I'm right there with ya curlysue. I'm 47 have had the same, decent, job for 18 years and I'm seriously having to think about getting a second job or a roommate to make ends meet. I should be able to slow it down a little bit, not kick it up a notch. It just makes me ill to think about it.

We were warned a couple of months ago that the TVA bill would be going up by about 20% or so.... and it sure did.

However, I'm still here and still plugging along.

Our electric rates are going up a lot. 30% I think.

My cable bill is going up again too. That one stings. They sent a big sob story letter about how much money they spend on On Demand programming, digital cable and other services that I don't use. I have basically the same channels I had when I moved to this area in 1999 and bought my cable from a small local company. It was $25/month back then and nine years later, after they sold out to Comcast, I pay more than double that. I do watch a lot of television but that's a big jump in price.

I had a similar experience with my propane bill. My son and his GF moved out, and my gas dryer died around the same time. So......less cooking, fewer showers, less hot water for laundry, and no drying. Then why did my propane bill go from $166 a month to $250??? The answer is a much higher price per gallon. Ye gods.

If they had hid the extra charge in the bill somewhere I would have felt better-but no there it was just glaring at me $18.96 for nothing.

Now my water bill, well that is a different story....
Water
Gas
Garbage Collection
Sewer Surcharge
Utility Tax
City Tax
Excise Tax
All of this done in festive red ink. So many different charges on the bill I would never notice a new charge. What is wrong with the electric company-they don't know how the system needs to work in order to keep people from asking too many questions.
Don't even get me started on my Dish and Windstream

Our electric bills doubled this summer and so did our neighbors. Our next door neighbors keep their air conditioner running constantly even when they are on vacation. We wonder who is paying their bills. We found out some other people in the neighborhood have had their utilities turned off. I don't know the situation behind it, but I feel sorry for the kids that live there.

We finally bought that wood stove last month and two cords of wood so we don't have high gas bills this winter. I'm not sure what else we can do to save electricity except unscrew the light bulbs so the kids don't leave the lights on all the time.

Do you folks have the Budget plan where you live?? DH and i did that years ago so our bill is the same amount every month,regardless of the season.It has gone up a few dollars or so over the years,but nothing too much.
Kathi

The electric company I am with now does not offer a budget plan. I lived on the other side of town about 15 years ago and I had a different company and they had a budget plan and I loved it. We built this house and evidently moved to a different district even though it is only two miles away from the other house. We have two different electric companies in our town-their offices are less than a mile from each other-one is notorious for being more expensive- and they admit that they are and give you a song and dance about why, lucky me-I got the more expensive electricity.

Yes, Kathy, I'm on the budget plan. I posted the other day about the increase in mine. Its gone from $197.00 to $257.00 a month. This is electric, water, sewer together. A $60.00 a month increase. As of this month, I have $552.00 paid ahead for the winter. I hope next April I get a big refund check.
Leslie

Well, living in Fl I expect to really reduce the A/C usage in the next few months, and hardly any heat, but I'm sure something will happen with the bill. I'll let you know.

Just think of it this way. If you get a "bail out" you can use that money to go to an expensive spa resort. Snort.

Linda

I was just thinking the same thing Linda. I have never been to a spa in my life, I've always wanted to go, so I'm not sure which government agency I need to contact to get the bail out but I need to get on it. I'm giddy just thinking about it. LOL

Add my name on the list of one who has never been in a spa in her life, never had a lovely massage, never had her nails done. I need a bail out too!

LOL at Heather. You have to be a little more subtle than that. You have to act like you got in a serious financial mess, through no fault of your own, and then ask for a bail out, you can't tell anyone that you are going to use the money to go to a spa. Then when you get the money, go to a spa.

You can put in a complaint to your state agency or PUC--Public Utalities Commission if you have one. If they have done rate increases without public hearings etc, they cannot do it--but then that is usually tuck in the stuff with your bill. Call and ask them when they had their public meeting to raise rates etc. Don't just talk to office--talk to the commission setting the rates.

I have budget billing for my utilities. I pay $150/month year round for gas, electric, water, and sewer.
About that spa rip off, I heard today that place charges $525/night to kennel guests dogs.

wow i thought we had fairly cheap utilities and we are on an averaging program, till i see other's think $200 a month for just electric is high! we are in orlando. we're just happy to get a $200 a month electric bill and we keep the A/C at 82 during the day and 75 at night, comfy for me but i know some of you crank it wayyyy down lol. our electric bill is amoung the cheapest of everyone i know and i know people who pay $500-700. gas is $20, water(house only/irrigation is well)/sewage/trash $56, cable/roadrunner $117. electric is the biggie for us and at that cost we are saving to go solar about $10K in 2 yrs and get off the grid ~ liz

My electric was cheaper in September than it was the rest of the summer, $84. I didn't do anything different that I know of.

