It is impossible to spend money on everything we want. I had only thought of a few of them. I’d rather put on a sweater than turn the heat up. Even our friends here mostly do low 60s, which is still plenty cold by most people’s standards. Why does this one thing in our life have such power over us? are. We’ll never get sick of that! Haha! We’ve been fortunate enough, though, that our utility bill only runs between $150-250. That’s really awesome to hear about others you know. You actually get used to it — your body adjusts and you don’t feel cold. I wish we could get there on maids — it would give us SO MUCH peace of mind, because we certainly don’t have time for real cleaning. I would rather put on more clothes and stay warm than to have the heat up so high.. Risks Drinking cold water does affect your body in ways you may not anticipate or want. We’re from Pa and it’s cold but I sweat the minute I walk in from work. (Fast shower or to much water, saturated the drain field.) 4. Thanks! :-). and constantly repeats the mantra “Is this the condition I so feared?”. :-). My dog suffers right along with me. Hahahahaha — perfect. //, I’ve been having weird feelings about the word “frugal” lately, especially after reading great posts by Pretend to Be Poor and Creating My Kaleidoscope about what frugality really means (hint: remember the Great Depression?). Nope. Hi Brittany! But the temperature? She’s only taxing her system and (especially at her age) that kind of strain ain’t healthy. That’s the joy of mountains. Personally, I’d like to drop it down a bit further at night but my husband likes things warmer. Have you looked into maybe better insulate the house? It’s amazing how quickly our bodies can adapt to different temperatures. I just hope my sister enjoys sleeping in the cold as I do. :-). :). I suppose just bundling up is a viable solution! y’all. Always turned down when we no one’s home. Most people are more adaptable than they think! Yes, I have problems – let the replies roll! ;-) But yeah, totally agree that we should all live below our means. Here 5 tips for keeping the heat in and the cold out: 1. Lastly, I believe that frugality comes with many definitions from each individual or family’s point of view. ;-) And I would die riding in a car in the summer with no AC — so you have my admiration there! Thanks for the encouragement. It’s certainly not that we don’t like to be warm and toasty. Keep in mind this is body temperature, not ambient temperature, and it’s true for degrees above and below your natural set point (usually 98.6ºF). ), We’re in similar but opposite situations in that we run the AC warmer than most around here. You can save 3% off your heating bill for each degree you lower your thermostat! One “WTF? And there is one example: the thermostat. Thanks for the advice; I can’t believe you captured that with an iPhone! Focus on the temperature in your body, not the house. haha Plus, I don’t want child services coming after us! PS: I highly recommend getting a hot water bottle to sit with under a blanket. Similar to your driveway plowing expenditure is worth it to you guys from a time perspective, it’s same with the maids for us. Then we would all convene in the kitchen which was the warmest room in the house as Mom always would have something cooking in the oven for later that day, (Come to think of it that would explain a lot of my waist line as a kid.) We can say from experience that there are a LOT of reasons why people on a six-figure salary spend all their money, not all having to do (or even mostly having to do) with caring about how others see them (us). It’s definitely something we plan to address after we quit and can do the work ourselves! :-). I have maybe the same with light… Or so i think based on some remarks from the wife. If it’s cold I put on thicker pjs or an extra blanket! Like I say we are in North Florida only 35 miles from Georgia. He never recovered so that he continued to live as if he were in the depression refusing to spend money on things he should have like decent glasses for his wife and then having her take a bad fall. But while these are all good reasons to be careful with the temperature you keep your thermostat at, don't forget the rest of your pipes—some of your water pipes may be in "cold" parts of your house, like crawl spaces or attics, where they don't get any of your home's ambient heat and may, in fact, be subjected to air directly from the outside. If you have wood floors or bare floorboards then heat will be more easily lost than if you have carpet. But if I just give it the right mind set, it’s cold, yes, and refreshing! It took some trial and error to perfect my system, but I absolutely LOVE cold sleeping! ;-) Haha — no, that’s just what happens when we travel all the time for work and don’t have a maid, another thing we can’t stomach paying for! Same goes for fleece sheets and a flannel duvet cover, and the occasional use of an electric mattress pad heater. Whether you are working from home or your children are doing schoolwork, keeping the workspace at cooler temps means more productivity. Moisture, as you know, makes the floor colder. Step 3: Call or email one of them to set up a consultation I miss going to see more movies in the theater since I’ve become frugal. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Thinking About Frugality More Broadly // A Call to Action, we’re quickly prepaying our mortgage despite the math. There are MANY gaps, allowing cold air/wet/moisture in. Mrs. SSC keeps it around 80 F if she has her say about it and I crank it way down to 78… On the occasion I turn it to 77 or 76 F, then she starts complaining about it “being cold”…. That costs big bucks in a climate like ours and is a huge waste of energy. And yeah, if we *had* to live without heat, we know we’d survive. Amazing, right? We bought a second cord, but haven’t used even half of it and unless we have a cold snap, I suspect we’ll be using it next year, so our heating fuel costs will probably be $400 for the season including a box or two of starter biscuits. This may be a bit ambitious and obviously a lot can change between now and then so I’ll just have to roll with the punches. maybe. It’s funny because I’m the exact opposite of the two of you! :-) Our gas bill was always super cheap when we lived in the city, so in all honesty, we didn’t think it would jump so much when we bought our house in the mountains. Yea the heaters are for the kids…I don’t think they want or care about playing our little game. Clasp your hands together in front of your heart. But if we have company and they opt to run the heat, and that company takes thirty minute showers, leaves the water running while brushing their teeth and shaving, leaves the thermostat at 72 degrees when they’re not even in the house, etc., we have no idea what to expect when the energy and water bills arrive! We especially can’t (choose not to?) Your email address will not be published. Unfortunately nothing will be done. I once lived in a house in KY that was so poorly insulated that even with most all of the rooms closed off, it cost $400/month to keep the place at 60F. Cutting out alcohol and soda? Kuffa explains the affect of cold on your home. It isn’t worth it (to us), and our ability to stick to our guns on this for five straight winters tells me that we can stick to our guns on other frugal habits in retirement, especially if our investments do poorly some years and we have to tighten our belts. Love this post, it just confirms it is all personal and we all need to look at what is important to us. I only go if I’m really, really dying to see a film when it first comes out. First off, another great pic. Well, you should at least keep things warm enough so your pipes don't freeze and burst. SUBSCRIBE NOW. The cold air makes your body work overtime, especially the lungs and heart, because they work in unison to keep that warm blood circulating without skipping a … ” I was just about to say the hot water bottle under the blanket too! I was perfectly content and it really cleaned out my colon. Top of the list after retirement is to attack that problem and load up on better insulation! Your Heat Doesn’t Deliver. It’s one of the bigger disagreements we get into. Yes! . It is to serve as a reminder of how good we have it, but also that even our worst case financial scenario really isn’t a very big deal. But, we do live in the south where its not that cold for very long. Wow, you keep your thermostat at 64 degrees! lol! If your ancestors survived without air conditioning, so can you. So if you come over to our house, you will freeze, and if we come over to your house, we will roast. Haha — that makes sense! :), Haha — and my company just upgraded me to the iPhone 6S, so I think the photos will get better! The sole shower was upstairs (not heated) and you could get out of the shower, towel off, and see your breath in the bathroom. I happily wear my hoody (and sometimes even mittens) and take those savings every day of the year. Wow — we haven’t met anyone else in the 55 degree club! When menopause hit I was running outside every night at 8 pm to cool off. What’s a good temperature to keep your bedroom at? You have no idea the amount of everyday cleaning and stuff that is just kid related. due to our 18 month old. Yes, they do cost a little bit but their wattage is so low that it is pennies compared to heating a whole room and you can sit and type without blue fingers. We know it’s the parks pipes because once the water starts flowing, there’s sand that comes out the faucets and our metered bill is always approximately $35. I have been sick with Bronchitis for a month now do to know if keeping it cool in here is good. | Our Next Life, Money Saving Ideas – 11 Things We Refuse to Give Up to Save Money, 50 Ways to Become More Frugal - THE THREE YEAR EXPERIMENT, Five "Essentials" That Are Destroying Your Savings - CLIPPING CHAINS. So in the end, it probably works out to be fairly respectable when all averaged together. Within a few minutes I’m totally acclimated. He was house sitting in a ranch house in I think Nebraska, and he set it to 45 degrees all winter: I really wish I could be the 56 degree house, but I just can’t do it… I literally shiver! When you need to go buy more organic grocery items, it’s a health/environment issue, so you shell out. Anything in the 60-67 degree range is great; outside of those degrees your body will spend extra energy trying to get comfortable and you’ll spend the night tossing and turning. Step 2: google “cleaning service in my area” But that’s for the AC and not the heater. I wonder what the neighbors would think, if they saw us bundled up and huddled under blankets, like paupers, while watching Netflix on our decidedly unfrugal home theater? So perhaps a cooler home does nothing to germs, but maybe it does; I’d like to think it does but that’s probably just wishful thinking. I’m exploring keeping my apt at 55º-60ºF. What this taught me as a young boy was to plan ahead. Understanding Reduces Fear // Lessons from the Sky, Around the Personal Finance blogosphere - March 4th, 2016, http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/opinion/this-cold-house.html?referer=, The Road Less Traveled Challenge – Our Next Life, Fessing Up to Our Most Cheapskate Habits – Our Next Life, What If We Retired Today? Loved Walden on Wheels, loved that NYT piece. In order to keep germs from spreading around your house, you need to know what