They offer a cheaper rate if you let the Power Co. “adjust” your thermostat a few degrees. Only a matter of time until EVERYONE regardless of power plan gets this “special” service during this “climate emergency”.
And they’ll be working from home, too.
OMG that’s Disgusting!
Yes but is it worse than eating bugs?
No.
The electric company says that I use significantly less energy that my neighbors, which is strange because I still use incandescent bulbs in some rooms of my home and I have some vintage electronics that I use regularly.
Appliances and A/C thermostat set temperature is far and away what consumes the most electricity.
Could be that you hand wash dishes, run the dryer less, or set your temp higher etc
Stop making, buying and charging electric vehicles.
I was on an off-grid system in CO, and had my fridge (a big energy user) on a timer, 4 hours on, then 4 off, to keep the motor turning on and cycling during the 4 hours it was “on”.
It’s the cycling of the motor on welders, AC, fridges, that consumes energy.
Another small ac unit:
https://www.target.com/p/as-seen-on-tv-arctic-air-pure-chill/-/A-81916252?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012733995&CPNG=PLA_Kitchen%2BShopping%7CKitchen_Ecomm_Home&adgroup=SC_Kitchen_Astv&LID=700000001230728pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=s&device=c&location=&targetid=pla-4585238373012211&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1247068&msclkid=05c01cd1dd02128997627e0de8d9e920&gclid=05c01cd1dd02128997627e0de8d9e920&gclsrc=3p.ds
That “Arctic Air” thing is a piece of crap.
Yep, of the best things about conventional air conditioners are that they dehumidify the air. The Arctic Air unit humidifies your air.
I bought one last year and within weeks of this-doesn’t-work issues, donated it. The donation center is at the front of the thrift store. Had to laugh because, after entering the store, saw a whole bunch of ’em lined up on a shelf. This was in August:)
I bought one of these (reluctantly) as my window AC stopped working & my deplorable landlords have yet to fix it (after 2 months of Texas heat). It’s certainly not meant to cool down a room, but you can put your face in front of it & I think it will at least take the edge off so you don’t get heat stroke. But for heaven’s sake, take the whole front part off! The little filter makes no difference & the grating blocks half the cold air & makes a mess. Work with what you’ve got.
I also like to use lamp timers if I want something to not stay on all night. Like it’s way too hot at night not to have a fan on, but I can have a timer switch it off at 4 am when it cools down finally.
Your fridge/freezer are more efficient if they’re full, so if you have empty space, add a jug of water or something else to take up spacial volume. Physics.
I bought one of those emergency car flashlights a long time ago with the super bright Cobb light. It’s great (I use it for all kinds of other things, have yet to need it in my car) but it comes with a solar charger & USB port. Not going to solve all your problems but maybe you could get a daily phone charge out of it.
I have yet to try my blackout curtains here (new apartment) cause I can’t stand not to see outside, but with the old very thin panes installed here I’m betting they’ll make a big difference keeping the solar heat at bay.
I also have an old juice jug I keep on hand for watering plants. Refill it with leftover kettle water or whatever so you don’t need to fill it up fresh from the tap for the plants.
I like the tip about the steel cut oats! My oat of choice is rolled oats though. I pour boiling water on top of a bowl with cinnamon & brown sugar & just let it sit for a while. It’ll also work to put in the fridge the night before if you don’t want to eat hot breakfast with no AC in the summer. I also use a french press for my coffee. No electricity. And an ultra-thrifty person would reuse the coffee grounds. I’m thrifty, but maybe not ultra level yet, though good for composting.
Lowes has good air conditioning & they’ll let you walk around & look at stuff all day lol
Your fridge/freezer are more efficient if they’re full, so if you have empty space, add a jug of water or something else to take up spacial volume. Physics.
I never knew this! I always thought I was making my frig & freezer work harder by packing it.
It’s just wonderful the things I learn from treepers. Thanks.
They are a very small swamp cooler, perfectly sized for Barbies house.
I wish I had my $105 back. Get a $20 oscillating fan and it’ll do a better job.
I use the fan and it works better.
And what really ticked me off was no place to review and tell others not to get one.
Vegetable garden, even with grow bags on the lanai around the pool.
AC @ 78-79, (we live in FL) with ceiling fans.
Keep half of the shades and drapes drawn.
Invested in double pane-hurticanecproof windows and doors several years ago.
A bundle of 100 white shop rags are perfect for all kinds of cleaning vs paper towels.
I cut up old, 100% cotton dining napkins, hemmed them, and use them instead of tissues. Between colds and Covid this year, we saved a bunch on paper tissues.
Everything goes into the wash.
Wash your dryer filter once a week or more in soapy dish detergent. Dry with a shop towel. Dryer sheets build up an accumulated film on the screen, thus lowering the efficiency.
We use the smaller appliances in the summer. Less heat and energy.
We quit using dryer sheets and instead use woolen balls in the dryer. You can buy them on Amazon. About six balls go into the dryer with the clothes and presto! No static cling and the lint comes right off the dryer filter. You can use these thousands of times. I have no idea how they work. I only know they not only kill the static, but also keep the clothes from bunching up, the clothes dry faster, and there’s no dryer sheet gunk on the filter.
That’s a great idea. I can’t use the scented one’s anymore because they make me break out and itch, so this is perfect for me anyway. And FTR, you can also buy washer balls, which are plastic balls with little rocks in them that you have to put out in the sun every so often to freshen them back up. I use them with just a tiny bit of free and clear laundry detergent and my clothes come out fresh and clean. You can even use them without any detergent but I like to use just a little bit because I’m outside a lot. They will work on their own though.
My plastic balls have no rocks and I don’t sun them…lol
Uhh, Dryers use massive amounts of electricity. How about Put your clothes on a clothes line in your back yard.
If you have HOA or other similar rules, Time to organize on that BS with a crisis on hand.
Save a buck on dryer sheets. Save tens of dollars using a clothes line.
Yes! I dont and havent had a dryer in over a decade. I put up a clothes line where the HOA couldnt see it and line dried my clothes. Now that I live in an apt I use a drying rack. I also use a toaster oven for roasting and baking. Drive an 05 Scion that I maintain. Never use paper towel, dish towels will do along with cloth napkins.
use a cotton or natural fiber vs synthetic line.
the synthetic line bounces and stretches.
Don’t use the backyard, your clothes will end up full of bugs and covered with bird do-do. Use a rotary (umbrella-type) tripod clothes drying rack in a spare room. Works fine, and avoids using that appliance that hits your electric bill the hardest.
This works better in drier climates, obviously. If you are in the south and rely on air conditioning to survive, these will put a slightly heavier load on your system.
I have laundry machines now but I used to only use a laundry wand (in a 5gal in my bathtub). If I could do it the same in my new apartment, I’d still prefer that way actually. No electricity & clothes seem much much cleaner if you do it right. So I just put a 2nd tension bar along the middle of the shower & hung wet clothes to dry on plastic hangers. You can scooch them down to the far end & still take a shower if you’re not godzilla.
I’ve been using the second tension bar in the tub for years.
It works great.
I also have drying racks.
Only use the dryer for sheets and towels.
Hang old CDs on the washing line with string. Deters and scares the birds away
That sounds like a good idea for chasing woodpeckers away from the house siding as well. Thanks.
LOL — our problem here is Canadian geese. The bombs rain down from far, far above. Besides, I play my old CDs…
But likely this tip will work for a lot of people.
I love the sunshine smell and it does have one when drying outside–my porch is covered so no birds.
I use the porch for my line so have never had a problem.
We never put clothes in the dryer. If you cannot use a clothesline, have a long pipe strung horizontally from the ceiling near the washer/dryer.
Hang the clothes on hangers from the pipe right out of the washer. They dry fast, no wrinkles, no pilling or lint and look good forever. Only use the dryer for sheets and towels when necessary after the clothes are hung and the ambient heat helps dry the hanging clothes.
I have a gas dryer. Like it better, and I also have a natural gas furnace, water heater, and range. My gas bill in the summer is less than $25 a month. I do live alone, so I do less laundry, dishwashing etc anyway.
I use the wool dryer balls. I only run the clothes a few minutes for static cling reasons,,,my body hated the cling, electric thingy. I have an expendable line from one column to another on the back porch and I love it.
This does not work in Florida’s liquid sunshine which is highly unpredictable. However, I have an extra tension rod in my second bath, a stand alone folding rack and a hanging rack in the laundry room.
