I kept the heater on last night and used my microwavable rice filled heating pad to help a stiff shoulder; it helped to keep me warm, too. I've had the heater on all day, today, too, set at 65F. I will deal with the heating bill when it comes.
Speaking of heating bills, I received this month's natural gas bill, today. It covers the billing period from January 20 to February 17, which is 28 days. This is the bill they originally estimated would be $607.99. when I had a $130.28 bill after 6 days into the billing period, with 22 days remaining.
That's when I turned the thermostat down. The following week, they estimated the bill would be $550.56 after 13 days had elapsed and I had a $255.61 bill.
The following week's bill tracker notification estimated that the bill would be $443.88; it was 20 days into the billing period and I had a $289/80 bill with 8 days remaining in the billing period.
Well, I received that bill, today, and for the period covering 1/20/23 - 2/17/23, my bill is for $337.74. That is with the $50 state climate credit which is applied to the bill (an annual credit given to each customer; usually given out in the March/April bill, but the state required the gas company to give the credit in this month's bill to offset the higher gas costs).
The previous month's bill for almost $700 was for a 32 days billing period; the bill I received this week is for a 28 days billing period. But, I brought down the number of therms I used from 160 to 104 by not using the heater as much and by lowering the thermostat when I did use it. Of course, I used the electric heater when I was not using the gas heater and I'll probably have a big electricity bill to pay, next month! Even so, I am pleased to have saved nearly $270 from the first bill estimate!
I received the weekly bill tracker notification, for the first 6 days of this current billing period, too, and it is $21.91 and assuming I use the same amount of gas over the remaining 26 days in the billing period, my projected next bill will be $208.22.
That seems to be more reasonable, doesn't it? Although, I have been using the heater more, yesterday and today, having it on all night, last night, and all day, today, because it has been so cold. Hopefully, we will warm up, in March and I won't need to have the heater on as much!
I have spent a fairly relaxed day, today. M called to say he will be bringing the additional bags of pea gravel this evening in lieu of working in the garden as it was pouring with rain; I told him not to worry but he said he was already out and about as he had to pick up some other things as well. I gave him a container of my turkey/ham/vegetable soup and some of the cornbread I baked last night.
Breakfast was a piece of cornbread and two mandarins, lunch was a bowl of my turkey and vegetable soup, followed by half an apple. I had another piece of cornbread with my evening cup of tea. For dinner, I sliced the two Italian sausages leftover from the sausages and mash I had made earlier, added them to a packet of pasta sauce I had in the freezer, along with a handful of green peas, and had some of it with some spaghetti I cooked. There's enough spaghetti and sauce leftover for at least one more serving, if not two.
Later in the evening, friend R called and I video chatted with my daughter, keeping the chat relatively short because the internet connection kept going off!
Today, I am grateful for:
- More rain for the garden (my rain water buckets are full and overflowing!)
- A working heater and a more reasonable gas bill!
- A working heater and a more reasonable gas bill!
- Electricity and internet connections
- A good roof overhead to keep the rain out!
- M getting the bags of pea gravel for me
- M getting the bags of pea gravel for me
Today's joyful activity was chatting with my daughter.
It is supposed to rain practically all night and all day tomorrow, too! I'll probably do a little cleaning and maybe knitting.
How was your Friday? What are your plans for the weekend?
You have really brought that gas usage and bill down! That's impressive! I know you put up with a lot of cold nights, and I hope you can stay warm through this cold, wet weather. I did see on news about the storm there. I hope
ReplyDeleteyour eucalyptus tree doesn't fall. It's scary when winds blow like that. This weekend I will be cleaning up from having the kitchen ceiling drywalled! The old plaster was in poor shape, and I'd put redoing it off. The workers tried to keep dust away, but there's still plenty to clean up. I'm pleased though with how it looks, they did a good job. I hope you have a good weekend too.
Thank you, Celie. Not quite sure how long I can keep the thermostat low because I am freezing! The eucalyptus tree is standing and so is neighbor T's bottle brush tree, a branch of which leans over my driveway. Her daughter called to check on me this morning and said she drove past her mom's house and everything seems to be fine, but there are lots of downed trees in our area. There was flooding at an intersection a few blocks from me and that was featured in the news. It was a big storm for us.
DeleteOh, that was good that you were able to get your kitchen ceiling drywalled! Sounds like the workers did a good job and you'll be busy cleaning up! That fine dust gets everywhere, doesn't it? I, too, need to have my kitchen ceiling fixed - there is some water damage from previous rain storms when one of the roofing tiles was blown off and water leaked. I got the roof tile fixed, but, the water damaged area needs to be tended to. Like you, I've been putting it off, partly because I didn't want workers inside the house during Covid. I told myself that this is the year to get the repairs done.
The high cost of fuel bills are such a worry aren't they. Mine came in yesterday and the amount I had been in credit is now a minus amount because it has been cold and I put the heating on every day both morning and evening. Bills will be even higher in April when the government help comes to an end. I'm doing the laundry today while the weather is fine, it's sunny but cold. I hope the weather warms up soon for you.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are, Eileen. People say they prefer cold weather to hot because one can always wear another sweater, but, I am already wearing 4 layers of clothes and still cold! It is currently 46F/7.7C outside and the heater is on.
DeleteI'm sorry your bills will go up in April when the government help ends, but, hopefully, the weather will be warmer by then and you won't need to use the heating as much.
Thank you, I'm looking forward to the warmer weather!
