Question for SAHM/W's (former 9 to 5'ers)

**latierra84** · 01-21-2008, 04:04 PM

My original thought was that if I stayed at home, my utilities would drop. Then it suddenly hit me that I'm hardly at home during the week now which means that no utilities are in use (other than your occasional vampire). So if I'm at home during the day (using stuff) that this would make our utilities go up.

What have you found in your case?

Did your utilities rise or fall when you made the transition?

**Persimmon Lace** · 01-21-2008, 04:52 PM

Our utilities didn't go up at all. I'm very good at turning off lights and if I am doing a sit down chore, I use a space heater in the room I'm using in the winter. For the summer I keep the thermostat set pretty high. When I leave the house it gets turned down. Right now because it is so cold in the house I have a pot of stew cooking on the stove which is helping warm the kitchen. I also hang dry at 75% of our laundry which adds humidity. Summer is the worst for me but I cook outside or use the crockpot. Being home actually saves us money in the long run.

**MandaRenee** · 01-21-2008, 04:57 PM

You could probably not make a big increase in your utilities if you were careful about it. If you have windows to open during the day that would cut down on lights being used, make sure you keep things off when you aren't in the room, aren't using them.

I've been trying to figure out the difference too before I make that leap.

**qtkitty** · 01-21-2008, 05:04 PM

I use my oven a LOT more in the winter.. helps heat the house and cooks my food. I also make a large portion of my soaps in the wintertime when its chilly so i do not have to cool the oven and the heat from outside in the summer.

Radio is usually the only thing in use all day long. Sometimes Joe will play PS2 but not more then an hour or so. Sometimes watch a movie on the PS2. Use the microwave occationally or the stove to make mac and cheese.

My mom has given us some neat little meal maker kitchen devices a wana be George Forman Grill Just big enough for the max 4 hamburgers, a hot sandwich maker, waffle maker, and smaller metal crock pot. We use the grill a LOT it cooks meats in 3-6 minutes and your done. Comes in handy in the summer months!!

**kaye620** · 01-21-2008, 05:05 PM

There was only a small increase in our power bill. However, I now have the time cook cheaper meals. I don't turn lights on during the day. I can start a fire if I get to cold in the winter. In the summer I run the fans and wait until the early afternoon to take my shower. A cool shower uses less hot water and my wet hair keeps me cool for a hour or so. In the end, The money I save on other things helps to balance out the power bill.

**Cricket1** · 01-21-2008, 05:14 PM

Electricity went up, but that's about it. I try to be careful, but it's not always the first thing on my mind, honestly.

**Neeley** · 01-21-2008, 05:42 PM

Mine went up a bit. But in all fairness I quit working within a few months of buying a new, larger house. So I cannot say for a fact how much of the increase was due to me being home and how much was just because we had a bigger space to heat/cool/light up etc....

I do know that once we started homeschooling the kids there was a sharp jump in the usage. Having 3 people home vs just one made a big difference.

**Grandma Lewis** · 01-21-2008, 06:14 PM

Mine stayed about the same. We have a total electric home and we have timers on our thermostats which we didn't change just because I was home. I too use a space heater, but only in my office. In the summer I have little fans that I got for about 10.00 at Target. These little fans move a lot of air and are really quiet. We have one for the bedroom, the office, the kitchen and the living room. I think they do a better job than the ceiling fans.

**Ceashels** · 01-21-2008, 07:26 PM

I didn't notice much of a change. I tend to use natural light when I'm working on a project during the afternoon and I keep the thermostat at 66F during the day when DH isn't home. I am also one to turn off the lights when I'm not in a room.

**Momto2Boyz** · 01-22-2008, 10:04 AM

I did notice that ours went up slightly. Our electricity and gas did go up, but it wasn't much. What it went up each month, I was still saving in the cost of gas from not driving back and forth to work. At least that is how I looked at it!

I just try to be really diligent about keeping lights off, and keeping the thermostat down as low as it can go. I've had to keep it at 68, the last couple of weeks dur to it only being in the single digits outside. But once it gets back up into the 20's outside, we'll keep it around 65 inside!

I don't think you'll notice too much of a difference. And if you do, calculate the cost that you are saving in fuel from not driving to work vs. the rise in utilities and I'll bet you'll still be ahead for the month!

**latierra84** · 01-22-2008, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Momto2Boyz

And if you do, calculate the cost that you are saving in fuel from not driving to work vs. the rise in utilities and I'll bet you'll still be ahead for the month!

YOU ARE SO RIGHT thank you!

**jurenpamis** · 01-26-2008, 05:34 PM

We have about a 2000 sq. ft. house and my electric went up about $10 a month on average and our water bill went up just a couple of dollars.

Hope you figure out a way to stay home. There's nothing like it!