I don’t use the dryer and have a retractable line on the back porch. I love it–don’t even have to leave the porch to dry clothes…and no weed eating around poles.
Probably the lanolin in the wool is my guess. But I have no idea
I use clean tennis balls but never tried the woolen ones. I’ve also used clean dry towels to hurry up the drying time.
Thank you so much for recommending wool dryer balls, Pyrran.
I purchased a set of 6 right after reading your post.
🐑 : )
I use a new tennis ball.
I use plastic ones, allergic to wool. They work great!
I have purchased from Walmart and Amazon, been using them for years.
When a sock gets a hole in it, use it as a dusting mitt.
I use dryer sheets for inside the house insect/ pest control. I use them under furniture and near where any insect or spider might get in. They do not like the odor of the sheets because the smell messes with their pheromones. I don’t like the poison sprays so I find the dryer sheets very convenient. I replace as needed.
“I don’t like poison sprays” you might like diatomaceous earth.
You could eat it, just don’t breathe it (its a white powder). Harmless to mammals, birds earth worms, but fatal to crickets, ants, spiders, etc.
Also, a product called “Roach proof” made with boric acid, also a powder.
Wonderful suggestion by Sundance followed by just as wonderful helpful hints by commenters.
God, this situation brings back so many wrenching memories of family financial stress while growing up in the heart of the rust belt in the seventies and eighties.
None of this should be happening and would not be happening if the politicians had any fear of elections.
Yes, help one another on a day by day basis but always pray and advocate for leaders of power, expertise and guts to rise up and lead us out of a situation where we accept crumbs just to be less uncomfortable in our slavery.
Put the clothes outside during the summer on a clothesline. Nothing beats the smell of fresh air. In winter, instead of using a humidifier to add moisture to the air, hang the clothes up on a line or a rack.
Racks are cheap. I stopped using the clothes drier all together and am shocked how quickly everything dries and is ready to be folded and put away.
I also hang my night laundered clothes on the line–in morning, ready to bring in.
That’s a great idea. Clothes driers consume an extreme amount of energy. A clothesline is simple to put up. I am originally from England, here is a picture of how clotheslines at least used to be made there. Note the prop pole to keep the line up high.
Mom used to load up the line with clothes THEN prop it up high with the stick.
I use a pvc pipe instead of wood but yeah you gotta get sheets up high.
I put in a 4 string clothes line with steel fabricated posts having decorative wrought Iron corner sets. Powder coated to match the color of the shutters and rails and security doors on the house and set in concrete. There is nothing like the smell of cloths dried on the line.
Line dried clothes also have a longer lifespan.
Better idea: don’t wear clothes.
Here are some things I do…… just because I don’t like paying more than I have to for stuff.
~ For cell service (3 of us)….. get Visible. You can create/join “parties”, and you don’t even have to know the people in your party. Once you pool 4 people together, you are already at the maximum discount. The price is a flat $25 per person for unlimited talk, text, and data. No additional taxes or fees, and it runs on the Verizon network. It has been awesome for us, and costs a flat $75 a month.
~ If you still have landline, use Ooma. I have the Ooma Telo 2 with the basic service, and it it 100% free except some taxes, which amounts to having a $5.91 a month phone bill, unlimited minutes.
~ My TV and internet…… I got AT&T internet locked in for a flat $35 a month, for 75 MB down speed. Works great. If that is a promotion that expires, I will call back and see what they can do. Always ask for “Customer Retention” when answering the phone prompts. For TV, I canceled U-Verse as it got way too expensive, and picked up some Roku boxes. Those things are great. Really easy to use, and a TON of free content available. I pay for a number of different streaming services (DAZN, MLB.tv, Showtime/Paramount+ bundle, Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu bundle, Amazon Prime, and Netflix) All combined, they are like $100 a month. This is probably more than we need, so I could trim this back if necessary. All together….. for TV, Internet, Landline, and 3 cell phones….. I pay about $215 a month.
~ Another tip….. not about saving, but about raking in “free money”. If you have a good credit score, take advantage of credit card bonuses and rewards! There is a ton of free money out there. Go get it! Rule #1….. NEVER charge more than you can pay off. There are a bunch of websites that list card bonuses (Doctor of Credit, The Points Guy, Nomadic Matt, NerdWallet, etc…) For example, I just signed up for a Citi Premier card. I have to spend $4,000 in the first 3 months to qualify for the 80,000 point sign-up bonus. (Worth a flat $800). No problem. I charge everything I can on that card until I spend 4K, then stop. It does have a $95 annual fee that is not waived the first year (sometimes they are!), but with the rewards I earn from spending the $4,000….. I will still get around a free $800 out of this card. Before one year is up, I will cancel it, and cycle in a new card with a huge sign-up bonus.
Aside from the “temporary” cards I get/drop, I always have my other go-to cards (never with an annual fee) for specific things. My Sam’s Club card gets me 5% back on gas (usually the cheapest gas around anyway), and 3% back on dining. My Amazon Prime Signature Visa came with a free $200 signup bonus, and gets me at least 5% back on Amazon.com purchases. My Discover It card is great…….. I used it for everything for an entire year, earning 1.5% back on everything I spent, and they matched it at the end of the first year! So I got 3% back total. I want to say that earned me over $1,200 that first year. I also still use the card because every quarter is a different 5% back category. This quarter is restaurants and PayPal. When we eat out this quarter we use this card to get 5% back. My last card is the Citi Double Cash card. Very simple…. no annual fee, and 2% back on everything, always.
I have earned a ton of free money over the years doing this. It is really simple. Always use the cards that earn you the largest % cash back, never charge more than you can pay off, never buy things you normally wouldn’t buy, and always pay your bills on time. My credit score remains very high. Easy, free money!
We do this with our credit cards too! I keep a tiny piece of paper with my credit cards that tells me what card to use: ex: Discover for restaurants through July. Sometimes it’s groceries, sometimes it’s gas. And by all means always pay the entire bill every month.
I’m surprised by some things you and the other guy you replied to support. Disney +? And you support discover? Why? I dumped discover after 30 ish years after they brought in a program that gave special bonuses to businesses owned by black people. Do I have a problem with black people? No I have a problem with companies that discriminate or reward people based on the color of their skin. Is there racism in America? You bet your donkey and it is from anyone who picks winners and losers solely by the color of their skin and that is Disney and discover. Oh and for a bonus Disney will turn your children into deviants and you pay for it. I get saving money however what does it matter if yo7 have to sacrifice principles to save a buck.
I’m unaware of Discover’s “transgressions” you speak of and will investigate, thank you. As for Disney, we are aware and do not support them.
deleted and reposted in the correct spot
To be fair, we got the Disney+ bundle last year. It seems they have gone extra crazy this year. It will be on the chopping block eventually. Our child is 15, knows better, and is against all the brainwashing Disney is into these days. Anything promoting homosexuality or transgender garbage is off limits. But yeah….. I would be extra cautious with a 7 year old. They know these kids’ minds are easily swayed….. especially if the parents aren’t paying attention to what their kids watch.
Do you know of a credit card company that’s *not* woke and supported by globalist? These days, companies that support MAGA are practically non-existent.
Thanks for pointing that out!! discover???? really??
GREAT tips!!
I met a woman who got cash back on her purchases — they used the card for everything — and had gotten enough back throughout the year to pay for their Christmas.
Fyi. Those credit cards charge the merchants a very high per transaction rate. It’s how you get your “ cash back “. You get it from the merchant paying higher credit card fees on his end.
Yep. I worked for a company where I got involved in analyzing our fees from customer card use. We would negotiate some pricing under a contract with a bank or other provider. Oh and those fees come out of the payment to the merchant right up front. The merchant never handles all of the revenues that are generated. Those fees add up quickly.
AND, Mastercard and Visa can just decide to raise their merchant rates at any time.
The more we buy the more the credit card companies take in.
….and that higher cost = higher prices for stuff in general.
The thing is the merchants do not not discount for cash. Some places do and I try to use cash with them.
I have a credit card through Meijers and only use it to fill up since it takes 10 cents off the posted price per gallon.
We too have a Sam’s Card, mostly for gas, but I would love to know how you got it with no annual fee.
I still pay $45 to be a member of Sam’s Club, but the card itself has no annual fee. I’m 99% sure of that, but will double check!
