How would you pay my electric bill

**sahm2boys** · 12-18-2009, 10:34 PM

HI

maybe someone is still on tonight

i am looking at my electric bill..in the summer i did that budget billing..when i first lost my job and i knew my electric bill would be high each month..so it was 200.00 ea month instead of 350-500.00..we were also using the upstairs as our bedrooms...

well i didnt know or realize i had to stay on that budget or pay the roll over that didnt get paid over the summer..which was really high.

we are only using the down stairs now. and my husband installed central heat and air...no more units or oil or heater fans..

my electric bill has been under 130 for the last several month
but i have to pay 265.00 so the difference goes to the remaining balance from the summer months..

well..as it stands i owe two months right now of the 265.00 so my payment is 525.00 but i can just pay the 265 and keep pushing a month behind...or my real balance is 597.00 with a new bill due this week..i was considering waiting until the new bill and getting kicked out of the budget plan...i am assuming my new balance will be around 747..then i can pay 265.00 leaving a balance of 482 that they can divide over 6 months which i estimate to be about 80.00 added to each bill for the next 6 months. which is cheaper then the 265.00

or stay on the budget until march

wwyd? (what would you do?)

**Lady_V** · 12-18-2009, 10:52 PM

Since you asked what I would do... I will tell you what *I* would do -- stay in the budget plan.

I don't know how forgiving your electric company is, but we have National Grid, and on the 'budget pay'... if we defaulted, we would be out for quite a while.

**frugalwarrior2** · 12-18-2009, 10:58 PM

Ok-were on the budget too. It usually takes a couple of years to mediate a good monthly payment anticipating the fluctations in use and price hikes.
Our settlement was $405. because DH now works at home and the bill went up 30%!!!

-cut usage,put up plastic,quilts on windows,use spaceheaters that are efficient and clf bulbs.

-wait for the settlement bill to see new payment. Make sure they raised it enough to cover shortage. I have to call because they only raised our $6. and this won't cover the shortage and rate increases.

-I paid all at once. It would have only 2% on the balance but I owe it and could pay. How tight are you? I live in MI and can't take a chance on no heat.

**spyzvixxen** · 12-18-2009, 11:03 PM

I would stay with the budget plan. Seems like a pain in the butt now but once the initial wrinkles get ironed out, it will be to your benefit in years to come.

**sahm2boys** · 12-18-2009, 11:09 PM

if i default on the budget i cant do that for another year but i would never choose that option again..

to the second poster..im not sure i follow. i know i cant pay the balance in full i can do the 265 or maybe 300.00

i keep the thermostat on 67 normally..sometimes i turn it to 70 in the mornings..we are only using the down stairs portion of our house...
please i mean not offend anyone but i wont put plastic up on my windows..1 i dont think the landlord would go for it, i know i wouldnt and my husband grew up that way and said he was so embarrassed by it that he refuses to do that in his home. (his parents preferred alcohol to heat - sad)

i have a heater that i can plug in but i was thinking that might be expensive to use??? and it only heats a small area

we are wearing sweats and i have plenty of blankets on the bed...we arent cold at all..and hubby is a HVAC guy so we always have heat =) or cold ac

thanks for the replys!

**Palooka** · 12-19-2009, 02:35 AM

I wanted to say that plug in heaters can really raise the electric bill fast.

One thing I don't get(sorry if i'm not understanding) is that if you are set on a... well set budget through the electric company...then they should average everything out for at least six months and sometimes keep you over-paying so if you do go off the plan, you won't be stuck with a big fat bill. (it should be their duty to keep up with the estimates)

That's how it works here for gas and heat.

I would pay the 265 first and then call them and see if they can work something out.

**ladytoysdream** · 12-19-2009, 06:49 AM

We have never been on a budget plan with our electric.

We did try one of those plug in electric heaters two winters ago in the big room on our house. All it did was drive up the electric usage. We only ran it a few hours a day and the bill was a additional $ 30 + a month. If we had ran it 24/7, it would have added $ 250 plus a month to the bill.

My guess would be for you to stay on budget right now. When you get a full year in, then make changes if you need to.
Once you get the bill caught up and current, things should be better.

Can you get someone from the electric company to come to your house and make suggestions on how to use less electric ?

Keep doing what you can to bring the kwh usage down.
I been tracking ours daily for just over a year now. It does keep you on your toes better.

Good luck

**2ndGenGranola** · 12-19-2009, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by sahm2boys

please i mean not offend anyone but i wont put plastic up on my windows..1 i dont think the landlord would go for it, i know i wouldnt and my husband grew up that way and said he was so embarrassed by it that he refuses to do that in his home. (his parents preferred alcohol to heat - sad)

FWIW -- the new "blow dry" plastic kits do not have the look of the "old time" thick plastic. We could see clearly out of our windows. (I'm talking in the past because we have new windows now). I forgot we had ours on there until one spring day I went to open a window. Our overly excited "Barney Fife" HOA didn't even detect it on our windows.

**dutchtulip** · 12-19-2009, 10:41 AM

From my own personal experience stay on the budget. It takes awhile to get used to it and iron out wrinkles, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

**dcompton** · 12-19-2009, 04:02 PM

I agree with Dutchtulip. I would stay on the budget plan. It will average out over time and then begin to drop to reflect your lower bills. And I will be easier it seems to whittle away at the balance spread over months than to pay it in a chunk.

**sahm2boys** · 12-19-2009, 04:14 PM

thank you i went ahead and paid the budget amount

**NikoSan999** · 12-19-2009, 06:00 PM

Another thing you can do for the future electric bills is something I've posted on several threads. Electric companies have Peak and Off Peak hours. Our off peak is between 9PM and 7AM during the night. The electric at these hours is about 35 to 40 ( at least ) cheaper than the other hours. This is when I turn on the dishwasher a couple times a week, wash and dry clothes, take our showers if possible etc.

Weekend are also cheaper by some. This definitely made a difference in our bill. I don't know if it would show on this budget year or next but you will see a difference if you stick to it.

Our electric is going up somewhere between 25 and 36% come January and I don't think it's just us here in Florida with Progress Energy. So gals, be prepared.

**mombottoo** · 12-19-2009, 06:04 PM

Here if you miss your budget payment and continue to keep it a month behind they boot you out of the budget plan. I personally don't do budget plans for electric or natural gas, but for some people it works out okay.

Once they refigure your budget payment it should be lowered to reflect your lower usage. Then you can decide at that time whether to stay on the budget plan or just pay month to month.

On a side note if I were getting light bills like yours I'd have a heart attack!

**craftypam** · 12-19-2009, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by NikoSan999

Another thing you can do for the future electric bills is something I've posted on several threads. Electric companies have Peak and Off Peak hours. Our off peak is between 9PM and 7AM during the night. The electric at these hours is about 35 to 40 ( at least ) cheaper than the other hours. This is when I turn on the dishwasher a couple times a week, wash and dry clothes, take our showers if possible etc.

Weekend are also cheaper by some. This definitely made a difference in our bill. I don't know if it would show on this budget year or next but you will see a difference if you stick to it.

Our electric is going up somewhere between 25 and 36% come January and I don't think it's just us here in Florida with Progress Energy. So gals, be prepared.

I WISH!!! Not here in MI. No such thing.

I LOVE the budget plan. I'm on it for gas (heat) same amount every month makes it easy to budget. I've been doing this for years and never had a really large bill. Are you new in your house? Maybe the people before you used less. Once they get your useage down its really nice to have an amount that is the same every month. You can choose how much to pay every month if you don't like the amount they have chosen so you don't end up with a huge bill.