Frugal smile here.

[safeinOhio]

Today I got my new "budget plan" price for the year from my natural gas company. $38/month.

I live in north west Ohio. Have a 100 year old, 2K square foot home, 4 bedrooms. I heat, cook and heat my water with natural gas. Last year it was $44. Most of the folks I know pay 3 to 4 times as much.

[shireen]

1. wow!

i'm impressed. I've never heard of a budget plan ...

[safeinOhio]

5. They average your bill for the last year and then

divide the total by 12 and then use that as your monthly bill for the next year.

[Kaleva]

2. Double Wow!!

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Mind if I ask

how you do it?

I live in W PA, and I don't use the budget, but my offers for a budget plan run about $75/month. I think that is high, especially since I don't pay that much over a year, if I average my bills. But I still have bills of about $30 in the summer, and much higher for the really cold months. So what are you doing that keeps your bills so low?

[safeinOhio]

4. Two owners before me was a

contractor that remodeled the house with lots of insulation and new windows. Then I used a IR camera to find all of the air leeks and plugged them up pretty well. I also put in a new furnace. I keep it around 67 degrees in the winter. Wear a sweater and warm socks all the time. The only time I'm uncomfortable is when I take my morning shower, so I have a small heater in the bath I use for about a half hour. When it was remodeled all the windows on the east and south side were covered, I think that helped on the heat, but it'd be nice to look out on those sides.

The gas company for my small town is a local company about 2 blocks from my house. When ever you walk in a couple of old dogs come to greet you. For the last couple of years I've gone in and pre-paid my bill for the whole year using the budget plan figures. So, this year I'll give em about $450 next month and I'll be set for the year.