What? 😳
“I pay for a number of different streaming services (DAZN, MLB.tv, Showtime/Paramount+ bundle, Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu bundle, Amazon Prime, and Netflix) All combined, they are like $100 a month.”
Stop supporting these WOKE companies and there you go- $100 in your pocket every month.
Our family does stream certain services, but our extended family & friends share. For example, we pay for Netflix, but family members share our password to access it to the limit of 5 users. One family has Disney+, but we all share it (I know! but some programming & movies are still acceptable). So in our extended family we share Peacock, Paramount +, Hulu, HBO+) so each only pays for one service. Works well for us. The key to getting lots of free TV streaming is to have a smart TV versus Roku or XBox.
I have free options with Roku streamer. I pay only for Prime…..I check out a few free and if not liked, channel removed.
I found I really like ID…great channel and Roku channel is great.
When I find a channel that has 7 minutes of show and a commercial, it gets removed real fast.
I pay nothing except the one time $25 for Roku streamer and $112 a year for Prime.
I liked your post – much of what you do, we do here. Rotating the credit cards around to get the best deals and cash back takes a bit of work, but we make $100s of dollars a year by doing so.
Regarding Disney+, if you have Hulu, unfortunately you support Disney. We cut cable years ago and use Roku+Hulu. Works great. But, Hulu now includes Disney automatically. Dang it.
My biggest suggestion for others is to build and maintain a budget. Everything. Track your spending big and small. After a few months, look back on your spreadsheet and categorize things. We learned A LOT about where and how we spend money.
We were surprised on how much we spend on restaurants and other non-essentials. It led to us re-think what matters, establish new priorities and create better habits.
Yes! Keep track of everything! Spreadsheets are the best thing ever. Once you know how much you spend on certain things the frugality can come out to play & you almost want to see how much you can NOT spend.
I also love the cash back & run nearly everything through my credit cards. Prefer my Discover card the best (totally ditching my amazon one now). I usually just use points to pay off my balance but recently found they have a thing where you can redeem points for gift cards but with certain % added. Like I got a $100 gift card to Lowe’s & it only cost me 90 points. If you plan ahead for larger purchases at certain places, or if it’s some place you shop anyway, that’s a little bit of free $ that adds up.
Get rewards free apps like Fetch and Ibott. Get points for stuff you were going to purchase anyway, like gas, groceries, restaurants, hardware store, Dollar Tree, anywhere. You get free gift cards. Try it out.
I love ROKU and subscribe to Sling.
Dropping Spectrum TV saves me about $75/month.
I still use Spectrum for internet and a landline phone.
I *almost* got Sling, but would have had to add the sports package for an additional $11 a month just to get the MLB Network, which gets me lots of baseball highlights, but not many actual games. Getting MLB.tv gets me most games, and a bunch of highlights every day. Sling did look cool, though…..and reasonably priced.
I left Spectrum behind when I moved from condo to house. I got T Mobile Internet ($50/mo) and a Fire Stick ($30 once, already on Amazon prime) for the TV. I was paying Spectrum $50 just for my unit’s internet for years, I was paying $140/month for cable with condo dues. I rarely watch TV, I prefer streaming what I want to watch anyway. I used to stream to my PC from Amazon prime videos, but, with operating system changes and Amazon changes, Amazon does not work with my 2010 PC. But, it will work with the TV my son gave me.
I discovered an older Roku streamer wouldn’t show Prime. I made the old tv work by programming/coding the remotes in and found out the roku wouldn’t work for one channel.
That’s okay. the streamer was the first bought many years ago.
I still get all other stuff with it, free channels. weather, Pandora, etc.
I have a friend who must travel several times a year back and forth from MT to FL. She is caring for an ill relative.
She has a card that gives her airline miles, always pays it off every month and it enables her to make those trips for free.
There are free rewards apps, not involving a credit card. FETCH is one. You scan all your receipts with a smart phone, any type of receipt, and as a minimum you get 25 points and sometimes if it’s a promoted item, you get more points. You can also use e-receipts. Not only cash register receipts, but ones with the store name is clear, the date, and the total. Easy 25 points.
What do you get for points? Gift cards. For eample, 10,000 points gets you an Amazon $10 gift card. You can get gift cards for many retailers and cash cards from Visa ($10 card for 11,500 points). No upselling, just free money for things you spend for anyway. I also pick up receipts people leave behind or throw away for points.
Ibotta is another rewards program. The beauty by scanning receipts on different reward apps, you can double or more with your cash back. Here are some others:
Best Cash Back Rewards Apps
Dang…. I haven’t looked into any of these. I need to make sure it is actually worth my time. I’m frugal with certain stuff (out of principle), but we are not scraping for money or anything. One thing I do use is Rakuten. I believe it used to be called e-Bates. I have the Rakuten browser extension, and it pops up on every site I can save money. For example, if I want to shop at Barnes & Noble, I go through their link, and just shop as I normally would, but get a certain % back. Easiest thing ever. In a couple years, I have earned a free $287…… literally for doing nothing. I get mailed a check periodically depending what I bought. We recently bought a Purple mattress (love it!!), and Rakuten gave us $75 back just by clicking their link. OK!!!!!
I save money NOT using LifeLock and keeping my credit FROZEN to prevent identity theft.
I maintain 2 credit cards forever, one has 5% cash back on a quarterly rotating basis of stuff, the other has a small credit line attached should I need it. A few years ago, I lifted the freezes to get a BJ’s card and their 5% on gas. Boy, was that timely!
I get unlimited talk only for $20 a month from consumer cellular. For another 10 could get text and data but don’t have anyone so not needed. My phone hasn’t rung since last September from a friend in Tennessee.
I share that line with no one!!
Our landlines here are connected to the wifi so can’t be removed. YUK…like mine ever rings…stays on OFF ringer.
Haven’t had cable in many years..Roku and only subscribe with Amazon Prime for free shipping. $112 a year.
Credit card spending?? It takes me FOREVER to get a bonus…I have to reach a $3000 spent amount before I am eligible for a gift card and I choose Lowes every time.
Great all the tips.
It is exactly what the Globalist Totalitarians want everyone to do. Don’t be all you can be, but settle for all they want you to be. It is surrender without having fired a shot and the music of victory in their ears. I know if I was one of them, I would rejoice and love reading this thread.
I understand your sentiment, truly I do. However, where the rubber hits the road, we are talking about real world impacts from things that are just not in the control of people doing the best they can to get by.
If the evil people rejoice in reading the pain they have inflicted, they will face a judgement; that is not mine to meter.
Ephesians 6:12
“Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord pursue them.”
-Psalm 35:6
Love that verse! Thanks.
I do not care about them facing judgement someday. I want them brought to task right now. As far as saving tips I am 100% for it, but not because “They” force me to do it.
Savings is about all savings tips and budgets. However, I am all for a new thread that focuses on how to starve the beast.
I, for one, have boycotted as many woke companies as possible. Too many don’t bother.
If we compromise our principles for convenience, and the next thing we know, USA is relegated to a service economy only: No more mom and pop stores, no more healthy competition, and no more manufacturing jobs inside the USA.
Credit cards are also convenient, but with *cash* comes freedom from social credit scores, tracking and political targeting.
Yard sales, flea markets..I love them!!
I buy all on sale.
WE do not know when or what the Lord has in mind for them. But, he will surely judge them all as he sees fit. Whenever we manage our affairs in a way that does not profit the evil ones or their evil plans, we should all rejoice. The more self-sufficient we become, the less they can have their way with us. Thrift is an important way to give them the finger.
I recently installed a Generac to keep a few of my electric appliances powerd up in case of a blackout in my area (which I doubt will happen but you never know). Initial cost at time of installation wasn’t cheap but it’s already paid for itself! Twice. I have two freezers full of food and if the electricity is out for more than a couple of hours it would be very bad for all that food. My stove/oven is natural gas which I wouldn’t change for anything. Never liked electric burners on a stove.
Bought a Doulton water purifier which installs under the sink (you can get countertop and other models, too) and that assures of me the cleanest, freshest water ever.
Otherwise, I cut back on a few channels but it only ended up saving me about $20/month so not a big deal. I’m not giving up my cable tv because it’s all I really have. My husband passed away about 1 1/2 years ago so sometimes I go for days without talking to people, except on the phone once in a while. I watch all my favorite old westerns on INSP network all day every day. I do watch Tucker at 6 p.m., m-f, but otherwise no news on tv. It’s all lies anyway.
