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Interesting Tidbits...

January 5th, 2008 at 07:02 pm

Well...

Yes I did post enough today. But I went to work and the electricity was still out (should have called - doh). Not even confident it will be back on tomorrow at this rate.

Though I am glad I made the decision to flee yesterday. Right away.

I picked up a file I regretted not having (luckily lots of sky lights in the office, and a sunny day, and all that, so I could even see my way to find a flashlight. Never would have found the file without the light though (though a cell phone is good for light when you are flashlight-less. Of course I didn't think of it at the time. Double doh).

I decided to take the day off. I can work in the wee hours tomorrow morning and head off to the office to clear some stuff off my desk if the electricity comes back. Otherwise - O.M.G. I have So MUCH to do!

Just cramming more to next week. Bah.

Another reason people pay so much to live here. So we don't have to deal with weather like this. The last 2 years though, I don't know...

Anyway, the fam was heading out to shop so I decided to be productive. I printed out most of my online statements. I really never do, and have switched to much electronic over the last year. I figured I better print out stuff for my records. I am considering keeping an electronic copy as well. Don't know if it is overkill, but paper copies only go so far. Particularly in a disaster (top of mind with weather like this).

So I made much progress. I found it easier to print some Quicken registers than the stupid banks that only had monthly statement options. Bah. (Thank you Vanguard for having YTD reports, easy to find and print. Yay!)

So while at it I decided to print a year-to-date register, all inclusive register from Quicken. I glimpsed a little more from these reports than the comparisons I already shared.

For example, all our dining out was McDonalds, Greek, Togo's, Indian, Round Table, Mongolian BBQ, Taco Bell, Sizzler and a few random places. We only went to Cali Pizza Kitchen once all year? Bummer. We've been doing less sit down dining for the budget (not that we did much before).

We did get a new Sizzler which we love, but rarely go to. Very pricey (particularly lunch - very pricey).

We only went out to the movies twice it appears. Which is good since dh insisted he needed a home theater and he does watch a good 3-5 movies weekly (if not more). HE takes advantage of the home setup, for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if it was cheaper than going to 5 movies a week. Actually, I Am quite sure it is.

But the utilities are what I find interesting, since I did not look at the breakdown by category before.

Cable/Internet $958
Gas/Electric $1123
Telephone $1335 (yes we love our telephones!!!)
Water/Sewer/Garbage $1113 (Flat rate)

Yes, we spent just about the same exact dollars on gas/electric as water/sewer/garbage.

& so when I complain about expensive water I mean it. (the lion's share is sewer and water).

With our switch to metered I expect water to go down a good $200 this year. Perhaps more... Woohoo for that. Sewer is still flat $30/month.

Our cable will go down by $120 "just because." (We actually get more channels now too).

Anyway, someone was telling me the other day her friends with a bigger house around here has $450 monthly gas/electric bills in the winter. She was asking us wasn't our bill insane? I said I paid $80 last month, and really, I don't think she believed me. LOL. I don't know what the hell these people are doing. ????? I am tired of people assuming we have $400+ energy bills. O.M.G.

I am not sure I could have a $450 bill if I tried... Yeesh.

1 Responses to “Interesting Tidbits...”

  1. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1199582552

    Husband told me of someone who is planning ways to get his $700/mo utility bills down. What?! But I'll admit $80 sounds great to me.

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