Sure, I’m proud of the fact that I have been retired for ten months and have not once had to dip into my savings account to meet the monthly bills.
Each month gets a little harder, though. Social Security can only be stretched so far. Thankfully, my husband continues to work, and he buys all of the groceries and household supplies, as well as paying for water to the house and for most of the household and automotive repairs. Were it not for his contribution, we would be in serious do-do.
Recently, I was very happy to learn that the property taxes are only going up $6 this year and the homeowner insurance premium did not increase, so there will be no rise in the monthly mortgage payment (which I handle) at least for the next 12 months. In addition, the auto insurance premium only increased a little as a result of my husband leasing a brand new vehicle. (Lucky him! But he really needed all wheel drive for the upcoming winter as he has a long commute to work and we live in the snow belt.)
So far, so good. Still within my personal budget, which is based soley on my monthly Social Security check. And that budget was calculated to allow some wiggle room each month, in case of an unexpected minor expense (like a medical co-pay, or me just having to treat myself to that bag of candy) or the cyclic increase in utility costs due to season and weather.
But then some shit hit the fan, as they say.
Our electric company decided to install “smart meters” for everyone. I immediately started seeing posts on local social media that people were receiving bills twice or thrice the amount owed prior to installation of the new meters. In my naivete, I assumed those folks lived in houses with old electrical wiring and that my house would not be impacted because our electric was upgraded and the main box replaced just a couple of years ago.
Of course, I was wrong. Before the new meters, electric service to my house was running $30-$40 a month. The first bill after meter installation was $99 and I just received this month’s bill – $143! This, for someone who sits in a small house all day, running only the computer, one small window AC (a newer, energy efficient model), one overhead (LED) light, and once-or-twice-a-day use of the toaster oven or microwave. Athough the stove is electric and would run the charges up, we cook very little on it. The clothes dryer and furnace (which we aren’t using right now) are gas.
The electric company keeps sending me congratulatory messages that my house uses less energy than other houses in the area, so I should be happy, right?
Not. If these increases are a trend and not just a seasonal spike, it’s going to throw that carefully calculated budget right out the window.
I understand from what others have told me that electric usage is somewhat based on the time of day, with rates being higher during daytime business hours and somewhat lower in the evening and on weekends.
In other words, it’s another way to screw over old retired people, those who are disabled, the unemployed, and everyone who works from home.
I can hardly wait to see what happens when we are all forced into totally electric houses and cars. Even if the grid can handle it, which I doubt, the costs are going to be more than many people can handle.
Not that corporations or politicans care.
For those who say, check into government assistance programs: I have. Once my husband is fully retired, too, and we are living only on our combined Social Security, our annual income will be about $200 above the maximum limits for any kind of federal or state assistance. Never mind that at that point, our income will be too low to buy food or pay for medical expenses. Apparently, old retired people simply don’t matter.
I will end today’s rant here (aren’t you glad?). It’s time to go back to trying to qualify for those paid surveys. I’m going to need those extra pennies to pay the electric bill.
Hugs, all.
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
It is a real problem. If only our government could shake the hold the corporations have on them, and do their jobs.
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I know, right?!
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Oh how I sympathise. Our new government have just scrapped the winter heating allowance for over ten million pensioners, and those 1.1 million still entitled have to be on means tested benefits, for which we, as a couple, are not eligible.
We had smart meters installed years ago (they were free at the time) and I was not happy, but it was the only way we could sign up for a fixed tariff. Good job we did as the energy crisis hit and we were paying less than half for our gas and electricity than everyone else, for two years! Our monthly payment has just reduced from £88 pm (approx $112.50) to £70 ($89.35) for both gas and electricity combined. We are currently over £200 ($255.25) in credit so well set for the winter months.
We are low consumers, and from previous experience had calculated that to use our electric shower used 1kwh of electricity for a ten minute shower, as did running the oven for 40 minutes or using the washing machine on a 20 minute wash at 30 degrees. Our usage here is less as our shower is mains fed and the water heated by our gas boiler, and our new washing machine does a 14 minute economy wash at 30 degrees.
We are currently using around 3kwh of electricity a day, and 1.6 cubic meters of gas a week. The latter will rocket up to around 28 when we are running the heating. My hob is gas, but the oven is electric.
I use my microwave a lot and the oven maybe once a week as I don’t bake anymore, and always make sure I am cooking more than one thing in it (Hubby cheers as it means dessert!).
Some tips if you haven’t already applied them:
use low energy bulbs in all your light fittings and lamps (we reduced both our kitchen and bathroom light consumption from 160w (4x 40w standard bulbs) to 20w with 5w energy saving LED alternatives.
We don’t have a TV, but leaving one on stand-by eats into the electricity bill, as does stereo systems.
We also don’t have a dishwasher or tumble dryer, though in the winter do smaller washloads and put the laundry on the rads to dry as they’re on anyway. Sheets and towels etc are dried outside if at all possible, but we do have a launderette up the road and can dry 2 full washloads in one dryer for about £4.