I also purchased a consumer cellular phone for about $30 bucks a month and it does everything I need it to do. I’m an electronic “weenie” – I don’t know how to use half of this new-age crap, so I just do what I can!
I used to love to garden, not just for the fresh foods but for the exercise, but I cannot do that anymore so I now garden in pots on the patio. This year some heirloom tomatoes, some chives, a whole raft of cucumbers (my favorite which I pick when they are small and have the most flavor). Planted a couple of petunias, too, just for the color. My rose bushes do great as long as I remember to water them for about 10 mintues everyday on these 100 degree days. Today we get a break – – only supposed to be in the mid 80’s. It’s bad when mid 80’s feels cool !! Ceiling fans all over the house are my answer to staying cool most of the day, as well as keeping shades pulled and curtains drawn as much as possible.
LOVE THE PHOTO OF THE LITTLE BOY AND HIS DOG. Reminds me of my grandson and his puppy. He even takes that poor thing into the shower with him. That’s what you call real love.
Have you thought about making ice blocks?
Fill an empty yogurt container with water, freeze it and remove the resulting ice block then place it at the foot of your rose bush. It will melt and water the roses while it does.
I do this for my chickens when it gets hot, only I put the ice block into a shallow pan. As it melts the chickens get nice cold water.
Really helps them cope with those 90+ degree days.
And great that you are still gardening. I have gone to raised planters for some things. Sure helps my old back!
Ooooh I really like that ice block idea – especially for a day or so when I can’t water…
Right now blueMA is having a heat wave, been high 90’s to 100 for more than a week. I know perfectly well that this is normal, happened all the time when I was a kid.
But in those days they didn’t restrict watering plants to 3 evening hours every other day. 🙄
Retired Magistrate here: I see it differently; people using their creative abilities to be all they can be given the particular circumstance that person is in.
I don’t see people making comments here surrendering; they are fighting as best as they know how to provide for themselves and their families.
My husband and I have certainly not given up; however, we are using common sense to cut our utility bills and be prepared for what may be coming. If I were a Globalist Totalitarian reading this thread I would think “Wow” we have a long way to go; these people are fighters. Just my opinion.
Yep.
The Globalists want us dead.
Stubbornly staying alive denies them their victory!
You said it better than I could.
The best way to triumph over those who want to kill you is to survive.
Might have to tighten my belt to do it, but while I still draw breath, they lose!
My husband and I embraced frugality a long time ago. We lack for nothing. We live in a gorgeous home on 2 acres. We did much of the work ourselves. We eat the finest produce we get from our garden and orchard. We play fabulous board games with our family and friends for entertainment, providing lots of laughter and intellectual stimulation. We reuse and upcycle whenever we can. For example, I have learned to make beautiful rugs from old t-shirts. We prefer learning new skills to following the latest trends. Our life is extremely rich, even if we are not, and we thank God for all these blessings. The Globalist Totalitarians got nothing on us.
Oh Froogie, what an absolutely beautiful post. Every word is inspiration plus. Thank you for sharing your wonderful, extremely rich life!
and the reduced stress derived from such a lifestyle?
PRICELESS
Fangdog, well, you can always pay the exorbitant electricity rates. No one’s stopping you. This is a thread about saving money on electricity. If we mind the dollars each month, we may just keep the roof over our heads and out of Blackrock’s grabby hands.
My thinking is the Globalists should be dismayed so many are aware and taking action/control og their own destiny. They rejoice in the people who are unaware and helpless.
When cooking rice, bring it to a boil. Cover and shut off the stove. Give it time and the rice will be cooked just as easily as if you had left the burner on simmer.
Same works with lentils, millet and quinoa. All these have protein and fiber – essentials.
thanks did not know that
You can cook rice in a thermos overnight
Coincidence? I actually had just opened the highest electric bill of my life…I’m 70 years of age…bill is $308.57! We live in central Texas and have been experiencing 100 degree and up days for the last month with no end in sight. We are blessed that we are debt free but our retirement income is not increasing at the rate of food, gas and energy! Praying that we are all able to fix all of the issues in our world that are creating these hardships, Lord help us!
Today I was golfing and used a cloth that when wet reduces your core temperature. It’s kinda like a shamie. Get it wet with cold water and put it around your neck it should help cool you off so you don’t need so much air conditioning. This particular cloth is called endura cool instant cooling cloths. It worked very well to keep my temperature down while golfing.
Periodically cool down by taking a cool shower or bath.
Using an Instant Pot or slow cooker for meals saves because you’re not heating up the kitchen by using the stove or oven. We try to make meals that will provide leftovers for the next day or that we can freeze for later use.
Pressure cooking can also be healthier, removing a good percentage of lectins and phytic acid. We love our IP.
I use an air fryer for the same reason. Unlimited items you can cook in it.
There’s a countertop appliance called a Ninja that will grill/roast/ air fry that I use for small amounts so as not to use the oven. I can cook 5 large hamburgers at once in it ( my dog can only eat beef because of allergies, and also in remission for cancer so he’s limited as to carbs. It is also less expensive than dog food.
I was reluctant to like my instant pot but I love it now. I don’t notice a big change in my electricity bill & it totally beats not standing over a hot stove. 3 min rice is great!
Instapot uses less energy, too.
All of these appliances sound wonderful.
But I have no counter space at all left available in my small ranch house kitchen. I do have a crockpot that has to be kept on a low shelf underneath a counter.
And the microwave…
Surprised no one has mentioned (so far) how much you can cook quickly for small meals in a microwave. I eat only redskin potatoes – just harvested my first batch of homegrown ones yesterday
And I always cook potatoes in the microwave. Sour cream and salt/pepper and my homegrown chives…
When our natural gas rates doubled in January, I had an extra layer of insulation blown into the attic. In April, I had a mini split installed in the sunroom and small window AC in my bedroom. Have not had whole house AC on at all. Heat index here was 106 yesterday (Midwest). The utility bill arrived yesterday. It was astronomical even though I used fewer kilowatt hours than this time last year. I shudder to think what it would have been had I not taken these steps. Does anyone think the elites are struggling like we are?
Excellent question!
yes, indeed they are. One of them, I forget which, was recently in such misery that he had to accept 2500 gallon fossil fuel tanks at his modest home at a grape plantation where he is facing peril from the rising sea.
The lights will never go out, and the fridge will always be stocked in the political households of DC. And we pay for it all. Almost like handing the guillotine operator a gold coin as he puts your head in position….
Currently looking for reputable company to add insulation to our attic.
I think most of the elites are used to electric bills of $300 to $400 per month because of the way they are used to living. They are spoiled because the cost of things doesn’t affect them the same way it affects you and me and Joe Blow down the street. They simply do not care. Trump again, anyone?? YESSSS!
I doubt Nancy Pelosi worries about the cost of operating her fridge.
I added blown in insulation in my attic about 15 years ago, and also had it added to the walls in this old house. Certainly keeps it more comfortable!
My A/C usage is down after I had a metal roof installed.
Good to know. I had one installed before I had my second electric bill, so, I did not notice. All but the sliding glass door are impact so that helps too. My bill here is about the same as in my condo. I don’t notice any more for the cathedral ceiling in the living room/dining room. Square footage is about 2/3rds. Both places have LED lights and ceiling fans throughout. I turned my cool temp up a bit to save a bit more.
we use wood to heat don’t need to cool. with hydropower our electric bills about $80/month. cool mornings put us in sweaters. warm afternoons take off sweater. A tip from me is move to the Oregon coast. A worry for me is how to keep in contact with other treepers when government shuts down internet sites they don’t like. could we have a landline phone # for each other? like a phone tree?? gasoline here down from $5.50 to $4.97 this last week. don’t know why.
if more treepers move to oregon coast we can turn oregon back red as it was before all mail in voting and moter voters. No sales tax in oregon, social security exempt from tax, use timber conservation and exclusive farm use to reduce property tax. run a few goats or sheep. also the death tax is horrendous but only on estates not if you get inheritance from out of state.
It’s because the cript waved his magic Covid distancing stick and gas’s prices came down magically. I know because KJP said so in a cooky tik tok video she did yesterday. But the real reason is because demand is down. Mostly because people can’t afford gas to drive anywhere.
