I announced that each month I would share with you my utility bills along with any changes that we have made around the house that may raise or lower the bill.
I am going to totally re-do this post completely! I will have to!
My brother recently was laid-off from his current job. My husband was able to get him a position at work with him and now we have added 3 more people to our household (him, his wife, and their 3 month old son)!
I let you guys know previously that I set my nephew up with a year's supply of diapers, wipes, and other baby toiletry items so buying these items will not be an issue for a while to come! His clothes are also plentiful for at least another year!
We plan to have them stay with us for 3 months! During this time we will have to make many adjustments to our living space, our budget, our meal planning and tons of other items! Our monthly bills will definitely get higher with 2 more adults in the house!
Our house is not huge. We have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, dining room, kitchen, basement room, and my husbands music production studio! My office is downstairs in the basement room along with part of my stockpile and the laundry room! This room would've been an ideal living space for them, except for the fact that the laundry room is in here and their privacy would be interrupted 2 or 3 times per week with me doing laundry!
We have decided to give them our guest room and my nephew's crib will be set up in my daughter's room! She is a heavy sleeper! He is sleeping through the night and usually wakes up about time that I have to get her up anyway! (She absolutely loves having him here...she's such a big helper!)
Many of you possibly may (or could) find yourself helping others out in this way! Especially since the economy still hasn't picked back up and layoffs are continuing! You will be able to follow along for the next three months to see how ones family adapts to helping another!
I would like to share with you our adjustments to our budget along with any other changes that will reflect our monthly "outgo".
As of right now I have a $100/week budget on groceries! I don't plan to change it right in the beginning! I have enough stockpile to feed an army but at the same time I don't want to deplete my stash either! I plan to have them contribute another $50 per week to accommodate for feeding more mouths meat! We all know that meat is the most expensive part of a meal and we will need more of it! Up until now I have portioned out our meat into 3 servings before freezing it! Now I will have to portion it to 5 servings plus (leftovers for lunches).
Our last electric bill was $160 and Novembers bill should not reflect their stay with us! We won't see a change in it until December!
Our last water bill was a little over $15 (due to a car wash) but has been averaging $11-$12!
Our garbage bill will stay the same at $36 every 3 months!
Our phone bill will go up! We will add 2 more lines to our AT&T cell lines @ $9.99 each (in which they will be paying their part of). This will allow them to have a cheaper service if we combine theirs with our current 3 phones (me, my husband, & my mom). I will post the new bill once we realize the cost!
I will also post more on ways to entertain a house full of people for free or close to free as we can get! I think many of you will be able to grab some creative ideas for your own family!
This is not the first time we have opened our home up to help out friends and family! There have been pros and cons of doing this. We have had instances that have not worked out at all. We are so fortunate that the failing of the economy has not affected our lives and if we can help out another family or friend...we will!
Showing posts with label Saving Around the House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saving Around the House. Show all posts
Sunday, November 16, 2008Wednesday, November 5, 2008Have you turned you heater on yet? We went almost 1 1/2 weeks without having the air or heat on! YEAH! This last Wednesday morning...I couldn't stand it any longer! It dropped to almost freezing over night and when I woke up it was 45 degrees in the house! OUCH! We are find in the bed, all snuggled up...but boy, when you get out of bed and hit the floor it's awful! Right now I have the heat set on 60 degrees! We will see how long that lasts! We usually put it on 65 or 68 but we are going to try and lower it this year to help save electricity! Our usual electric bill in the winter months is $160-$180! I have already hit $160 for the September/October Billing Cycle! Can't wait to see what next months bill will be! I will keep everyone posted, so that you can see if any of the changes I am making around the house...are, in fact, making a change in the savings, and so far they are! We also have a fire place but we've never used it! Quite frankly...I am scared too! I worked in insurance and so many times things would catch on fire due to the fireplace (from neglect)! I really wouldn't know how to do any of it anyways even though I grew up with one that was always going!
If you have any great tips to share, please do so! I actually would be personally interested in someones view on the pros of properly using their fireplace! Sunday, November 2, 2008My Toaster Oven Vs. My Electric Oven WHICH IS BETTER? For those of you who have or are in the market of buying a toaster oven...this article is for you! I usually use my oven around an estimated 4 times per week! Each time I have to preheat it (about 5-10 minutes depending on the temp) and cook in it (on average about 45 minutes each time but could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the food I'm cooking). Prior to the toaster oven I have now...my last toaster oven was a fairly small one with only one shelf, only allowing me to cook english muffins or garlic toasts etc. My mother purchased a GE toaster oven w/ roasting abilities but it ended up being too big for her counter space. She offered it to me and I took it! It has become a life saver:)! Since last March, I have only turned my regular electric oven on 3 times to cook in bulk. This has saved me tons of money on electricity alone. Each time you use a regular oven in the summer, not only are you using up electricity to run the oven but you are making your air conditioner work harder to keep the air cool as the oven throws off some serious heat while it is turned on! My toaster oven takes the same time to cook as the regular oven and uses far less energy to run and doesn't heat up the kitchen either! If you are in the market for a new toaster oven, I highly suggest going bigger (if you have the counter room) to accommodate cooking full meals in them. Here is more information on the one that I purchased with pros and cons... Note: I would still check around on one that will suit your taste and individual needs. Companies are constantly coming out with new models to accommodate what they think customers want! Pros
Cons
Accessories that come with it! 2 wire bake racks 2 cookie sheets that hold 9-12 medium cookies each. Drip pan and broiler rack. Tray/rack handle – to remove hot trays & racks (this hasn't worked for me that well! I just use pot holders to remove the trays and pans) Rotisserie – fork and spit Rotisserie handle – for removing spit when hot A small manual with limited instructions and warnings, a few recipes, and timing guides
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