We both use a lap top computer for hours every day.
Our gas thermostat is set for 18C 6am to 9pm which is comfortable for us, but if it gets too cold, just putting it up 1 degree for a couple of hours is enough as the insulation here is top notch. During the night, it’s set at 14C.
You can check your daily usage by reading your meters every day for a couple of weeks and making a note of what extras you use when the numbers go up. Knowing where your energy goes is half the battle and you’d be surprised what a little tweak here and there can save you.
Hope this helps!
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Wow, an entire post in one comment! Yes, it does help (some) to know it’s not just in this country. As for reducing our usage, we’ve done all of it that we can. I suppose the next step will be candles and an open fire pit like our ancestors used.
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It’s a struggle isn’t it. We read about how the energy companies tell you to reduce your usage, and I want to know how in the modern world we can use less than 3 kwh a day!!!
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We both have dogs. Maybe we could get huge wheels for them (like hamster wheels) and hook them up to a generator.
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We have a one dog power mobility scooter!
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We invested in solar panels (capable of generating up to 7 KWh) a few years back, and we dipped into our savings for that knowing that on average the return on investment is about 7 years. In actuality it will be around five years at current prices, and should electricity increase substantially in price, even less.
I don’t know if you have a competitive electricity market where you live, but if you do, shop around. Here, you can often get substantial discounts if you purchase multiple services from a single supplier. Most utility companies here sell multiple services – electricity, gas, telephone (landline and/or mobile) and internet in attractive package deals. We also keep an eye on promotional specials and can often pick up a 12 month deal at 60% or less off “standard” rates. As we insist on using suppliers that source or generate their electricity from 100% renewable resources, our choices are more limited than if we were to go on price alone.
Our current electricity provider offers multiple plans that range from spot pricing to fixed KWh rates. Currently we are on a fixed KWh plan with half price billing between 9pm and 7am, so heavy use devices such as the dishwasher and washing machine are set to run overnight. At this time of the year (NZ winter) our heat pump runs 24/7 but it’s switched off from mid spring to late autumn, at that time we’ll change to a different plan that takes advantage of our surplus daytime electricity generation over the summer months. That may be with our current supplier, or another depending on deals available at the time. Here the market is regulated in such a way as to ensure switching between suppliers is seamless and no interruption of service occurs. It’s just a matter of going to a supplier’s website, signing up for a plan and nominating a date for the changeover.
Our smart meter reports electricity consumption and generation in 15 minute intervals and can be accessed via a web browser or phone app. So I use it to take advantage of those times when we generate more electricity than we consume, for example doing an extra load of washing on a sunny day. Even in winter, we can generate more electricity than we consume on warmer cloudless days. We live in a temperate, almost mediterranean climate, so the benefits of solar power that we have might not be applicable to you.
As pensitivity101 mentions, many devices consume small amounts of electricity even when apparently switched off – they are actually in a standby mode. This is especially true if they have soft tough panels or internal clocks or a power light etc. In our home that includes the microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, wall oven, cooktop, TV, two air fryers, toaster, bread-maker and rice cooker, not to mention several USB chargers and other sundry devices. In NZ, every power outlet has an on/off switch, so it’s a simple matter of getting into the habit of switching off at the wall when a device is not in use. I understand on/off switches are not standard in the US so you’d have to pull the plug out of the power outlet every time which might be rather inconvenient. Over the course of a year those devices do use quite a lot of electricity.
We switched to energy efficient light bulbs around 20 years ago, and more recently, as they fail we replace them with LED light bulbs. Over time the savings can be substantial
Our rates (property tax) is already high (around NZ$4,700/US$2,800 per year) and is set to increase by about 15% this year, but we’ve been mortgage free for going on 25 years. Our only income is National Superannuation (universal benefit paid to every NZ resident who is over 65 years of age) and is only adequate because we don’t pay mortgage or rent. National Superannuation for a married couple is pegged at 65% of the net national average wage, but as most households require two incomes to make ends meet, it’s scarcely adequate, especially for those who are single.
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I would love to have a property tax of $2800 US. Ours is over $5000 US per year – for a 1200 sf house. Of course, New York State is known for high taxes, but we’re unlikely to move as our family is here.
As for the electric, your suggestions are all good, and we’re already doing most of it. We’ll just keep everything shut off and hope for the best.
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Indeed, CM, the bills go up but the income checks stay the same. It is frightening for we retired folks.
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That’s for sure. Unfortunately, at least in my case, 401Ks and the like didn’t come into existence early enough for me to pay much into one, and the little I did manage had to be drawn out at some point for some emergency expense, and never got replenished.
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its all been said so I’ll just add that it’s all so unfair. 💜💜
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Yep. But it’s not just me and us old folks, everyone around here got hit with those high electric bills. Just plain corporate greed.
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i totally agree 😊
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