Winter Heating Costs

You might have mentioned you don't care for winter much, lol. When I first started reading your discussion I thought maybe my boyfriend wrote it lol. I on the other hand get excited at the first snow fall, his response is 'Yeah, great'. He's lived here in the northeast all his life, me on the other hand have only lived here 2 1/2 years, moved here from Texas. We use coal to heat our home, which was a new learning experience for me! And it really was when we had the Valentine's snow storm, he was stuck in Reading (due to his work) for 5 days and I was home alone with the dog, and I must say she was not much help when the fire went out and I couldn't get it started ( on the coldest day) lol. But landlord did get it started and all was good, and I have since learned how to do it,so if it should happen this year I can handle it! lol

we have the opposite problem here in FL. I am glad that the winter time is here so our power bill can go down! Trust me i dont like cold weather but if it were to stay like it is now in the mid 60s to mid 70s then i would be fine. i love the summer time but i hate the $400+ power bill. Since our winters are nowhere near what you have, we just bundle up on the blankets and wear socks.

While I am not a fan of the cold weather, anniepa, I do love this particular time of the year. I like the fact that it gives us a chance to make the transition from the blistering heat of summer and prepare to face the frigid blasts of cold and snow tht are on the way. I am in that fortunate group of renters that does not pay for utilities, per se. I am thankful every day that the costs of electricity are included in my rent. My rent does increase every year, but I still think that I come out a winner. The best tip I could give you to conserve heat is to shut off vents in the rooms that you don't use so often.

I just have to say good luck to everyone dealing with the winter. I'm sorry to see the heating costs go up especially with current heating/oil situations. Be sure to dress warmly and layer when in home to nullify the blow a bit. Use a comforter or a full blown blanket too to keep warm. Its also comfortable and snug too. Drink teas, coffee, hot chocolate when you're feeling the chills. You can also keep the drink nearby to help get a little warmth in the air around you for the time being.

My parents have similar problem becuase they live in old house what was rebuild but we had still pretty old windows.So of course they pay a lot of heating.At first you should check windows if they are tight good.Also close the door in every room, becuase I hear that is taking a lot of heat from you too.And taht is probably all from me, I don't get any more ideas how to save money.

i kinda hate winter too. though not as much as i hate summer. when your in the middle of the dessert wou'll love the winter time even if it doesnt snow. cause its the only time we dont use our AC. Beginning from march till mid november our AC is busy. and less chores too cause i dont need to water the plants everyday though i need to wash big sweater. hehehe!

Ah yes, my gas bill will be going off the charts any moment now *sighs* I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and we already had sleet here. We were expecting snow, and got sleet instead. I'm sure the snow will start soon enough, and many years it's not gone until May. Wahhh! I'm thinking next year I might do that flex plan where you pay more all year around instead of having to deal with much higher bills in the winter. I can't think of many ways to keep the bill down really. I know a lot of people who keep their house colder and just wear more clothes, but I have a cold phobia, so I'd just be freaked out all the time.

We use propane to heat our house. We've been using the heater most days for over a month now. I live in North Dakota. I don't really have anything to compare it to as far as cost, because last winter we lived in base housing and didn't have to pay for our heating and stuff. I think this year it will be around $100-150 each month for our propane, though. What we used last month was only about $70 or so, but it wasn't below freezing either.

Annie,You and I are like two peas in a pod.If I had the ability, I'd hibernate like a bear the entire season and just wait for that warm spring air.I HHHate winter!I get extremely depressed due to lack of sun light ,so they say.I despise the cold,so stay indoors as much as possible.And the cost of heat,forget ta bout it!Rather then setting the clocks back an hour this weekend;What's say we spring ahead a meer five months instead.

Oh yes, I agree the cold winter days and long long winter nights are very depressing. It seems like it takes spring such a long time to arrive. Even though I love the winter holidays, I find winter a very expensive time of year. With all of the holiday gifts to buy, Lighting costs going up because they are on so much longer and the cost of heating fuel it just seems to bog us down. Emotionally and financially. But the bright spot to it all is how much more we enjoy spring and summer when they finally arrive.