OMG...my first Electric bill

**brenda67** · 07-23-2009, 06:22 PM

since living in our new home..

To give you some background info on my/our previous electric bills when we lived in our 1998 Trailer (we lived there for10 years) it ran about $250.00 every 2 months for years until 2 years ago our rates went up a great deal so our average bill was anywhere from $320.00 to $380.00...crazy I know and that's with me making sure we shut off all lights not in use,unplugging appliances and so on...Anyway I figured since living in a house 3 times the size of the trailer that we would most likely average a $400.00 plus bill which I was concerned about... I open the bill (its a actual reading) and I about fell over when reading amount owed $160.00.....I can't believe it!!! I showed my Dh and he saids the reason is that the hot water is not a electric hot water heater like the trailer..Btw we have alot more electrical items here then we did at our trailer.. I'm so happy I could cry!

**BeachBaby** · 07-23-2009, 06:27 PM

WOW! That's great!!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-23-2009, 07:17 PM

That's awesome! I know that from living in Upstate NY, electricity and natural gas were enough to feel like you were being robbed. Grats on the lower bill!

**savvy_sniper** · 07-23-2009, 07:17 PM

Be sure to check the date range on the bill. It MIGHT not be for a full month. If it is for a full month, then congratulations!

**Debbie-cat** · 07-23-2009, 07:54 PM

Woo hoo!! Congratulations!

**MommyBliss** · 07-23-2009, 08:19 PM

What great news!

**itsmyisland** · 07-23-2009, 08:28 PM

I hope for you it is for a full month also. Maybe your new house is more energy efficient? Bulbs, natural lighting, insulation and the hot water tank do add up to a big difference. Imagine what you could do for next months bill if you could find a few more little things to tweak!

**Michelle68** · 07-23-2009, 08:41 PM

That's a great electric bill! Good for you.

**FrugalMomof3** · 07-23-2009, 09:13 PM

Wow that's great! Our first electric bill here made me cry. I was so used to paying no more than $75 a month that when I got my $325 bill here, I did cry. Now it's back down to my normal but still confused on why it was so high the first and 2nd month.

**frugal me** · 07-23-2009, 10:21 PM

That's great. It's nice to have a "good" surprise from the electric company.

**miss_thrifty** · 07-24-2009, 01:22 AM

Im very excited for you. congrats on the lower biill.

**frugalfranny** · 07-24-2009, 01:29 AM

Wow, what a good surprise. ......great news.

Any lowering of a utility bill in these days is good news.

**mamamia** · 07-24-2009, 01:36 AM

That is so great! Every once in a while things do go our way, and it's excellent when it happens that way.

I'm sure being in your new home you can think of a million different things to spend your money on besides the electric bill!

I wish I could say the same. My recent bill did make me cry, but not out of happiness. It is $380. Yeah, we do have central air, and a house that's 3,000 square feet to cool, but it's new high efficiency model and we've been staying under $300. Last month was $308, now this

But good for you! Hope it stays that way for you

Theresa ")

**MaryCarney** · 07-24-2009, 07:31 AM

Hey, all of you with electric water heaters, try getting a timer installed.

We bought ours at Lowe's several years ago for under $50, and a friend installed it in about 15 minutes.

Now, it's the heater is only on from 5am to 9 am and 5pm to 9 pm . Plenty of hot water for dishes and showers, morning and evening.

If we need it to be on more than that, there's an over-ride switch.

The first month we had it, our bill went down $15 (our monthly average is only $60-75 in this part of the country)