electric bill way up

**miss_thrifty** · 09-14-2007, 09:02 AM

they have it at 34 days. idiots at the town go back and forth from 28 days, 31 days, every so many months because of long weekends i guess. Cant see why they cant leave it and send it out the regular every 30 days readings.
$131.62 880kwh@$0.11580 from Aug 2--Sept 05

**nuisance26** · 09-14-2007, 09:12 AM

~How much do you usually pay? If you divide the $131 by 34 billing days you get $3.85 a day. $3.85 times a hypothetical 30 day billing cycle is about $115. Have you been running your ac alot?~

**miss_thrifty** · 09-17-2007, 08:28 AM

we dont have a/c , we use stand up fans, 3 of them one for each bedroom.
Its not me doing extra laundry and i cant have clothesline, they wont let us where we rent. i tried. Last year i made hm one hooked off of deck and tree, youngest allergies went through roof and I got growled by owners for having it up.
I told hubby to stop using dishwasher.

**justpeachy92** · 09-17-2007, 10:10 AM

I'll trade you bills. Ours for 29 days of usage is $310.74. I do know ours is from the ac. It ran almost nonstop in August, the whole month our highs were over 100. Our house has no shade trees, so the ac worked overtime trying to keep it 85 in here, with the help of fans.

**Jaded** · 09-17-2007, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by miss_thrifty

I told hubby to stop using dishwasher.

Actually, a dishwasher uses less electricity and water than hand washing, if you air dry your dishes. Most electricity used in dishwashers is used in the dry cycle.

I'd start demanding shorter showers. Seems to me that has to be where the money is going....hot water. Also, check the seals on your frig. If they're bad, that can cause a lot of power loss.

I'm going to start partially drying clothes inside, just hanging them here and there until I get a line up indoors, to save money on drying time. Also, throwing a dry towel into a load of clothes cuts drying time.

Do you unplug appliances when you're not using them? Unplug anything that glows, and plug your t.v., vcr, dvd, etc. into a strip and unplug that at night. That can cut your electric bill by 6%.

Hope some of this helps.

**Loganberry** · 09-17-2007, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by justpeachy92

I'll trade you bills. Ours for 29 days of usage is $310.74. I do know ours is from the ac. It ran almost nonstop in August, the whole month our highs were over 100. Our house has no shade trees, so the ac worked overtime trying to keep it 85 in here, with the help of fans.

Ouch...you must of gotten our Texas weather! This year has been mild, not many 100 degree days. Bill was 245.12 for the electric and 25.45 for gas. Which was a whole lot better than last year. I had bugeted 400.00 for both.

**sdrjeolsen** · 09-17-2007, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by miss_thrifty

i cant have clothesline, they wont let us where we rent. i tried. Last year i made hm one hooked off of deck and tree, youngest allergies went through roof and I got growled by owners for having it up.

Sorry for the high bill...bummer

When we lived in an apartment, I used to hang clothes on hangers from the top of the doorway moundings and in the coat closet, with the door open. I'd hang it anywhere I could make a hanger stick. I even put up a small clothes line from one door knob to another, just shut both doors and tie it to the knobs. Don't hang too much heavy stuff on it or you could make the door go out of whack. Necessity is the mother of invention!

I don't have a working dryer at my new house, so I have no choice but to hang clothes...and I like it that way. Dh keeps threatening to run a gas line to it, but I'v been able to hold him off so far.

**altbaby** · 09-17-2007, 10:52 AM

I have been hanging every damn load of laundry up, watching the lights and fans, using cold water on washing machine, shorter cycle on dishwasher and anything else I can think. The only thing is our AC (which I keep at 80 or above) and our pool filter (only supposed to cost us $32 a month). Our bill was $402. Since that bill I have had the AC off except for yesterday afternoon when I couldn't stand it and turned it on fro about an hour then off again. I am wondering if this is the better way to go. Just turn it on for an hour or two during the super hot times of the day? Anyone know if this will help to keep the cost down? I am also going to go but some stand up fans for the living areas they seem to help at my friend's house.

**Jayne** · 09-17-2007, 12:14 PM

I feel your pain..ours has been running 280.00 a month and that is on the budget plan....I have heard alot of people complaining around here...

**destrehangirl** · 09-17-2007, 02:08 PM

Ours is $98.00. But we live in south Louisiana and is so hot and humid that we have to have the ac. Our house is one story house and I keep the ac at 83 during the day and around 79 at night (because of husband). we use the fans and they help a lot to keep the house cold. Hopefully at the end of september or mid october the bill will be less.

**jettsmom** · 09-17-2007, 02:27 PM

Some of your bills are so low. Mine averages $300-350 during the summer for water/sewer/electricity.

Usually $120 during the winter.

**Jaded** · 09-17-2007, 06:24 PM

My bill is low because there's only me here. If you have several people bathing, washing dishes and clothes for, it will be much higher. If I had three kids and a husband, no doubt mine would be around $300 too.