Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Holy Crap...

I just received my first Con Ed bill today and I grossly underestimated that thing. It's insane!! And then I sign on to Yahoo to check my mail and am greeted by this lovely NYT article about a spike in energy costs for households in the NY region. I'm actually in the apt maybe 40% of the time and sweat my butt off at night because I don't want to turn the AC on. I even go so far as to turn off the surge protector when it's not in use so the AC and cell phone charger don't pull electricity! Yeah, I have a couple other things I should unplug as well and never did because of the hassle of having to reset the clocks on them, but I might have to do that. Ugh, what if I can't afford to live on my own after all?

10 comments :

  1. God i hate when the con ed bill comes...its always a surprise its not like a cell phone bill or the cable that u know whats the base rate and if u did anything extra to add on charges....nope with the con ed u just have to hope for the best every time.

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  2. Oh the bill, the bill. The con ed bill at myy house is $400!! $400, every single month. Sometimes $500. Yes, its insane, and don't stress, things will level out a bit during the colder months.

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  3. I know! With every other expense/bill I've been able to write in how much it'd be each month and how much to account for cell, cable, internet, etc. But this was a total question mark.

    Then I was talking to dad last night and when I told him it was around 80 bucks he said, "Oh that's cheap" and I'm like "Say what??" I told him about the AC situation and he said that they charge you up the whazoo whether you turn it on or not, soooo I slept with it on last night.

    Let's hope the situation gets better though otherwise it's going to be some lean months up ahead!

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  4. Thats what my dad says too. They automatically suppose that people use the AC during the summer so they hike up the bill.

    We do whatever we want, we turn on 3 ACs all night everynight at my house for the 3 bedrooms.

    hey, if they are going to charge us for it, we might as well use it.

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  5. Haha! And here I thought I was being a conscientious consumer, but if they're going to make me pay that much for it then forget it!

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  6. i think u are though cus my bill aint never been 80 bucks....its always between 120 to 180...and theres a reason for that too...it should be a lot higher

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  7. con ed bill? Um ok so down south I think thats called the electricity bill.... perhaps, eh.... anyway. Welcome to the life of living alone! But it gets better once you figure out how to budget everything and once you know how much your bills are going to be every month. You should try making a budget list and sticking to it every month... like $200 for food, $500 bills, $100 transportation, $200 misc..etc... you get the drift and I'm sure you have some kind of system like that going.. and dont forget to put some in your savings and travel envelope... yes I literally have envelopes and seperate savings accounts for all that. So anyways, living alone will be one of the best things you ever did after you get the drift of budgeting.... love ya.

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  8. Oh yeah, I've been budgeting from the very start but that was the only thing that was up in the air because I had no clue how much it would be.

    And yes, up here in the north Con Edison provides electricity, gas, and broken dreams each time you get their bill.

    I'm sure it'll get better once I get into a nice little routine and know what to expect from each month more or less. Then maybe just maybe I can start saving again. For now I'm running on a little over even, but that will improve after this month (when my purchases from moving in are completely paid off).

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  9. and just a little heads up.... when ever you start feeling down about finances.. just remember we are ALL in the same boat no matter how much we may or may not make ;)

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  10. Yup! That I know. I'm sure even Donald Trump's pocket is hurting from paying utility bills and trying to cool down his ginormous multi-million dollar hotels. But it sucks because ever since I started working I've been saving up like a mad woman and now I can't afford to do that. But I'm proud of myself because so far I'm doing very well on my own and I can see where my money is going. It's going to rent for my own place and to pay the bills. I feel all successful and like I've accomplished so much thus far. So it's all good.

    No one said it was going to be a piece of cake, but that's what makes it all the better. To see that your hard work is paying off (the bills that is).

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