Bunch of fast food places where I live. Looks like they won’t be able to afford to stay open. People simply aren’t going.
I am certainly cutting back. Working on the garden instead. Consolidating all shopping trips.
I wouldn’t live in Oregon for all the tea in Taiwan. What a weirdo place lately. Is that where you live or where on earth are you experiencing weather like that? I’ve wondered, too, about keeping in touch with others. My Generac will keep the computer going but not everyone is doing that. Do they even make wall phones anymore?? I’d love to go back to that system. Gas here still at $5.09/gal.
I see people buying cases of water in those plastic drinking bottles and wonder what on earth they are thinking or even IF they are thinking. That stuff is so putrid it’s akin to drinking toilet water. ewwww. Not even for cooking would I use that junk. That’s why we long ago purchased the Doulton water filter system under out kitchen sink. Great investment. Take ceramic filter out every other montn or so, clean it, put it back and you’re ready for another few months of clean fresh water.
D. Smith, there are plenty of weirdos in Portland. Not so much here near the Pacific Ocean. We moved from right on the coast 30 years ago to 16 miles inland to avoid bumper to bumper motor homes, to avoid the squawking of the bouys, to avoid the wetness even in summer where you can not sit on the lawn without getting soaked even in summer, get out of the tsunami zone. Here inland we have some heat in the summer. mornings are as much as 50 degrees and afternoons get up to 70s. Our only neighbors are big timber companies like Pub Paper, Green Diamond, etc plus the wildlife. Nearest human lives across the river and a mile southeast. Our water comes from a gravity spring half mile up the hill. great pressure and tests pure. we also have a well for the cattle tanks. If you judge Oregon by what goes on in Portland you miss a great deal.
Sounds wonderful, I think we all tend to judge the blue states by their cities and all the craziness in them. I grew up in Broward County Florida, notorious for voter fraud and liberalism. My family has been conservative all our lives I would hate to be judged because I live in a liberal area.
If you have to evacuate due to say a forest fire, etc. it is good to have potable, portable, water.
or a hurricane …or power outtage needed to flush
With the price of food so high, go on a diet and stay on one.
Lose weight, get healthy and save money.
Very easy.
Indeed – and reconsider your habitual drink preferences. $3.00 for a large drink with your meal? “Cup of ice water, please?”
Have done that for years as soda is the most expensive part of the meal and I never drink it all anyway. The towel on dryer works will have to try the dryer balls. Good ideas folks keep em coming.
Better yet, cook your dinner at home, and enjoy it with a glass of good old iced tea.
Yep! I cook almost all meals at home because of the need to avoid added refined sugar and whenever possible refined flour.
But, for me, it’s iced coffee. Mostly decaf but all day every day, pretty much…
A local restaurant has started charging for water. Did not go over well.
Not everyone needs to lose weight, and older people are supposed to consume more calories than younger people, but they need to be quality calories, not empty ones. eat smart and your body weight will be right for you. Fresh, whole foods are the best, and don’t forget to include MEAT of all kinds in your diet. Don’t let billyboy gates tell you that meat is bad, what the hell does he know? He knows nothing about farming but he now owns a whole lotta land, but WHY? Just so farmers can’t plant? That makes no sense. Not much does these days.
Trying to increase my protein intake as I get older.
I raise chickens so my protein of choice is eggs.
Egg scrambles with whatever veggies are leftover makes a great meal any time, lunch or dinner or breakfast…
I try to keep some extra baked potato in the frig overnight when I’m going to make one – the chunked cold potato is excellent sautéed into a scramble. Then again it could be the canadian bacon, fresh peppers, shallots, baby mushrooms, parmesan cheese I also like to add…
Supposed to consume more calories when older? I never heard that! And when I start slipping and eating a little more, the weight balloons on instantly. So I don’t.
I do eat heavy on the protein, heavy on the fresh veggies and fruits, and light on carbs (complex only, please – it’s the simple carbs that getcha). But no fruit juices – I avoid drinking calories except for milk.
By the way – large container, boiling water on five decaf green tea bags, steep 10 minutes & remove bags, store it in the frig – iced green tea is fantastic stuff…
I just yesterday told a guy installing my new battery ($180) how to use Nido…milk will not be here since they are killing cows so I stocked up on Nido, in the freezer.
Mix a cup of water with 4 scoops of Nido–add a few drops of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of sugar, chill.
The taste will be so like milk, you can’t tell the difference.
I gave away buckets of instant milk to a guy for his animals to drink. NIdo is the best.
He can’t fix the bugs in his own computer system so why trust him on farmland or the CDC 😡 Cretins all
We had that increase a couple of months ago.
Been battling the AC cost, especially since we had hellish temps earlier than usual this summer.
Now, dark curtains, ugh.
I spray my house when I water the yard to cool the bricks and siding down. Seems to help.
I have garage door cracked with fan running in garage so it is not so hot and adding to a warm house.
One thing I want to say to any who smoke.
My son bought a roller, some tubes (not papers, tubes have filter built in ) and tobacco. He now spends about .80 a pack instead of 7.00 or whatever they are. So, he spends about 8.00 a week instead of 70 or 80.
Huge savings.
(Of course more savings if he quit, but that’s his decision)
I have been making my own laundry detergent. Thanks to Sundance suggesting this early on.
You can make almost any cleaning product with some basics.
I use:
14oz borax
14 oz of super washing soda (arm and hammer)
41/2 oz of shaved laundry soap.
Blend it up like a margarita. Lol.
Then just use it dry. 3T or so.
Close off rooms, in the late fall and winter, that you don’t use that often. Lower the thermostats in those rooms.
My Dad talked to me about his parents doing that during the depression. He was born in 1929.
Hardly need heat here in S Texas. Mostly AC is our problem.
Block the supply and return air vents in the rooms you’re closing off.
I’m not endorsing this product, but it shows one option. Or use cardboard and tape.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/heaters/heating-registers/4169504
WOW! I didn’t know about this. Many thanks!
Shaved laundry soap? Please tell me more about how you shave it and what kind of soap?
It is a bar of laundry soap. Fels-Naptha. I can find it here at Walmart or HEB, in the laundry section. About 1.00. You can also use natural bath soap bars, if you can’t find the laundry soap bar. Just shave it with your cheese grater.
I use to eat a lot of that for saying damn it…can still smell and taste it!
Buy a cheese grater.
That brings back memories.
When cigarettes went up to to 50 cents a pack my Dad brought home a little machine that would roll cigarettes.
So he had us kids rolling smokes for him and Mom.
We used to do that while watching TV.
Years ago I knew someone who quit smoking by only ‘rolling’ a certain amount of cigarettes the night before. It took several months and then they stopped entirely.
I know a # of old smokers who switched from ‘store boughts’ to rollong their own, and are saving a boatload.
$250/ mo to maybe $20?
Still smoking, but spending a lot less to poison themselves, so theres that.
I mixed two half gallon mason jars and they lasted 2 years. I had Amish bars and used those.
One change can save you hundreds of dollars a year, reduce your personal security risk, improve your mental health, and deprive our country’s enemies of financial resources they use to continue their conquest of the American way of life…
Get rid of your “smart” phone. Do it. Do it now. You’ll feel better almost immediately.
I agree. I never bought one of those things because I’m not sold on anything that uses the word “smart” these days. I have a little consumer cellular phone for about $30/month and it does everything I need it to do. Cut corners wherever you can if your only income is SS checks, and even then put some away or in savings (I don’t trust using banks anymore) because I have a feeling biden is spending all of our SS money to buy gas and oil from China when we could be getting it out of the ground right here. Wonder if he knows how much more expensive electricity is than fuel or natural gas?? I don’t think he knows what day it is half the time. It’s just plain scary. Also I dare him to come to my part of the country and explain how he’s going to set up those electric car charging stations when there are some places in my state where there can be as much as 75 to 100 miles between towns. And sometimes those towns ONLY consist of a gas station and a porta potty. He’s living in a dream world most of the time. Obviously he has never been anywhere NEAR this part of the USA. Trump made a special trip here last summer and met with our gubner.
Sounds like you’re in eastern Montana.
I have an old flip phone that I use for emergencies.
I truly do believe I am the only human in this world with no smart phone.
How will they find me for that 25th booster shot>??
Check with your electricity provider. Here in NE Florida electricity is a lot cheaper at off peak times. Running the washing machine after midnight is a great way to reduce one’s electricity bill.
