Weather related expenses

[eamarquardt]

I sometimes think about turning on my air conditioner and every few years break down and turn it on for a day or two, mostly to see if it still works. I signed up for a electric program that reduces my bill if I let them cycle my a/c on and off at their will. Since I rarely run it, no skin of my nose if they cycle it off. My two most current electric bills were $20 and $10 after the cycling credit. During the winter without the credits my bill is about $90/month.

Gas for water heating and space heating runs about $10/month during the summer, fall, and spring, and about $20 month during the winter.

The downside is that we get as much or more government interference in our lives as we pay for, there are too many rats in the cage (and on the freeways), and common courtesy seems to be the exception rather than the norm around here nowadaze.

The money we pay for state income tax would go a long way towards additional energy costs, but I like differentiating the seasons by occasionally requiring a jacket during the winter (I run hot an don't need much external insulation in this climate). That is more than enough of a seasonal change for me.

Hope everyone enjoys where they are as much as I do here but I'm thinking of moving to a different county here in California with even better weather and fewer people!

Cheers,

Gus

[Scooter]

My buddy lives in San Diego and weather allows him to ride motorcycle virtually all the time. He does not own a car. Huge expense saved.

The weather related cost of living in TN (for me) is quite significant. Sweaters, jackets, flannel shirts, blankets, umbrellas, even the silk longhandles I have to wear all winter just to be comfortable...seemingly incidental stuff that really adds up. As does the unquantifiable costs of poor air quality in TN's central basin, where winds are light and stale, allergen filled air hovers most of the time. We have some of the lowest average wind speeds in the country- statistical fact.

60 inches of rain per year creates a wonderful environment for mosquitos, wasps, gnats, flies, the list goes on. We probably spend $50-100 per year on cans of Raid and mosquito repellent, just a guess.

These are just some random things most people don't think about. Rain is good, drought is bad, blah, blah blah. It has its costs.

I dunno man, I just get so fed up with this weather, it starts me ranting and I can't stop. YES, we do plan leave TN for the southwestern US here in a couple years once we get a few things straightened out. GOOD RIDDANCE!

[eamarquardt]

I wrote this post because of Classic Finn's report that the temp at his home was 17. Messed up and started a new string. I hadn't even considered all of the items you mentioned related to your weather. Being almost desert we don't have that many bugs, I wear shorts and sandles year round and rarely wear a jacket. Went to Pittsburgh in January a few years back (minor brain surgery) and froze my whahootzies off and have been sterile ever since.

Everything in life is a compromise and I live in a desert environment and with a lot of "rats" crammed into the cage but the wx is hard to beat.

Cheers,

Gus

[caseydog]

Here in Dallas, the "cheap" season is winter. My electric bills run about 40 bucks, and my gas bills about the same. I live in one of the few cities that was NOT deregulated, so my electric rates are lower than most. I am part of an electrical coop, and I am not able to choose my electric provider as you can in most of Texas. Even the most enthusiastic proponents of free markets in town don't complain, since we pay lower rates than just about everyone else.

Summer is another story. Going without AC is not a viable option when it is 102 with fifty percent humidity. My electric bill is about $250 in August. My gas bill is about ten bucks, though.

CD

[planovet]

CD, I live in the same city as you and I can choose MY electrical provider. If fact I switched this year from TXU to Gexa.

[caseydog]

CD, I live in the same city as you and I can choose MY electrical provider. If fact I switched this year from TXU to Gexa.

Not all of Frisco is CoServ. Several years ago when the Texas Legislature deregulated retail electric, they specifically allowed co-ops to make the choice to "opt-in" to deregulation, or continue doing business as they always have - that being controlled by an elected Board of Directors.

If you live in one of CoServ's service areas in North Texas, you can't chose another electricity provider. However, CoServ's rates are better, being a Coop, so I can't imagine that I would benefit from freedom to choose. In fact, the data shows the opposite.

Austin has the lowest electricity rates in Texas, and they are a regulated market. Using the Austin rate as a benchmark of still-regulated pricing, Texans in deregulated markets pay a premium of approximately 29% above the regulated rate.