Comments on: Freebie Friday: June 29, 2007

By: Kim K.

Kim K. — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:38:00 +0000

Amy, I know you’re on the budget plan for electric. What, in general, are your actual bills like during the summer months? And, how much do you think line drying your clothes vs. using the dryer contributes to your bill?

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:38:00 +0000

Yes, I actually do run the a/c, but try to avoid it when I can. If at all possible, I just keep the windows open. I couldn’t survive without my air conditioning though. I grew up in a house where you wanted to wear your winter clothing during the summer because my dad liked to keep the house nice and cool I know some people do much better than me though. I can’t handle it if it gets over 75 degrees.

By: Kim K.

Kim K. — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:01:00 +0000

I’m amazed at how low some of your bills are. Amy, do you run A/C at all in the summer?

By: Scribbit

Scribbit — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:50:00 +0000

THanks, I’d never heard of Domino before.

By: Jthemilker

Jthemilker — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:10:00 +0000

I’m in Southwestern PA. Our electric Bill is about $85/mth. We live in a townhouse – no central air, just one window unit, and need new windows. Tips? Unplug appliances that aren’t being used. Use energy efficient light bulbs.

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:49:00 +0000

These answers are really interesting! It is fun to compare and see all of your tips for keeping the electric bill down!

I am in IN and we are on the monthly budget plan. This past year, they budgeted $70 each month and I just had our anniversary and it went up to $75.

We open windows in the evening, line dry all of our clothing (during the warmer months), and are gradually replacing light bulbs with CFL bulbs. We also have a programmable thermostat, but we aren't able to do much during the day because I stay home with the kids....

Thanks for all of your responses! I will have to think of a good question for next week!

By: Suburban Turmoil

Suburban Turmoil — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Wow, great freebies!

I have no idea what our a/c bill is because Hubs is in charge of that shizzle. I know, I suck, right?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:16:00 +0000

OK, I'm embarrassed to say, we're on budget billing and paying $70 for electric and $81 for gas. These should both go down next year as we have a credit on both accounts. We have the CFL lights. One thing I know we need to do is more weather stripping around our doors! I LOVE our programmable thermostat, but we should have paid the extra amount for the 7-day programmable instead of 5+2.

Jennifer
Louisville, KY

(gas-stove, water heater & furnace)
family of 6

By: aggie

aggie — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 22:48:00 +0000

Hi Amy…
I’m in RI, and so far this year, my monthly electric bill has been around $50.00. I line dry all my clothes, have replaced almost all my bulbs with CFL’s, and make an effort not to leave appliances on. My next step is to reroute most of my electrical equipment (pc, tv’s, cable, etc) through power strips, and turn those off at the end of the day to avoid phantom electric usage. Can’t wait to see how that affects the bill!

By: mama k

mama k — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:27:00 +0000

I'm in NJ
Our bill can be up around $150 in the summer but about $50 in the winter.

I try to line dry all of our clothes in the summer and part of them in the winter. I also just started completely powering down my computer stuff and entertainment system every night. I heard that even those little standby lights drain power when they are turned off.