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Gallitzen t1_j24yg9p wrote

Budget plans are an answer here. Sure, it may feel annoying to pay a little more in the summer months, but this is the time of year that it really pays to be on a budget plan.

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dock035 t1_j251rw0 wrote

Scrolled way too far to find this. Will gladly pay a little more in the summer months than $100s more in the winter months.

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Gnarlsaurus_Sketch t1_j286p85 wrote

That doesn’t solve OP’s problem of a high gas bill though, it just shifts it around a bit. If prices go way up like they have recently, the user is still on the hook for way more $$. Added fees may also apply.

Better off focusing on things that will bring energy costs down long term, such as replacing old drafty windows, adding/replacing insulation, and upgrading the heating system.

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Gallitzen t1_j2a9vfw wrote

Those are all great things you can do...if you own a home AND have the income or credit to fund them, especially given how expensive they currently are. None of those suggestions solve OP's problems either, as they're in a rented space, and there's little to no incentive for a landlord to modernize when they have artificially inflated market price profits to offset utility costs when they don't have tenants.

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SpaFixr t1_j28m50a wrote

You forgot voting democrats out of office.

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Gnarlsaurus_Sketch t1_j29ap6f wrote

political policies friendly to oil and gas companies don’t necessarily guarantee low oil and gas prices. The market dictates the price.

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_melsky t1_j26zz51 wrote

I do the budget plan because we have more cold months as opposed to warm and it just made sense. No regrets.

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rgratz93 t1_j27x2er wrote

I've been on budget since buying my home 4 years ago and it still feels like my bill has doubled in the last year and a half. I just got a bill for over 400

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bmh1990WT t1_j26ds8t wrote

Definitely agree. Way easier to budget for month to month consistantly, than get walloped after it was like -27. Especially in the area with all the old drafty homes

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CrowSucker t1_j26kf7a wrote

Plus if you have the extra money you can always pay more than the budget minimum to average that bill down over the year.

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eonerv t1_j28t983 wrote

This. Best part is (at least for me when I lived in NJ) was that at the end of the calendar year, the electric company usually will reach out and offer two choices:

  • Get money you overpaid back as a check
  • Roll what you overpaid into next year

I usually just rolled it into the next calendar year so I didn't have to pay as much.

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