My first electric bill for the year almost gave me a heart attack at $148.49 because the bill for the same time last year was $82.53. I know that last year I was using the space heater instead of the central heating because it did not make sense (and still does not) to heat unused rooms. I really went a bit wild last month with using the heat and need to seriously cut down on my electricity use because I have added to my debt with the dental bills.

I am going back to sleeping wearing more layers like I used to. This means that I will be wearing a robe to bed as well as my pajamas and socks AND using a blanket and comforter. This will allow me to set the heater even lower…and since Dinero sleeps in the bedroom with me the rest of the house only needs to be above freezing so that my pipes do not burst.

It was a bit of a hassle to unplug the heater when I decided to go into the living room to watch television….but I will start to do that again, then move the heater back into the bedroom which is where I spend most of my time (Computer is in the bedroom and I watch Hulu for most shows). I will also wear a sweater over my shirts and wear my fuzzy slippers over my socks as well to keep warm when I am at home on the weekends and when I get home from work.

I also need to set and forget the central heating unit because I know that one of the reasons for the high bill is that I kept messing with the settings. When I get home from work I would take off my jacket (warm) and then need to increase the heat because I was walking around the house in less clothes. I need to keep my jacket on until I get to the bedroom where the space heater is, change clothes, put on my indoor jacket and then walk back to hang up the outside jacket. Hey, the bonus of that is I will be taking more steps and that is more exercise for me.

I need to drink more tea to keep warm as well as that works better than juice. I hope to see a reduction in February’s bill and then a continuing downward trend as it gets warmer.

This reminds me why I hate winter.