Yes.
Here, with our co-op, (Middle GA) the lower rates are from 8PM until 8AM Mon – Friday // all day Sat & Sun.
Harvest crab, clams , oysters, salmon , halibut and cod.
All of which can be prepared outdoors with your BBQ and propane (or briquettes), which is much cheaper than using the oven.
I use wool dryer balls – does the same as a dry towel, but also helps fluff the towels. A couple drops of a fave essential oil and there is no more need for dryer sheets.
LED light bulbs in all sockets have dropped my light bill by 30%
Check your circuit breakers!! One that is bad but still lets power flow thru will waste money. Better to replace a breaker now than pay the power company forever until you do.
Grow what food you can. Herbs & cucumbers can grow anywhere in a container on a balcony or porch. Plant a garden if you have the land.
Window box fans!! One side of house blowing into house, opposite side blowing out of the house. In evenings/nights may be cool enough to not need a/c. May.
The fans are great if you don’t have humidity. Current temp is 90 and feels like temp is 110. As you said, “may”.
In addition, I have a one – story house and don’t really want to be a victim profiled on Dateline “she slept with open windows to attempt to lower her electric bill. It was a costly decision. “
Great topic! I have one tip that has been helpful for my recent retirement…
Make a habit of reviewing recurring charges to your card/account – it’s easy to subscribe to more things than you can possibly consume, especially when times are good and you are flush with money. I just “found” another $40/month that I was able to cancel, and I will miss none of it.
SE TX
Don’t use central air. I use one $600 12,000 btu that covers living/office then four $120 5000 btu’s in rooms I’m not in all the time doors closed. Six years ago my bill was $330 a month using central AC. After the window units it has remained $125 a month except this month it jumped to $149 FJB. Central air is set at 80 and never comes on. Five total, the big one is set to 72 and small ones are always set to max, on, off/on timers. No HOA and it’s incredibly comfy often chilly.
With most central AC’s the thermostat has no idea what the temperature is in the back room. Especially crappy cooling if doors are closed.
This is where it’s going, Mini Split Air and I’m going to make moves to slowly implement them when deals come up.
https://search.brave.com/search?q=Mini+Split+Air
Not to mention great hurricane helpers if you drag around generators on wheels.
Dehumidification works more cheaply than just air conditioning in the hot south. Best practice is 50% humidity they say.
Irony is in the desert it can be very hot but comfortable with a swamp cooler which essentially humidifies and blows air. Much cheaper than AC.
Here in NC I’ve taken to running the AC limited hours and using it at higher temps but less humidity. My AC does a great job at dehumidifying. Some have to add auxiliary equipment to achieve that.
New Hampshire as of August 1st:
Electricity 50% increase
Nat Gas 76% increase
And Biden hasn’t even been in office for two years yet. It can and will get much worse unless the feckless GOP starts fighting back the way Trump taught them. There is no excuse anymore since Trump has given them the blue print.
Anything you can do to help insulate your home will help. Three small things anyone can do are to caulk leaky door and window openings, install insulation in electric outlets (you can find ready made kits at Home Depot) and be sure your doors have a good sweep at the bottom. If they don’t, and you can’t put one on, roll up a towel and press it against the door.
If you are able, add insulation in crawl space and attic if needed. Window replacements are expensive, but a good energy efficient window will pay off long term. Make sure doors and windows have functional weatherstripping.
A roll of Bubble wrap, a little spray of water on the window pane. It will stick, and easy enough to put back. That alone will help the energy loss. It is very effective. If your windows are single pane it is a must. Double pane etc will still help. Works summer and winter., close the drapes, put up curtains.
Forget esoterics etc. Time to go old school. When you cut back it hits their bottom line. They are taking advantage I would wager with price increases hidden in this.
Did you notice the oil refineries profits are up like 650% you read that read correctly
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-09/carlos-slim-gets-big-returns-by-cashing-in-on-a-us-oil-refiner-s-600-rebound
Why are some stations super high some have 50 cent or more difference. Because people will not boycott.
boycott everything, watch how they respond.
𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬; 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞; 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞!); 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞; 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐔𝐒𝐁 𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫; 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞; 𝐝𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭; 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝; 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡
Texas… electric rate up 55%. No more 12 month contracts, locked in for 36 months, and most providers offering only 60 months. I already keep a/c at 79 degrees during the day. This is a larger increase for me than gas or groceries.
I have 40 gallons of grey water for sale.
Foam your liquid hand soap refill. Buy a foaming hand soap. Re-use the dispenser. Fill it with 80% – 90% soft water (we use WalMart refil filtered water) and top it off with the liquid hand soap refill. Your soap goes 10X farther.
My kids give me these soaps from Bath & Body. Once foaming soap bottles are half empty I fill with tap water. Can’t tell much difference and sometimes I dilute even further.
We left California for Kentucky. Now living the small town life. Our water bill last month was $23.67. Our electric bill was $67.35. Gas is $2.50 less per gallon than it was in California. Our property tax here is $1,000 per year. I was paying $5,000 per year in California.
Folks in Kentucky are very friendly and polite. It pays to be friendly and polite because most people here are packing.
There are still plenty of places to live in this country that are inexpensive.
You forgot to mention the decrease in stress level !
Shhh. We don’t want everyone showing up.
Hi, Kentucky. In Logan County here. Small, quiet, and I’ve been here 15 years and don’t know a soul. Neighbors suck here. I’m a Tennessee girl, the kind that sits you down to the table if you are eating and makes you take iced tea or hot coffee depending on the weather if not!!!
I know there are friendly neighborhoods, but I have my late husband of 46 years in lots of rooms here. I don’t want to leave.
Carter tried this. Lost him an election.
How about an Arab Spring, American style. Hosni Biden must go.
Seems like we were energy independent 550 days ago.
TPTB are running a “color revolution”. This time we are the targets of that revolution.
Elections don’t mean squat anymore
I was just watching a fox squirrel trying to defeat my squirrel proof bird feeder. He failed.
Ha! Yankee flipper. I have one of those 😁
I finally figured out how to defeat squirrels without a fancy feeder. It is sort of hard to describe. On the shepherd’s hook pole that holds the feeder I install an 8″ stove pipe with the top end capped, bottom open. There is a hole in the cap for the pole. The thing rests on a wooded block firmly attached to the pole. The squirrels climb the pole and end up inside the stove pipe. They can not climb around the pipe. Make certain the feeder is not in a place where the squirrels can jump to it from trees or fences.
In a single level ranch with attached garage and contiguous attic in garage and house. I leave the ceiling attic access stairway in the garage open a bit to let hot attic air escape. Attic temp today is about 135 degrees. Heats the garage but I leave the garage doors open. Reduces the A/C load of the house, which consumes less power. A/C unit in basement is forced air. Make sure all duct work has well sealed joints; don’t air condition your basement. Make sure all windows of house and basement are well closed and do not leak air.
If you install an attic fan in the garage you can pull outside air into the garage and push it into the attic. A cooler attic will lower the A/C load and help the roof shingles last a little longer.
Consider using an exhaust fan in the attic. You can also include a thermostat so it only comes on when it reaches a certain temperature.
Got out of debt. Cut up credit cards 20 yrs ago. Pay cash. Vehicles and house paid off. Cut cable 10+ yrs ago. Antenna and Roku. Switched to Consumer Cellular $54 for two phones. Two 110 window units $144 last month in Texas. Keep it on 78 degrees. Close off rooms not using. Dont eat out at all. Have food storage. Buy clothes and whatever at garage sales
Dont need it dont buy it. But then again we’ve pretty much always lived this way. People that know struggles find ways and adapt. No bling bling or frills.
The old school way of paying cash might go away. During covid many places wouldn’t take cash b/c of “infection.”
The globalist are going to insist on a cashless society so how will one purchase at garage sales. I saw one estate sale that was credit card only, no cash.
The way I get back at these places, is I go in ( not intending to really buy anything-just to mess with them), pickout and load up and huge amount of goods, let them scan it and when its time to pay at the till, I present cash.
If they say “we dont take cash” I say “oh well thats all I have. I’m old and I cant afford a credit card”.
Then I walk out and leave the pile of goods there on the counter for them to pack away.
If all of us do this they will soon get the message
Throw sand in the machine
Ouch on the electricity rate increase.