That's a big improvement in the gas bill. I don't know if I'd be able to keep things as cold as you have been doing. I think I would look for another place in the budget to cut because I don't like being cold. But it looks like you've figured out how to layer up and use a heating pad to be comfortable.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a big reduction in the gas bill, isn't it? Like you, I don't like being cold, but, I'm disliking the high gas bills even more! LOL. The gas company sent another notice, yesterday, about a public hearing on their proposal to raise the cost of gas even more in 2023! Yes, it is a fossil fuel and yes, it is a non-renewable resource, and yes, we need to switch to a more environmentally sustainable option (and as an environmentalist, I do agree with all that), but, being warm in the winter months should not be a luxury! Of course, there is the fact that I tend to have a rather low threshold when it comes to feeling cold!
DeleteYes, there is room in the budget to accommodate a higher heating bill, if only because I am rather frugal in most other areas and I've been living below my retirement income. I do need to rework the budget for March and in the meantime, I'll just pay the higher gas bill (and grumble a bit, here, on the blog!)
I've been reading about the storms in California. Are you or your daughter affected by any flooding? Thankfully I don't have tall trees near my house but I know how worrying it can be during a storm if you do. We used to have tall trees at the bottom of the garden of the house I lived in with Ced and we had many anxious times watching them thrash about during heavy winds. I hope your eucalyptus is still standing and is strong enough to withstand any future storms.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you for leaving the heating on overnight ... it's really miserable when you get cold and like you I try to economise where I can but would rather deal with an expensive bill than freeze!
I'm having a quiet day at home. I've been asleep most of the morning and have just treated myself to a full English breakfast but eaten as my lunch as it is now 2pm! xx
My daughter and I are both OK, Eileen, not affected by any floods or electricity outages, etc. One of the intersections a few blocks from my house was flooded yesterday and was on the news! Friend R called to let me know about it and one of my late friend A's daughters texted my daughter to ask if I was OK, but, the flooding didn't impact me. It is still raining this morning! But, the eucalyptus tree is still standing. I had been planning to have it pruned this summer, but, maybe I'll bring that forward! They tend to have a rather shallow root system, which make them more vulnerable to toppling over!
DeleteI'm keeping the heating on during these unusually cold days, Eileen. Especially with it being so damp with constant rain. I don't want any other problems, such as mold!
I'm glad you are having a restful day. Sleep is very restorative and a full English breakfast eaten as brunch sounds wonderful! :)
You've done well to keep your gas bill down in such cold weather. I wonder what it would cost to have some extra insulation blown into your roof? As well as helping combat the cold t would help reduce heat in summer too I would think.
ReplyDeleteI went grocery shopping and bought sausages, obviously influenced by your descriptions of sausages and mashed potatoes, which is always a favourite with us. We had -13°F overnight and it was about 14°F with light snow while I was in town. I was reading about the homeless in LA and how hard it is for them to survive. It doesn't have to be very extreme cold for people to perish.
Thank you, Bushlady. Having added insulation would be very helpful as well as some additional weather stripping and sealing up a few gaps! I have a long list of home improvements I need to do, but, I've been postponing having them done for one reason or another. Or, maybe they are excuses and not reasons. One of my biggest problems was to find a reliable contractor. having had a couple of bad experiences. Neighbor T's daughter has recommended the person they got to do T's roof for them and I need to contact him to see if he can give me a quote, etc. Sometimes, getting started is the hardest part!
DeleteHa, ha, sounds like there will be sausages and mash making its way around blogland! Brr! It's cold there! It's 45F here and raining.
The homeless in LA is definitely a big concern to everyone. I know the City used to open its recreation facilities to the homeless when the night time temperatures used to go down below a certain level (can't remember what it was), but, I'm not sure if they still do that, due to Covid. They are trying to provide shelter for the homeless, but, sometimes, that doesn't work out that well, either.
I hope you are at least staying warm and not worrying too much about the bill. It's not nice to sit in the cold. I am having so many hot flashes that I am turning the heat up and down like crazy! You know what sort of temperatures we get so can't turn it off completely but I seem to go from freezing to really really hot!
ReplyDeleteHope the rain eases up soon.
Yes, I'm staying warm, Sharon. I have turned the heater down a bit more, but, I have it on. It has been so wet that I don't want there to be an issue with mold or anything, so, I'm keeping the house heated at least a bit.
DeleteSounds like you have an internal thermostat keeping you warm! LOL. I was fortunate in that I rarely had hot flashes; instead I had other symptoms, such as feeling dizzy!
Those are scary prices, and the weather that you're getting needs some heating on, even if it's only to dry out the house. I'm glad that you can keep it heated a little.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyssa; yes, I figured that with all the rain we've been having, I needed to have some heating to prevent damp and mold!
DeleteCongratulations on bringing your gas bill down. What a big difference you've achieved. Yes, your electric will probably be more but in general you've brought your usage down.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you kept your heat on overnight and during the day. Especially with the connection going on and off. If you would lose power you don't want to start out with a freezing house. (I'm assuming your pilot light is electric - not sure how all that works not having a gas furnace)
You had wonderful warming food for a cold few days.
Thank you, Debra; I was pretty pleased with myself for bringing the gas bill down! :D Yes, that's what my daughter said, too, to keep the house warm so that, if the power does go off, the house will have some heat retained. The pilot light stays lit all the time as long as there is gas coming through the pipes, but, the thermostat is electric; I'm not quite sure how the heater will work if power goes off! Must remember to ask the gas company service person when he comes out, next! I am able to manually light my stove when the power goes off.
DeleteThat is a good saving, but much like yourself, I am hoping to use my heating far less as we move through March. Xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules; the warm weather won't come soon enough for me! :D
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