Speaking of the bailout, I got an e-mail from one of our congressmen today. One I had sent an e-mail to before they voted on that bailout. He voted against it, is of the opposite party that I am and I just e-mailed him back to tell him he has my vote this coming November. I'm totally disgusted with the rest of the bunch who voted for it.

I read in our local paper yesterday that b/c of hurricane Ike (I live a few miles n. of Houston) our elect. bills (we are a captive audience --it's this Co. or no electicity) will have a surcharge for the next 15 yrs. In addition to the surcharge from TS Allison of a few yrs. ago. And now they're talking about "upgrading" the lines to better weather the storms -- i.e HIGHER rates. Being on a fixed income. . . . :-(

Of course with the gas dropping like it has all week the b@stards jacked up the price by 10 cents for our Thanksgiving weekend - they ALWAYS have excuses for the holiday weekend which is a load of cr@p...how are they going to explain this one this week? MMMmmmmmmmm?
Add my name to the list wanting a bailout. I keep telling DH we are extremely fortunate only having a cat and banking ahead when we have the opportunity (we both do contract work so it's not a luxury but a necessity). I've been shopping at charity shops for years and we are not shy buying xmas gifts...this year I've already started xmas shopping at the charity shop and plan to use my sewing skills for xmas among other skills. I'm also starting early on my home baking to utilize the sales as much as possible. Retail will have the toughest xmas since the depression. I mentioned too that this year I'd still like to give an xmas donation to our local animal shelter because I am sure they will need the help more than ever, although it will be much less than last year.
I count my blessings everyday and thank my parents for teaching us over the years the skills they learned while living through the depression.
As for cable, we're so dissatisfied with shows moving over to specialty channels we've been buying box and used movies since we have drastically cut down on going out to the theatre and restaurants. We just can't afford it. Even our home improvements have stopped for now until we are sure of our winter income. I shake my head at those who have teenagers in the house - it must be really, really rough.

Budget plans are semi-dangerous. People think they're saving money. WRONG!! You probably have no idea what you're spending! The budget plan is designed to be 9-10 months and then nothing for the remainder of the year. But people feel they are getting something for nothing so they increase their use since the bill amount is the same. So they pay an extra 2-3 months of bills. I used budget plan for one year after some roommates put me in a financial bind. Then I figured out quickly that I'll pay my bills as I go and not get stung on budget plans. I knew what to watch for so I didn't get hurt like so many do.

The common argument is that you spend the same amount each month on "budget". Well, you put the same amount in the band each month for bills and you have it when winter comes for the higher heating bill and summer for the higher a/c bill. People that can't handle these bills show why we need a bank bailout, er, "rescue, my frenshch"! :)

I decided a long time ago that there wasn't enough quality programming to justify $50-$60/mo for cable or satellite. I use the cheapest phone plan available, prepaid cell service, dialup internet. My phone, tv, cell run about $35/mo total. Electric runs $30-$40/mo subject to variation and gas, well that's a variable but I think the highest bill I had last winter was a bit over $200. It's now $25 just for the water heating and 2 pilot lights! So that's the summertime cost. I set my budgets, I don't need a utility company to budget for me.

Our electric and gas bills come from two different companies. Our elec this summer was around $138.00 all the time. We don't have AC, don't leave lights on, there's only the two of us. I like hanging clothes on the line so it's not the dryer but still get the high elec bill.

i forgot to mention that since 2004 when we had 3 back to back hurricanes and a couple every yr since our electric has gone up 300%. if you live where a hurricane could possibly strike you will eventually be paying for all that tree trimming, removal and clean up not to mention all new lines, poles, transformers and everything requirred to get you electric. electric companies here always pass on those costs and seriously if we did not pay they would either never fix things or go under.

in my city we are paying $1 million a mile to get above ground lines underground. in 2004 we went 24 days straight w/o power and keeping my DH & i going thru that cost nearly $10K in non-house damages, generator & gas and living expenses. for that i could have bought a whole house back up generator if i could have found one. we must get the system upgraded as even small storms since 2004 knock out power for a day atleast once a month. if you are retired or SAH it's no big deal to go w/o power but try keeping your work & school & professioanl life going w/o power is expensive.

everyone affected by hurricanes this yr will be seeing those fees skyrocketing. BTW those are immune from govt approval so they can be tacked on w/o approval. ~ liz