Entertainment Environmental Frugalness

I am assuming that since you are reading here that you are trying to find ways to save money or redirect money for the things, events, life that you want. One of my biggest compliants is my power bill. December is ALWAYS my highest month. I don't even have a lot of Christmas lights. Some candles in the window and lights on the tree. However, with the dehumidifier running in the basement, power tools going for the reno and it staying dark way longer, our power bill goes up.  Our kwh rate here on the Island is currently $0.14/kwh. I know that if it's not the highest in the country it's close to it. Whomever is reading this do me a favour and comment and tell me what your rate is for your electric/hydro rate is wherever you live, it only takes a moment.

In our home we like to every once in a very blue moon go out to eat as a family. I have a hard time justifying someone else cooking for me and entertaining our children at the restaurant when I can do the cooking at home and the children can play before and after dinner. Since we are a family of 6, going out to eat can cost a pretty penny. Doing anything like movies, amusement parks, festivals, etc can cost a fair amount, but I don't want my children to never experience fun away from home. So we have a deal and I'd like to propose (since it is the month of love) it to you, my readers.

Take a look at your budget for your power/hydro bill. It's the most you want to spend right? Pick an event, place or whatever you want to do as a family. Now, every month that you spend less on your power bill then what you have budgeted, sock it away until you reach the amount you need for your family celebration! If you do this as a family, you will be surprised how quickly you can achieve your goal! Everyone starts turning off lights and doing things that don't require as much electricity and you are helping the environment! Win win situation!

In our home, for the December bill (our power bill is monthly here) was just over $200. We have an electric hotwater heater and renos and what not. Usually, I have it around $150-$160 in the winter. So now every month that it is less than $200 that money goes towards a trip to Shining Waters, or another event this summer for our family or if we decide to go out to eat one night.

Let me know what you do in your home to save for events that you want to do and how much you pay per kwh. I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy your day!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Amber said...

What an excellent idea! We are very conscientious about keeping our energy costs low.

Thank you for your comment on my post at MMB. I haven't heard that Michael McLean song, but I will check it out (and have a box of Kleenex waiting). As silly as it sounds, I was crying while writing about my sister's experience. I think because I am a mom now I am more enlightened about the sacrifice.

Sara said...

Good idea! One of the ways we keep our energy bill down in our house is by unplugging things that are not in use. Its amazing how much money we save just by being conscientious. Whenever we go away for a few days I unplug everything, this month it saved us ten bucks on our electricity bill! Its a little extra work, but in the end it saves money!

Carla said...

We manage to keep our electricity bills pretty low, about $50 a month or less if we're careful. We hang everything to dry, use all energy efficient bulbs, turn off or unplug things not in use, use the crockpot and bread machine instead of oven, ect... We currently have two freezers for food storage and I'm working on only having one in use to further cut energy costs.