I recently noticed that I’ve been spending less on everything this winter. It’s probably true of every winter where I’ve lived in the cold. Why? Solely because of the weather. This is not true for many people, but for me it is.
I hate and despise the cold. I try to stay indoors and avoid going outside except to go to work and back. I even wear layers upon layers of clothes because I get so cold. Thus during the winter I never go out to eat lunch. I haven’t had a meal out since October. The idea of walking outside is enough of a deterrent to prevent me from joining coworkers.
I’ve also noticed at night, I have been acting like a hermit refusing invites out to “cool dinners or bars” because well I’m cold. I don’t want to go hang out and walk around outside. I want to go home, sit in front of my gas fireplace and relax.
During the summer, I love going out with friends, biking in the evening, hanging out, etc. But I find myself unmotivated to even do dinner out alone with DH. And he’s not much better. We prefer to stay at home watch a movie, play a video game, read a book, or blog. It’s so hard to face the snow and slush and think “gee it’d be cool to go out.” Um, no.
So winter is excellent for my pocketbook. Nature forces me to stay at home and hibernate. Do you find your spending changes with the seasons?
8 responses so far ↓
1 MoneyGrubbingLawyer // Jan 9, 2009 at 9:18 am
I actually find the exact opposite happens to me! I love winter, the cold, and the snow, so winter just brings all kinds of new spending opportunities- skiing, hockey, snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, etc. We eat out about the same amount, but in winter we’re more likely to hang around longer for drinks before getting bundled up to go home. Add in significantly higher electricity bills and winter is our most expensive time of the year.
2 Miss M // Jan 9, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I absolutely hate the cold, I grew up in Virginia and had my life’s fill of cold winters. I love living in Southern California, but it’s pricey. I guess for me winter is expensive since it chased me away to a warmer climate!
3 fengshui // Jan 9, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Wow. Sounds depressing as all hell…. holing yourself up for 5 months out of the year can’t possibly be healthy for you (psychologically). I think that you need to live somewhere warmer….
I hate the cold too, but I just wear LOTS of layers and I have this amazingly warm North Face puffy coat, lots of scarves, hats, and tall boots, and I’m game. Once I’m all bundled up, I can handle the cold, but I’m not exactly happy. I have ADD (I’m serious, I take meds for it), and even with my meds, I cannot just “veg” for days at a time, I go nuts. So even if I’m not spending any money, I still go walk around the mall or somewhere, just to get out and feel “social”…. you know??? I would LOVE to live somewhere warmer, but for now, I’m stuck.
4 fengshui // Jan 9, 2009 at 5:56 pm
“Add in significantly higher electricity bills and winter is our most expensive time of the year.”
I was hoping to get some feedback from others in cold areas of the US. We just got our newest G&E bill, and I almost had a stroke. It went up from $104 last month to $269 this past month. And I thought that we were cold…. We were keeping the furnace 61 at night while we sleep, 62 during the day when no one is home (mostly), then 65 from 5-10pm when we’re here. So, now, we turned it down again to 59 at night while we sleep, 60 during the day, and 63 from 5-10 pm. WE ARE FREEZING. Seriously. I have 2 pair of tights under 2 pair of yoga pants, 2 long sleeve t-shirts, a hoodie, and 2 pair of socks. Yes, all of that while I’m indoors. And my hands feel so cold I almost want to wear gloves. I have a blanket around me at all times. Depressing.
Here is a breakdown:
11/21 to 12/26
803 KWH (electric) @ .09426 (plus charges/ fees)= $114.40
125 therms (gas) @ .82832 (plus charges/fees)= $154.66
TOTAL= $269.06
We have a gas furnace, gas water heater, gas dryer. The rest is electric, like stove, etc. Are we using too much energy? We do have new, very high quality windows and doors on the house, but the house is very old, built in the 30’s and likely has no/ very little insulation.
We have a close friend who re-sides houses for a living and he is going to help us re-side our house this summer, so all we have to pay is for materials and me, DH, our friend, and my parents and are doing the work ourselves. So, it will be a great time to put on some insulation prior to the siding. It should help a great deal.
The furnace is about 11 years old, and not the most energy efficient, so replacing that the following summer should help too. One thing at a time.
5 LivingAlmostLarge // Jan 9, 2009 at 10:15 pm
I hate to point out but I did grow up in hawaii and live most of my adult life in southern california? So being cold is a very valid point for me.
We leave the house at 55 all the time. We used 696 kwh for $173. Then 137 therms for $249. But I never notice because we pay $200/month electric and $200/month for gas all year balanced billing.
6 SimplyForties // Jan 9, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I never really thought about it before but you are so right! I do spend less in the winter simply because I hate to go out when it’s cold. I also hate to go out when it’s dark, which it is so much earlier in the winter. Those two combine to make me a bit of a hermit during the winter months, which translates to less spending.
I keep my thermostat set to 62 (down from 68 last year) at all times and spend most of my time upstairs, where it’s warmer. In spite of an increase in the rate per kwh, my bills are holding steady against last year. Not what I had hoped for but much better then an increase!
7 fengshui // Jan 10, 2009 at 1:50 am
Oh my…. 55???? Wow. I’m FREEZING with it being 61. I don’t know if I could tolerate that. You’d almost be warmer in a warm coat, hat, and scarf outside! LOL. I’m kidding.
And you guys pay $400 a month ALL year??? YOWZERS. This has been, by far, our largest bill, at $269. In the months where we don’t use AC or heat, it is usually $75. So, I guess that I shouldn’t complain. Today, we did close the vents to the rooms upstairs that we’re not using, although I can still feel the heat coming out of those vents a little bit, because they don’t close tight. I don’t know if that will help any…..
And, if living in warm places like Cali and Hawaii, it must be so hard for you to be in the cold. I know that I wouldn’t be able to tolerate that change for long. I grew up in WI, and I’m so ready to fly south….
8 LAL // Jan 10, 2009 at 8:32 am
It’s easier to budget just $200/month for electric and $200/month for gas, than to pay huge bills during the winter. Our neighbors with the same home during the winter pay around $400/month gas and $300/month electric or more. They average around $600-$1000/month total utility bills in the winter.
We rarely use A/C. Actually it’s a fight, I only use it because DH starts to die at 80, but personally I don’t need it. I’m fine and quite happy at 80+ humidity. He begs so I give in but only to 78 and getting rid of the humidity. If I have to suffer the winters, I might as well be warm in the summer.
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