Electric bill madness
August was hot.
Very very hot.
I discovered in August that my limit is 80 degrees F. Call me a wimp if you will (feel free) but at 79 degrees on my thermostat, I felt hot and sticky and sweaty but okay huddling near a fan, and at 80 degrees I was whimpering and turning on the A/C. There were days weeks where the a/c ran non-stop. My daughter’s head got very sweaty a few times, she huddled near a fan with me. She’s young and needed the a/c. That’s my story at least. 
So, I fear the damage this will do to our budget in September. I budget $150/month for electric and natural gas combined. Our natural gas use is negligible in the summer, our bill is at a minimum charge of about $19, which leaves about $130 for electric. Last month, we used about 1400 kwh and our bill for electric we received in August was about $107. Our meter is generally read on the 5th of the month, in August it was read on the 3rd because of the weekend but September will probably be back on the 5th. So far, we’ve already used about 2000 kwh, and the 5th is still a week away. And it is still hot. Very…very….hot. I am guessing that we’ll end up a bit over a $200 electric bill in September. Hopefully not more than $200! I can’t believe I am *hoping* for $200. :sigh:
Maybe gasoline will come out under budget, or maybe water… or something. Or maybe the snowflaking will suffer. Must get back to selling more things! Hey, maybe we’ll make a killing at the yard sale…. must start making bright neon signs to attract buyers. Or maybe something on craigslist will actually sell. Buy my kids’ fall clothing people! They were well dressed I promise ;).
Ah, budgets. This won’t kill us, we’ll make it up somewhere. It will be okay. It is just a bit frustrating. I’m addicted to the snowflakes and so hung up on the downward progress of the debt. Progress not perfection.
~J
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August 29th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I hear you. It’s supposed to be over 100 degrees here all week. I set our A/C for 84 during the day and 81 or 82 at night. Our Electric bill last month was 222.00 I almost fainted considering I had budgeted for around 150.00. But somehow we managed to find the money, and the electric was paid on time. But like you the extra money had to come from somewhere so our Emergency fund didn’t get as much deposited in it as it should have. Maybe next month will be cooler. Hang in there!
August 29th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Ugh 222! I hope it is less this month! Ugh. Darn heat.
Of course… in winter our gas bill will be outrageous I am sure and then I will complain about cold. lol
August 30th, 2007 at 10:16 am
We live in SW Louisiana, so hot weather is a daily occurrence, even in winter. I budget year round for electric 250/mth. We’ve lived in our house for 5 years. The first 3 years, gas prices were low(er) and the electric was higher than what we were used to, but we let it slide. Then gas went up, which made our electric go up. Two summers ago, I had electric bills in the range of 450-500, and I wasn’t using any more wattage than the previous summer.
Apparently, the previous owners had installed a heat pump in an effort to save money. What they did was keep the outside unit, which was not heat pump adaptable. So we had the outside unit fighting with the inside heat pump unit, which meant it was flaming hot in the house all the time (unless it was winter, then it was frigid) and an a/c that ran non stop.
Believe me, we had plenty of a/c repair men come out and check the unit. It wasn’t until 2 summers ago we finally got an older technician who apparently knew what he was doing and he informed us to what was happening with the heat pump. We got a new outside unit adaptable to the inside heat pump and replaced the inside unit (it had actually broken, but was under warranty). An amazing thing happened, the house was cool. I got a digital thermostat and I keep the house during the day at 80, 78 at night.
My bills run consistently about 220-230 in the summer (July, Aug, Sept) and about 150 in winter. I’d love to get the winter total much much lower since we really don’t run the heater much. I have a plan for this winter to just bundle up during the day when everyone is gone.
Whew, this is long. I guess the moral of the story is you might want to make sure your a/c is correct for your house. Get it serviced to make sure it’s got enough freon and running efficiently.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:02 am
Wow! I’m so happy I live in an apartment…my electric bill (with no air conditioning) is about $30/month.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
@SavingDiva - yeah, our apartment electric bills were much lower. It was a rude adjustment lol.
@Paula - We’ve had the unit serviced (we have a maintenance contract on it) but I don’t doubt it could be more efficient. It runs okay though, I think the real issue right now is that it is just so hot out. 92 yesterday… whee. I am glad you got yours fixed and working together and here’s to lower bills in the winter!
August 30th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
92 sounds cool compared to the past month!! It finally rained yesterday after about a month of 100+ weather here in Tennessee, so I was actually HAPPY to see my electric bill come in at only $145 for the past billing cycle. Last year, before the CHA repairs and maintenance, my electric bill was over $220. So my best advice to anyone with an older CHA unit is to have it cleaned and serviced regularly.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:52 am
@debt free revolution
ugh 100+! It was 94 one day and I thought I would cry. I am not made for heat apparently.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:46 pm
You are braver than I! I’ve put the thermostat as high as 73 this summer. Maybe 75-76 if we are going to be gone from the house for a bit during the day. At night we sleep with it at 72.
Better than last summer though. Right after I had my youngest my hormones were a mess and I was running super hot-I had the AC at 69!
August 31st, 2007 at 9:01 pm
The summer I had my son, I had it super cold all the time lol. I am just cheap now. And sweaty. Nice combo!