Eat the food you buy rather than letting it go bad. Freeze or can otherwise preserve it before it goes bad.
Keep the kitchen clean. It’s a lot easier to cook if you don’t need to do dishes first.
Prep veggies for salads and stir fries. I store mine in canning jars and often use store bought sauces (teriyaki, stir-fry, etc.) for convenience.
Cook enough for 2 to 3 meals at once. This is especially helpful to me in hot months.
Keep the pantry and toiletries stocked, especially when you can buy things on sale.
Personally, I half dry clothes and then hang them up to finish drying. This takes most wrinkles out and I don’t have to iron anything. I just put a towel on the dryer to try that trick.
Don’t do things that don’t work for you because they save money for other people. I’ve tried drying on an outside line but most of the year my allergies pay the price and it’s not worth it to me.
I switched to a Time of Use electricity plan in January and have saved money every month, anywhere from $8 to $30 per month. High rate periods are 6 to 9 a.m. November through March and 3 to 7 p.m. April to October, 7 days a week. I don’t recommend this to anyone who can’t control the thermostat and when appliances that generate heat are used but I live alone and it works for me.
I still use tips from The Complete Tightwad Gazette and refer to it for some recipes and just to get new ideas.
Support the local farmers, restaurants and businesses you want to be around on the other side of this. That’s not an individual money saving tip but a local economy saving tip.
Huzzah, a fellow Tightwad! I have the 3-volume mega pack. Read cover to cover.
Same. I used to call it my savings Bible. When she was about 6 or 7, my daughter saw me reading it one day and asked me if it made me feel closer to God!
I agree with using up food before it goes bad – I do a lot of planning for just that.
Recently discovered a trick with bunched cilantro (I use it in lots of dishes and it’s all gone over in my herb garden). I used to bring it home from the grocery and keep it in the frig one of those loose open thin plastic produce bags, but a lot went bad.
Now I get it dried out on the dish rack and then spend a little time picking out all the leaves and throwing away the stems. The leaves I put in a closed plastic container; they stay fresh and soft in the frig when there are no stems. Don’t know why – but it works.
I put cilantro in everything I can–it cleans metals from the blood.
Dried is tasteless and I use lots more….I just had it in my tuna fish salad sandwich.
Same think happened to me and I’m using no more power. Biden and the communists will be gone soon!
Down here in scorching hot Miami, the A/C guy always recommends to use a digital thermostat. The manual ones are too general and the household members tend to move it up and down at will, which reeks havoc with the electric bill.
You can set them to be certain temperatures at certain times. Foolproof! We have 2 A/C units and it keeps everything on an even keel, and they are priced quite well! We use Honeywell.
During the Carter years, I’ve never forgotten how a newscast explained how opening the refrigerator door cost $.06 cents EACH TIME.
Keep your daily allotment of beer in a cooler?
That’s sad for me – I’m a victim of Why Did I Open This Door a Moment Ago And What In The World Was I Looking For? Syndrome.
Make sure you have a thermostat that has the ability to set the swing. Honeywell and others now make ONE DEGREE swings, you can’t adjust. This is horrible for the AC unit and horrible for your bill.
One degree is to make you feel “comfortable”. It works the AC much harder, why, because most of the power draw is ON START UP. One Degree makes your bill much much higher. Change it out to an adjustable. Two down or three.below the set Temp, Runns longer but the current draw is less after it starts. Also the start up is what will cause it fail early. They know this, good for them on service calls, and early replace.
Buy small box fans put them everywhere. The current draw is very small and the extra breeze will make you feel much cooler.
AC is your biggest cost in Summer.
CLIMATIZE.. turn it up, you will soon Climatize your body to higher temps. Fans work wonders..
Disclaimer: I am not now nor have I ever been part of a pyramid marketing scheme(for you oldsters, think Amway). I stand to gain nothing, either monetarily or otherwise by simply sharing a money saving (up to at least $50/month) tip on cleaning supplies. During the last three years of running my residential cleaning business, I was introduced to cleaning cloths made with microfiber silver strands 1/200 the size of a human hair. The silver fibers deactivate the bacteria with which the cloth comes in contact.
Long story shorter: these cloths are nothing short of miraculous when cleaning just about everything: glass, fiberglass, acrylic, granite, stainless, leather, etc. I saved at least $50 the first month using them. No more sprays, ammonia, silicone based cleaners, bleach!
I will confer with Admin to see if I am able to name the company behind this miraculous way of cleaning. So stay tuned….
Dear faithful Admin: what thinkest Thou?
When my daughter bought those cloths to clean her house I burst out laughing and inadvertently offended her. I just have to ask, where is the scientific proof that “silver strands” are antibacterial. I think the “magic” is in the fact that the cloths are microfiber. In my opinion, which you can ignore and I’m not meaning to demean you at all, the cloths do a good job of “shining up” things, but in no way disinfect surfaces.
You can purchase ‘powdered silver’ at compounding pharmacies. It’s used to fight bacterial infections in wounds, and works amazingly well. So yes, silver has anti-microbe properties
The strands may be colored silver but what are they really?
So a question for you that even Dr Google can’t seem to answer: how do you clean an acrylic bathtub?? I used some essential oils in mine and it has stained/discolored the tub almost like it melted into the tub. I’ve never seen anything like it or had anything like it happen before, and it won’t clean with any product I’ve tried… and I’ve tried A LOT!
Any advice ? 😬
Cut steel wool soap pads in half before using them. It sharpens your scissors and you won’t waste the entire pad when it inevitably turns rusty.
What a great idea! Thx!
Yes! Been chopping up Brillo pads like that for a while. Slice off only as much as you may need. Box lasts a long time now.
Also, did you know that you can use steel wool and either a 9V battery or two D batteries stacked end to end to start a fire?
Organize a bundle of the steel wool in almost a “tube” shape, and put one end on the + and one on the -.
I haven’t done this personally, but have seen it on two sites for survival tips.
survivalsullivan dot com
I use a stainless steel sponge for cleaning baked on stuff. It’s not really a sponge, but a scrubber. They come in several sizes.
I got 99 of those melamine cloths(mr clean??) from Amazon for $12. I even cut those in half.
I am about out and needing to check the price now–that was years ago.
I switched most of our bulbs to daylight LED’s. Lots of fixtures in this house and I shopped for LED’s on sale.
I would say our next biggest savings was going with some DC motor ceiling fans. It’s a big house and every bedroom and the two story living area all have fans. We run the ones in the master and living area year round. It keeps the temps stable thus using the heat/air less.
I spent a lot of time researching which fan. I ended up with a Kichler which I love it. It moves a massive amount of air in the cathedral ceiling for not a lot of watts. Not much more than a single 100 watt equivalent LED at the speed we use.
I don’t really get the desire to use DC ceiling fans over the traditional. I guess if you are doing it for style then that makes sense because ‘to each their own’.
However, it would have to be one sexy fan to get me to pay 500+ for the DC. Since the power usage on ceiling fans is one of the smallest areas you can reduce your electric usage, I would again put this far down the list. In a large house you’re talking thousands of dollars to save just a few dollars per fan.
I do like their look, but DC and me will be waiting. God Bless
Volunteer at church. Your money has lost value because of inflation but sincere service and devotion to God are still worth more than any money, gold or jewels.
I lost my wife of 39 years last October after years of long illness, now on a fixed income. One of the many lessons i learned from her is that when you leave the house to run your errands make sure you know where you need to go and get everything in one trip. I was notorious for having to go back after things I “forgot”.
Your wife was a wise woman.
We’re in the country and my husband does work needing regular trips to the hardware store. I’ve taken to asking him to drop me off at the grocery store to pick up things and he gets me on the way back.
We’re saving a lot of gas that way plus my more frequent visits to the grocery store have let me capitalize on sales I would have missed.
Sorry for your loss, Leland. I pray God comforts you and blesses you.
We are all concerned with how to pay the here and now electric bill, with just reason of making ends meet–living is not getting affordable and they want to take down our standard of living.
I have a concern for the fact that KW usage will decrease.
Electric generating companies will then alter the business/operations model towards aligning power generation with the “unintended consequences” of reduced demand.
And increase the rates, some more–(with the beloved K Street involvement/s).
More dollars, by less, as we have been told…to explain ‘inflation’. I suspect in the near future, we will see that business model expand again, in our electric companies, if we haven’t already and just don’t know it.
Bingo!