influences this process. Here’s my theory: maybe this is (subconsciously?) Up to 30% of unwanted heat in your home is coming through your windows via the greenhouse effect — sunlight and heat enter, but cannot escape. We’d love to hear it all! In fact, hypothermia can happen to someone in a nursing home or group facility if the rooms are not kept warm enough. saved up for. The important thing is realizing that you have a choice. Then it drops back down at night. As I dig deeper, I find evidence to the contrary or rather that … My thermostat is set at 64 day and night. Although I think that’s mostly true if you are in that cold house most of the time. I also can’t fathom this. Living in the cold has definitely toughened us up! Turning your thermostat down 2 degrees can save 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. To us, it’s simple: energy is extra expensive in rural areas, we live in a cold place, ergo the natural gas bill in the winter would be unacceptably high if we heated our house to a more normal temperature. (Plus reburns the smoke so it doesn’t pollute so much! I don’t think you’re crazy in the least. :-). I was fine in our cold house but he worked elsewhere and thought the home was frigid.). Especially when the bizarro-logic attached to the thermostat sometimes means sacrificing our comfort and maybe even our safety. But we’d probably lose on every single other frugal comparison, so if we can have an impressive number on ONE THING, we’ll take it. Allowing your body to be cold is great for your metabolism. Every pipe in our place would freeze. It’s now, as I write, 9/25/18; any updates? Is it because of anchoring, because we think that more than $200 a month is too much to pay for heat in the winter? This changed my life. My wife just told me about that, actually – we do follow them though I haven’t personally seen that one. You can't get sick from being cold, in fact the temp has nothing to do with weather or not you get sick. But thanks for the reminder to add the rest to the reading list! Living in a cold house, apartment, or other building can cause hypothermia. And we’re the same way about “frugal” — we don’t feel at all worthy of the title (and truthfully think many who claim it are also not worthy of the title!). Lower your thermostat and it will keep the bugs and rodents away. January 1, 2018…I’ll be looking forward to hearing where I can get a view of that sky! A couple years ago my furnace died. 40-50 all this week in the day time and the 20’s at night. Any portion of the basement that is above ground can and will let the cold air seep in through the cracks, between joists and multiple heat-weak spots. It’s a good point about comfort temps and age — we’re in our 30s, and I would be shocked if we’re still living with 56 degrees in, say, our 60s or 70s. Full Disclosure. I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. ;-) Just kidding! You do get used to it. She has not been raised this way and had never paid an electric bill before until now. :). But if we could save, we’d probably consider military showers! I was just tired of people assuming that we’re “suffering” because we don’t spend like them. This discussion reminds me of an Op Ed piece from the writer Ken Ilgunas from last year. We still feel a bit uncomfortable with its contemporary definition, though. Second, and more meaningfully, we’ve learned that we in fact can be frugal when we decide to be, which shocks no one more than it shocks me. :-). I’m so glad that you enjoyed my post about the Great Depression. :), Okay, sold. Hiya friends! tied up in the triple bottom line concept. :-) But we’re amply equipped with fleece everything, which makes a world of difference. I don’t know that we’d go full-on stoic, but it’s good not to get too soft from luxury. :-) We’re hugely unfrugal in a ton of other ways, which more than offset our one virtuous thing. Well, I would have been wrong. :-), Step 1: pull up google on an internet browser Yeah we don’t complain about the utilities too much – our house has geothermal heating and, as long as it’s working properly, it does a pretty nice job. I’m not an overly large person, so I get cold pretty easily. 5 Tips To Keep Your House Warm During Extreme Cold Temperatures. I’ll let you decide on just how cold you need to keep your home. // Sidebar: That blue in the header photo has absolutely zero color correction or filter applied. I spend my money wisely and set my priorities but aside from cutting unnecessary shopping, I haven’t really committed to doing anything extreme like what you guys are doing. Drop your thermostat just 3 degrees and you can knock off about 10% off your bill! Much better to air things out then keep warm yucky air in! And I don’t think we’ve ever gotten cold enough indoors to see our breath… though maybe we have, and I’m just blocking out that memory. I live on the west coast if Scotland so it’s regularly cooler and wetter than the rest of uk but you get used to it and the scenery makes up for the weather. But yes, when you come visit, pack your slippers! But for some reason we don’t apply this same logic to the thermostat. :) One grandfather was beyond frugal and was in fact out and out cheap. Be thankful if you are healthy and being frugal is an amusing “choice”. Of course, don’t set it too cold or you will be too busy shivering to be productive. The Non-Financial Benefits of Strict, Strategic Frugality | Our Next Life, What’s Your “Selectively Hardcore”? Haha, yes, you’re right about MMM’s fancy cheese! Wow! Speaking of A/C, I don’t know if you follow Gone with the Wynns, but they recently did an experiment on running A/C in the desert off of off-grid solar that made me think of you guys and your Airstream plans. I am always