I'm starting with an item that isn't much of a hot button: utilities. I pay "submetered" gas and electric bills along with my space rent each month. I live in a mobile home park. This means that somebody checks my meters once a month, and it isn't always consistently on the same day.
I have created a spreadsheet showing my gas and electric bills over the past year, compared to this year:
Variables to consider:
* Meters not checked consistently every month
* Weather affects use of gas especially
* Utility companies increase rates from time to time
* I travel, sometimes for ten days to a couple of weeks
I want to reduce my electric bill especially. Even though I feel I use gas more, it costs less, so I am less concerned about it. To that end I have started to shut off my computer every night (I had been leaving it on just about forever) and I am trying to curb my daytime television habit (something I picked up when recuperating from my first knee replacement). This is a vague goal but a goal nonetheless. I started making these changes some time in February, so my March bill may reflect the change. Let me go look (I haven't paid it yet but will in the next couple of days).
Hmmmm. The electric bill is $77.90 (gas is $49.74). Sheesh. The gas bill is way up. That may be because I got my heater working and I reveled in its warmth, keeping it at 72 degrees and even higher. The weather was also unusually cold. So far not what I'd call progress.