Last winter my ac and heater stopped working so I didn’t fix it. Instead I just wore extra sweat shirts and blankets. In the summer I simply go in from the shop near to dark open all the doors and windows and put on my 3 ceiling fans to move the air. Of course I’m blessed to get afternoon ocean breezes even though I’m about 7 miles as the crow flies. I put retractable clothes lines on the porch and hang out everything but socks and underwear
Besides everything smells better out side. Ahhh country living even in southern Calif
This^^^, along with $5 gasoline, inflation, all the other pain Biden is inflicting on Americans is why Dems (and RINOs) must be defeated in November. “It’s the economy stupid.” Bill Clinton. Hammer this home whenever you hear he fake news 1/6. B.S. or other whining.
I recommend dehydration with a dehydrator. You can dehydrate beans, peas, tomatoes (then put tomatoes in vita mix and turn them into powder—to use—reconstitute with water) to make tomato paste or more water for sauce. You can dehydrate okra, fruits, and requires no refrigeration.
You can make your own dehydrator – don’t have to buy one.
Do an internet search & see if your state allows you to shop for your electric.Im in Maryland & switch companies every 3 years.currently paying 0.0999 per kwh with Constellation new energy.they supply electric & balto gas & electric delivers it.We heat with coal & wood.
We use a portable AC but a small window unit would also work to cool the bedroom off at night while leaving the rest of the house at 78-80F. It’s more economical than cooling the whole house.
I drive a Tesla and as such an qualified for a time of use program with the power company. With this plan I get almost free electricity during the day (it becomes astronomical during peak hours)
If your utility offers a rate plan and you have the ability to choose when you use electricity, you might be able to save money there.
As an aside I’ll just say that switching to an EV almost doubled my monthly electricity usage so anyone who thinks the solution to our world’s problems is to get everyone on EV – without bigly ramping up Nuclear power generation – is a fundamentally unserious person
We bought a Ford Fusion hybrid. Best money we ever spent. Especially now.
I typically drive over 20k/ yr, so my company car is a 2022 hybrid Toyota Sienna because it get nears twice the fuel mileage (35+ mpg) of the Tundra I’d rather be driving. Sacrifices…
lol! I got a kick out of that. In fact I’ve even thought about getting something friendlier on the pocket book but I sure do love to drive my F150! (F150 stands for fun until you’re 150 y/o)
I purchased a Lexus RX450H last year. ONLY because it was the ONLY one on the lot and nobody had any RX350. I traded a 10 year old SRX which had everything breaking down. My Lexus is a BIG vehicle, 4 door AWD SUV I can get 32 mpg with my driving, I watch the power meter and my foot and have learned about coasting, etc. My hubby can get 30.4 cause he is a lead foot
It does call for premium gas but my salesman and the shop said that it is not really necessary for engine life so I will alternate between premium and regular. I see ZERO difference in gas mileage on either tanks.
I did buy a very long xtra warranty which covers battery … it is in the back end of the vehicle. Warranty from Lexus for 120000 miles with zero deductible.
I only went hybrid due to supply issues but it does get good mileage, I wanted one for 5 years
enjoy your Lexus..I have had 3 the last one I had for TWENTY years..a 2000….would give anything to have it back..but alas..the engine…was history.I miss that car every day..and practically drool when I see a classic one.
My son takes pix of ones he sees and sends them to me..I call it car PORN!!!
I feel the same about my Supercrew F150. So much so that I paid the 12,000.00 to put a new engine and catalytic converters. I’m even able to do basic math so I know that 12k is a whole lot less than 73k for a new one.
I have the non-plug in hybrid model Fusion. I consistently get 38 mpg with the AC on blowing ice cold. Now when the batterys go it will be another story. The plug in cost you on the monthly electric bill.
Can you explain how the recharging stations work? The electricity is not free, how do you pay? Does the rate differ from state to state? They talk about not paying for gas, but what’s the general charge at the recharging station?
I have not seen nor herd of any charging stations in the 3ed largest city in Missouri (Springfield). I travel a lot between Missouri and Kentucky. I have never seen a charging station along the route I take. I assume if you can find one, you pay either by debit or credit card. I imagine it is a flat rate
I’ve never been to that Springfield, but apparently there are charging stations there. This map page allows you to search along your preferred route:
https://chargehub.com/en/charging-stations-map.html
I can only speak to the tesla supercharger network. You just pull up, plug in, and when finished your card on file is charged.
The cost to charge varies from location to location but my most recent charge was about $7.50 for ~100 miles of range.
At home charging during off peak hours a full charge of ~300 “miles” would cost about $5
If the power went out and I used my gasoline generator at home to get a full charge, it would cost roughly $300 (60 gal) at current gas prices.
So these rolling blackouts and energy grid capacity shortfalls due to Joe F’n Brandon energy policy is going to royally screw all of those faithful libs who think EV is the next step to Utopia
You don’t live in So. Cal where it could cost $45 to fully charge a 100-kwh Tesla battery! Oh, and I hope you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere.
My region of Northern Washington state is proactive about sensibly, affordable expanding the use of not only EVs, but alternative fuel vehicles off any kind, including hybrids, biodiesel, LNG and even steam. I live in a town of 10k population. There are 14 charging stations within 15 miles (basically the whole of my town). Nine of them ARE free for the public to use. Here’s how it works. There are local energy producers and installation companies. They dedicate part of their profits to providing the electricity for the chargers, which are in the parking lots and “on” 24/7. It generates tremendous goodwill for these businesses, and they gain new customers who investigate solar, smart metering or whatever they sell. Local real estate offices also have chargers. They pay for the electricity as an incentive to draw people to buy/rent homes here (it’s a “tourist destination” in the good weather months). Then there are charging stations at the “Park N Ride” lots. Those you pay for with your credit card, just like you would at a gas station. The rates vary, but it’s currently about 50% below what one would pay for an equivalent amount of gasoline. (The pay chargers may be subsidized in part by the county-run electricity company. I don’t know.)
https://chargehub.com/en/countries/united-states/washington/port-townsend.html
90% of electricity generation comes from coal, oil or natural gas. It does not come from an outlet in the wall or garage.
Yes, the next generation of central power stations will give us an electricity pricing shock no one is expecting. I t is not apparent to me whether in 10 years gasoline or electric cars will have lower operating cost.
I plan on getting an EV, may even do a conversion on a sports car that needs an engine. The Aptera EV is very promising, I’m getting on the list for one. It’s a space ship looking three wheeler. The specs go up to 1000 mile range on a charge that cost under $20 at my rates. The 300-400 mile options the sweet spot, reasonably priced and usable. I’ll get the 1000 miler. They have limited solar self charging capacity, not a factor in my area. Hope it doesn’t become vaporware. Elon at least made a viable car, he deserves more credit than he gets.
The only advice I could offer is if anyone considers buying a used tesla, be sure the depreciated cost of the car at a minimum includes replacement battery of around $15K.
In other words, used tesla come with a built-in high cost maintenance hazard.
Their long-term cost of ownership is much higher than one would initially realize
that is, as long as the manufacturer actually continues to build replacement batteries 10 years from now, unlike the Chevy Bolt that GM just said screw you, your SOL because they don’t want to make them any more
We looked into that plan, it will actually cost us more money in the long run.
11 cents per KwH from 9PM to 4PM the next day.
But 45 cents per KwH from 4PM to 9PM… exactly when we want to run the AC, cook dinner, etc…
We just went with LED lights, upgraded my network from towers to laptops and MFF (micro form factor) minis and now we’re installing a “cool roof” – reflect 20% of sunlight- and upgrading the HAVC units.
We got a Honda Clarity PHEV with a 17.5Kw battery that takes about 11 hours to fully charge at 120VAC -we’re working from home.
Not using AC, in the winter, our usage is about 740KwH per month plust another 120 KwH to charge the car. If we run the AC, the current one, not the newer one, we see another 350 KwH per month!
The bottom line, though: there in NOT ENOUGH we can do to satisfy the control freaks in San Franciskovich and the Distrikt of Kolumbyanova. This is a politically inflicted wound.
Time to solve it with politically incorrect guillotines.
PS: Battery EV (BEVs) like Teslas will simply stress the grid even further, and will push the rates even higher.
“Time to solve it with politically incorrect guillotines.”
Gravity fed. Minimal operational costs. Pay per view. Feed the remains to the hogs.