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cute fuzzy bunny · 12-22-2005, 04:47 PM

My wife must have low volume/surface area, at least she does if that means she's skinny, as I'd be killed outright if I suggested anything else. At nearly 6' and 112lbs I think she's a little on the thin side. Always cold. Therefore so is the baby. He's put in a long sleeved tee shirt, socks, and a thick blanket sleeper, then put in a room heated to 72.

Anything over 65 and I sweat. Last august I was required to put the electric blanket back on the bed as the 78 degree air conditioning was "freezing!".

Lancelot · 12-23-2005, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin

I have no problem with the high prices, as long as there is no shortage.* Like JG says, if it gets too expensive, we may use little electric space heaters, since electric hasn't gone up much.*

You're a smart man Justin. I especially like your comment: "As long as no shortage..."

Money isn't everything...

Lance

Martha · 12-23-2005, 07:24 AM

Our gas bill for our four unit building was $798.62 last month. Because we are on the budget plan, we only paid $396. Interesting to see what the bills for the cold months of December, January, and February bring.

We have to keep the thermostat set higher than we would like because we have tenants. Oddly, tenants are always colder than owners.

I used to be cold all the time too, but then I hit age 50 . . .

cute fuzzy bunny · 12-23-2005, 07:56 AM

Problem we're having here in CA is that many of our power plants are natural gas fired. They're small, clean and have fewer nimby problems.

Hence our electricity is going up as well, so substituting an electric product for a gas one doesnt help.

maddythebeagle · 12-23-2005, 08:03 AM

I pre-buy my lp every year and got in before Katrina at 1.09/gallon and burn free wood. Also, get a summer fill in August. lp was 1.06/gallon last year. I dont know why it is so expensive for you, Al? Maybe since you arent close to refinery and your area doenst have as much of demand since more temperate in CA.

cute fuzzy bunny · 12-23-2005, 08:12 AM

Shhh...we all got together and we're charging just Al more for his lp, just trying to see how much we can get him to pay before he calls shenanigans on us. The "punk'd" people are waiting in the wings.

BigMoneyJim · 12-23-2005, 09:14 AM

No gas in my apartment, but I thought I'd throw in that I set my thermostat between 65 and 68 so far and I hardly ever hear the heater come on. Night before last was the first time in weeks I recall hearing it. My neighbors are apparently cold blooded and are probably subsidizing my heat bill. The apartment is failry new, so it's probably well insulated, too.

My indoor thermometer rarely shows below 68. I do have a small ceramic element heater fan that I like to use on my feet while using the PC; it and my computers probably help warm the apartment a bit.

cute fuzzy bunny · 12-23-2005, 09:15 AM

I had the same experience in my apartment, and in a first floor rental in a house where the owners lived upstairs. Never turned on the heat and it stayed in the 60's all through the winter.

tryan · 12-23-2005, 02:25 PM

Did a pre-buy in August at 1.82. About 30% higher than last years prebuy.

Since I am FIRE'd now I'll burn closer to 3 cords of wood (vice 2 while working). Hopefully this will off set the gas bump.

The tenants - on the other hand - are b*tching. And refuse to acknowledge that I told them to lock the price in a pre-buy back in August. This will impact me more than heating my own home (2 still owe me for Dec).

BUM · 12-24-2005, 05:08 AM

I know we are in for it when Dec.'s bill shows up but all things considered (so far) we are way ahead of the game. We've heated with NG for decades and when we compared bills with neighbors using electric or oil we felt they were getting screwed. Now its our turn.

Funny... in Saudi Arabia they often burn off the pesky natural gas to get to the oil.

Arif · 12-24-2005, 09:44 AM

Not to piss anyone off but we stopped the gas truck and asked them how much to fill up our tanks. The guy said it runs $45 and lasts about 2 months. Gotta love Panama.
BTW- the only thing we use gas for is for cooking and the rare hot shower. Since it is currently summer here I think our gas will last longer.

azanon · 12-24-2005, 09:42 PM

Damn you guys house's are cold.* *Mine says about 70 degrees.* I let it drop to 63 at night though and just pile on the blankets.

Eagle43 · 12-25-2005, 07:59 AM

Since we have an programmed thermostadt, temp is set for 56 at night. Never/rarely comes on. Most nights the house does not drop below 60. At 6 a.m., it's programmed to advance to 70 degrees. With the rise in natural gas prices, I am now trying to keep it cooler during the day. Example, today the weather is forecasted to near 70. So, no reason the heat should come on at all.

justin · 12-28-2005, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lancelot

You're a smart man Justin. I especially like your comment: "As long as no shortage..."

As long as there's gas, I can always lower the thermostat to save money. If the gas shuts off due to shortages, my wife and kid get cold, we have no hot water. I wouldn't ever want to have "rolling outages" of natural gas a la Californian electricity a few years back.

bbuzzard · 12-29-2005, 03:24 PM

My wife, who owns a small interest in two east texas gas trust, appreciates your willingness to pay high prices for natural gas

. Now, instead of paying for only our gasoline bills, the checks also pay for a couple of meals out.

justin · 12-29-2005, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbuzzard

My wife, who owns a small interest in two east texas gas trust, appreciates your willingness to pay high prices for natural gas

. Now, instead of paying for only our gasoline bills, the checks also pay for a couple of meals out.

Your welcome, just keep the gas coming!

justin · 12-30-2005, 07:00 AM

Update: Our local natural gas company - PSNC - has asked our state utilities commission for permission to reduce their rates by 12%. They say this will decrease the average heating bill by $20. The rate reduction is in response to an unexpected drop in the wholesale prices that PSNC pays for gas.

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/383307.html

Great! Now I can buy 1.764 more shares of my favorite mutual fund every month!!!

BUM · 12-31-2005, 04:50 AM

Just got the gas bill...600 bucks for 2 months. We wernt even home for 30-40% of the billing period. Usage for the period was down substantially from the same time last year but we ended up paying more money. I see another spreadsheet in my future.