I consider us really lucky this year. We’re on the east coast (of Canada), it’s the end of the first week of November and we haven’t yet turned the heat on! There are often days near the end of September that get cool enough in the evening the warrant turning it on but it has been unseasonably warm for the last six weeks. Based on the flurries I saw in the sky this morning I think our luck has officially run out and this weekend we’ll be cranking the heat up.
Heating a house is expensive. I miss our old 750 sqft apartment that had heat included in the rent on cold days, that’s for sure! I grew up in a very frugal house where turning the heat on was a last resort, I used to joke with my mom the when I could see my breath while sitting in our living room was when she’d turn the furnace on. Though it wasn’t quite that extreme she was pretty strict about when it came on, after all it was her most expensive bill every year.
Now that I’m a homeowner I still implement certain frugal skills to keep our heating bill manageable.
Budget Plan
We have electric heat in our home. Rather than having incredibly low bills in the summer and high bills in the winter, I’m on a monthly budget with the power cooperation where I pay the same amount, every month, year round. Though we pay much more in the summer I much prefer this method than getting slammed with a $1,000 power bill in February. It also allows us to budget the rest of our finances better. If you don’t have this option, like my sister-in-law who gets oil delivered only in the winter, implement and self-imposed budget to save the same amount year round so you have the slush fund in place when winter does come, makes it much easier!
Invest in Energy Efficiency
Having energy-efficient windows in our home has made a great difference in the heating and cooling of our house. They help block the heat in the summer and keep heat within the home in the winter. If this isn’t an option sealing the windows and doors when the cold season comes is a cheap alternative. You can buy window and door sealing kits at almost all home-improvement stores.
Digital Thermostats
We were lucky that this was an upgrade the previous owners had recently done before we moved but if they hadn’t we would have done this for sure. The digital thermostat allows us to set a timer to have the heat come on and turn off at certain times of the day. Obviously it doesn’t make much sense to have the heat on while we’re home, or even sleeping (I prefer a cooler room to sleep with my heavy duvet) so we only turn it on during weekends and home.
Layer!
This is my mother speaking but if you can comfortably walk around my house in January with shorts and t-shirt, it’s too warm! I always have warm pants, sweater and socks on. As well, all of our couches and chairs have blankets for them.
We won’t let you freeze if you come over but you better believe we’re aware of the price we pay to keep our home warm in the winter and value our money!
How do you keep heating costs down every year?
You’re lucky that you’re in Canada. We have started to turn the heater on since late of October. My trick is I lower the thermostat by a degree. Though we hardly feel the difference from the normal set-up, I can see how much money deducted in our electric bill.1
You’re lucky that you’re in Canada. We have started to turn the heater on since the late of October. My trick is I lower the thermostat by a degree. Though we hardly feel the difference from the normal set-up, I can see how much money deducted in our electric bill.1
All great ideas but don’t forget turning on your favorite show and snuggling up tight on the sofa with your honey for the evening!
We’ve had our heat on here fore a while (Ottawa). We started dropping the temperature on our thermostat and our monthly gas bill is $62. Layers and blankets help. I guess having natural gas helps the budget too. I can’t imagine a $1000 heating bill!
We keep our thermostat at 68 degrees. If we get cold watching TV we just have a small nice looking floor basket there with some small blankets in it. When we are up and around it is very comfortable.
With electric, you can heat up the rooms that are being occupied. My grandparents have electric and when I was little, I remember they used to turn on the heat 30 minutes before we would go into a different room and turn off/down the heat in the room we were just in. It also helped that most rooms had doors and could be closed off.
We get oil delivered, which is awful. To compromise, we keep our heat set to 64. Layers, warm blankets and socks are a must for me, because I am always cold! In my next home, we will invest in a wood burning or pellet stove. My parents switched to one, and have noticed a large difference in their heating bills.
Great post. Financial management is very important especially budgeting. You have a great ideas here. One of my favorite in budgeting is making a budget plan and stock with it. Keep up the good work.