My Stupid Electric Bill: Surviving the New Economy

by the author of

My electric bill was stupid high last month. I mean stupid high. Somehow, I used less electricity than I did last year for the very same month, and yet the price of electricity had magically risen enough that I paid more on this year’s statement. It’s not like I’m walking around my house, leaving the fridge door open, either. I’m being as cautious with my electricity usage as possible, and the bill is still higher.

Apparently, I’m not alone in this. Family members I have talked to about this have reported the same, with some of them saying the price of their energy bill has actually risen 30% since last year, resulting in significantly higher bills. They, too, have reported using less electricity than they did last year as well. And it appears as if this is the trend across America, at the moment.

It was in September 2022 that we were being warned in parts of the country that electric bills could potentially rise 60+% this winter, and now that we’re in it, the predictions are looking to be correct. Some people in Colorado have already seen a 50% hike in the cost of their electric bills this January as a result of rising natural gas and electric prices. Florida, Maine, BAW-stin (you have to pronounce it like that) –  they’re all paying higher electric prices, and just about everywhere you look, people are reporting similar problems.

You’ve undoubtedly seen similar price hikes in your own monthly electric bill.

But to add fuel to the fire, it doesn’t appear as if these electric bills are going to get lower anytime soon. We’re not even into the depths of winter yet. Remember that. You are going to spend more for electricity over the next couple of months simply because of the weather, and from where I’m standing, it does appear as if the price of electricity is only going to increase per kilowatt hour over the course of these next few months as well.

We’ve already discussed how the price of fuel is going to be a source of contention over this upcoming year, and if you use propane to heat your home, you’re going to see price increases there as well. (Haha, glad I bought that new coat.)

And the point I want to make here is that you really need to focus on being frugal where you can be frugal at the moment. There are absolutely parts of life where you can’t afford to cut corners and where buying quality is the way to go. But you and I both know that there are other areas of life where we can trim off the excess fat, so to speak. Check out some of the ways that you can lower your electricity usage. Figure out some of the ways that you can cut costs on your grocery bills. Audit your budget so you can figure out what you can trim and actively look for ways that you can increase your monthly income. These are all things that just about everyone can do and they’ll help you to make it through the monetary woes of 2023.

This is one of the benefits of regularly checking in here at The Frugalite.

There are regular posts discussing things you can do to boost your earnings or cut back on your spending on just about every topic imaginable.

As you look at your budget at the end of this month and wonder what on earth is happening to your bank account, remember this site because there are volumes of information here that can help you to figure out the next steps.

This morning, I’m reading Daisy’s excellent post on saving money on your electricity bill, and it’s gotten me to thinking about fixing the weather stripping on my doors and windows. I hadn’t really put much thought into doing that before, and finding ways to save money is something that I write about here on a weekly basis. There’s a lot of information here, is what I’m saying, and it will get you thinking about things that you had either not thought about before or had let slip your mind.

So do what you can to figure out how you can best protect your budget through this upcoming year.

Prices are going to go up for everything, and like a teenage boy in love, your stupid electric bill is only going to grow stupider. But if you’re regularly checking The Frugalite, you’ll find novel solutions to everyday problems that will help you to deal with this wallet pain.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some weather stripping I need to attend to.

What do you think about this? Are you seeing similar electric bill price hikes? How was your bill for December? How are you coping? Let us know what you’re doing in the comment section.

About Aden

Aden Tate is a regular contributor to TheOrganicPrepper.com and TheFrugalite.com. Aden runs a micro-farm where he raises dairy goats, a pig, honeybees, meat chickens, laying chickens, tomatoes, mushrooms, and greens. Aden has four published books, What School Should Have Taught You, The Faithful Prepper,  An Arm and a Leg, The Prepper’s Guide to Post-Disaster Communications, and Zombie Choices. You can find his podcast, The Last American, on Preppers’ Broadcasting Network.