hot and sweating. And yes, we have an electric blanket, and an electric mattress heater. We scrimp on certain things, like eating out or trips to the bar, because we don’t enjoy them and we’d rather use the money to invest in our future or travel. Not sure why that is, but it’s to the point I actually wear long johns under my clothes to work every day in the winter! That’s awesome for you guys though – that is a HUGE cost savings! Apart from the bathroom which has no thermostat in any case, I don’t have the heating switch on upstairs at all. We’ve now learned in an irrefutable way in our own lives that something society claims with near certainty (the temperate range in which humans are comfortable) is relative, not absolute. :-), I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a freeze baby (pretty strange for a guy, I think). We do keep winter temps cooler than most people and summer temps warmer (and dress and layer appropriately even indoors), but certainly not 56 degrees cool. That is why they cannot stop such a habit. There’s blankets and sweaters you could use to keep warm. We expect cold temperatures during the winter, but when highs drop to the single digits or below zero it can be more difficult to keep your house warm. Much like putting an ice pack on an injury, cooler temps in your home can reduce inflammation. I was always amazed (and HOT) when I went to friends’ houses and their heat was up at 70 degrees and everyone was wearing short sleeves. Hope you have a great week as well! Your body has to use more energy when it’s just a bit chilly in your home; all that energy used means calories burned. Does that make me a moocher for taking advantage of the radiant heat of surrounding units? Now I will add that you won’t burn calories if you bundle up. I’m doing it tonight, though, because this was the second recommendation. But then again, you are more than making up for that in the summer when you probably aren’t spending much on utilities. Then repeat, this time standing on your right leg and lifting your left. I used a space heater at my desk, lots of clothes in the kitchen and my usual duvet in the bedroom. Learn how your comment data is processed. Or, as I wrote to Penny last week in response to her brilliant post, the Privilege of Pretending, it feels like when we talk frugality, we’re really just being frugality tourists. I live in an area with cool climate and it’s winter now and for years I haven’t turned on the heat even once. Find yourself in need of better sleep? Like north of $450, which was the first gas bill we received after moving in, using the setting the previous owners had left on the thermostat, which was an entirely reasonable 66 degrees (19º C). Taking pictures when the light is good is what elevates a snapshot to a quality picture. One over five hundred dollar energy bill did that for us, the first month after we moved in. It accomplishes this by reversing the direction of Freon flow using valves that are electrically operated. We still have maids that show up every other week, because it’s worth it to us to not have another chore looming over us on our evenings when we’re not working or dealing with kids. The coldest I’ve ever seen this house, according to the upstairs thermostat, is 57 degrees, and 56 downstairs, so no one is going to freeze to death! The house is long since paid off — I did that all on my own before I got married — and I enjoy beautiful clothes and great restaurants. If personal finance can exist, so can personal frugality! ;-). Now, I’m usually cold at home, but I’m rarely cold elsewhere. But certain things just aren’t worth it to us, and apparently heat is among them. What Keeping Our House Cold Has Taught Us. Cause moms with 5 kids can’t sit down and relax. I live in a very hot climate where it’s regularly 110f+ outside. I only lived there that one winter…. I sleep very well. “I’m not going to say that I liked living in a 45-degree house, but eventually I didn’t mind it, and it taught me that one’s sense of comfort can be redefined with a bit of grit and resourcefulness. Ha! :-), I and my brothers can’t handle the cold well as we grew up in a tropical country. I mean if someone doesn’T like the cold, why would he chose to live in the mountains? The reasons your house is cold even with the heat on could be because of poor insulation, your furnace doesn't work properly, rooms with high ceilings, or your heating system doesn't cover the whole house. Have you given up anything crazy, like reasonable indoor heating, in the interest of frugality? :-) And WOW, your utility bills seem super affordable for that level of cold you deal with! Out near Crookston. But on the flip side, if it’s warm at night, I’ll have a horrible night’s sleep. Instead we use low wattage radiator heaters in both kids rooms to keep them toasty and have an electric blanket for our bed. I grew up in an old timber framed farm house, so heat ducks could only be placed on half of the lower level, and the up stairs was only heated by what heat drifted up through the staircase. We already know we aren’t perfectly rational beings. Living room windows stay open as soon as it is ~50F. I don’t think you are crazy at all, saving money does make sense and it is good to embrace the climate you are living in. Sometimes, I think people get really bent of our shape about things like this because it makes them realize how much they could actually cut out if they chose to. Is it because the cost of all the other things we’re comfortable buying is relatively low (even for a pound of coffee), compared to the extra $200 or more we’d be looking at for more heat? I don’t mind a cold house, but below 10 is too cool for me.
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