1. gas is sill almost $3.00 a gallon ($48.00 for mne to fill up every 10 days)
2. home heating costs are expected to 50% higher than last year (my gas and electric bill averaged $400 a month last year)

3. healthcare costs expected to rise 10% ( i pay over $150 a monh now)

i tell you... things are getting tight on the wallet! i've already invested $200 in oscillating heaters, blankets and sweaters, to cut down on the natural gas i'll have to use this year to heat my house...anybody else gonna feel the pinch?

When u take into account the exchange rate between the dollar and the British pound and also the conversion of litres and gallons, we here in the UK pay $40.00 + just 2 HALF fill our gas tanks in our cars every week!!!

I guess I am lucky not to have to worry about that, but we live in a small, well insulated house and try to have an open fire most evenings using wood I scrounge from anywhare and everywhere. My bills are also the same every month and therefore budgeted for, by spreading costs over the whole year.

I never have the heating on if I am out of the house but if i am in and I get cold, I turn the heating up.

start strippin'...


Pole up....I need a stripper name though....

I'm in America. My heating oil (hot water heat as well as the house) went from a budget of $127 per month (last five years!) to $300 per month now.

Then they said it was based on a 10 month span and used my outstanding ballance from when it was high a month back.

I live in an apartment where my landlord pays all my utility costs. I wonder if they're going to increase my rent...

Rhondab said:

how about:
Mylanta Jones?
Assfa Cash?
Batgirl? (did she ever slide down Batman's pole (cue sex jokes here)

Quit your whining; it's all much more expensive over here!

Spookymuffin said:

it's ALWAYS about you Europe people

meltwithu said:

Spookymuffin said:

thankfully heat's included with my rent, so i won't have to worry about that...and i haven't been using my oven at all for at least the past couple of months.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

the visual...hmmm...

meltwithu said:

not that oven, nasty!

I am blessed to have a lil car and I work only ONE MILE from home. But I also use coupons and buy food for me and my Grandmother on sale always. The healthcare and heating costs are my biggest concerns at the moment.

I have us on the budget billing plan and the rate I will have to pay this winter until January 31 will be 230 a month, mind you I have been under in my usage for the past 5 months and have almost 200 credit on my uility bill.

I have my Grandmother in a special drug program for seniors and have all her meds bought and paid up for ONE YEAR!!! But for me I am having emergency surgery on Oct. 21st and I have health insurance and I still may be out of pocket has much as 3,000, I was out 5,000 in 2003 for a stomach cancer surgery. I can't cut our budget no tighter.

I will be going to the Thrift store soon for heating blankets and fleece bottoms to wear in the house. We live in a old house, but it is insulate, caluked and plastic will be going on the windows as well!!! I dont' know how other folks will make it, it worries me!!!

Heat is included with my rent (they're boiler heaters). But my electric bill has doubled. Last month the electric company sent us a notice that they were raising our bill significantly to recoup some of the additional costs they've been absorbing the past couple years.

Companies better fucking raise wages to compensate for the huge increase in the cost of living.

Here in Stockholm there's a relatively new method (who knows, maybe it's old news in other countries?) where you drill a hole a few hundred metres down into the ground until you hit solid rock. Then you stick a rod of some sort - I think it contains a special liquid - in there and this causes the natural heat of the rock to be redirected into the house. It's a pretty expensive initial cost, but after it's done it usually covers as much as 70% of your heating needs for ZERO money. I find it quite incredible. And environmentally friendly too.

I'm praying my rent doesn't go up. All of my utilities are included so I'm kind of expecting it for the winter. I will just have to suck it up and get a second job it if does.

retina said:

wow, that's awesome...i dunno if this is done here in the states too. if not, it'd be a great idea.

CarrieLee said:

same here...i've lived at my apartment for 4 years and so far there hasn't been any rent hikes. and i wish all my utilities were included. hell, my apartment's a piece o'crap anyway, they may as well be.

I doubt if I will have to put the heat on this winter. The electric bill is high because the ac is constantly running. Gas expenses are high, but I have gotten used to that.

TMPletz said:

I called up our gas company (we've got gas heat) and had them switch us to the budget plan where they average out the cost over the entire year and then adjust it again at this time next year (they use the last 12 months usage to figure the average) it's gonna save our butts this year

rachel3 said:

awwww...hopefully you and your grandma will be okay.


man, that took me back...it reminds me of the times when i was growing up that my dad would insulate the house during the winter with plastic over the windows...and there was a huge gap underneath the door of the apartment where cold air would come in, so he'd put duct tape over it. he wouldn't have the heat on for too long since it cost too much to keep running, so he'd have me wear jogging pants and long-sleeved shirts around the house. half the time i'd be wrapped in a blanket to stay warm.



cold as hell edit
[Edited 10/17/05 9:34am]

hmm retina... not sure about the rod thing but i do know in places new homes are being built that tap into geothermally heated water. but it requires that you lay plastic tubing in the cement during construction so it can't be retrofitted.

here we have to have the heat on even when we are not at home. a digital thermostat helps so that you can program the heat to go down at different times during the day and night.
heating costs are going up 47% and electrical is going up as well. i thought i froze last winter
but i plan on buying an electric radiator to roll between rooms to cut down my gas bill

man i don't even know just have to try and budget 'tis all. i stop worrying about it. i don't have a car but my kids school is across the street and my school and job is only 25 minutes away on the bus so i don't have to worry about gas as far as a car.

Reading some of these statements is scary!! What the fuck has happened in America in the last 3 years?

I becomes an issue here in the UK with regard to pensioners not being able to afford to put their one bar gas fire on but not your average orger?

The quality of life in the US while I was there was fantastic; I earned a fraction of my UK salary but always had cash. Home, car and socialising were all so cheap in comparison. But these days it's like you are all on the bread line. If gas goes up a few cents suddenly everyone is broke!

I am sorry for anybody who this is a serious problem for.

retina said:

You guys blow me away! Too cool

Natural fossil fuels depleting, ok we are Swedes, lets just tap into the molten iron core at the centre of the earth and derive heat from there.

Fucking awesome, I want to live in Sweden

Just found a article on Geothermal heating.

http://www.motherearthnew...Revolution
[Edited 10/17/05 10:50am]