Oh yes, have her check with the gas company. I have a good-sized 4 bedroom house and my gas bill is not that high.

Also, tell her to ask if she would qualify for any assistance program that they might have.

I understand your worry. We've had to help our daughter a lot too. I'm glad you are able to help yours. I sure hope she is not on a shared meter. You said the apartment is in a very old house, so that house is probably not well insulated. Everyone's gas bills will be high due to the extremely cold winter everyone is having.

Does she have a roommate.......that would cut her expenses in half and take some of the financial pressure off.

Satine, you sound like a wonderful Mom, to help her, and she sounds like a wonderful child trying to learn how to make it on her own..
It does sound like maybe the old house where she lives is not well insulated but winter heating costs are high in the north.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fuel costs by area

This post was edited by lucille on Tue, Jan 13, 15 at 13:27

I agree about checking with the utility company...

Managing money is a learned skill. Used jeans from a thrift store....ramen noodles....that's the college life. How about a Pell grant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pell Grant info...

Wow! It's hard when you are a college student and at the mercy of what you can afford to rent.

She definitely needs to get the gas company out.

She needs to do what she can to conserve heat too. There are probably several things she can do to her windows to make them more leak proof like bubble wrap, thicker curtains, plastic or draft dodgers. Turn the heat down and wear layers. She might check the water heater to see if she can turn the temp down on it or install a timer and not spend so much money heating water.

You might get her an electric blanket if she doesn't already have one. We put ours under the fitted sheet. I turned it on about 30 minutes before we went to bed so the bed got toasty before I laid down. We turned it off shortly afterward because the down comforter keeps the heat in.

Shoot, with all she's been through and how hard she's worked to stay well, this isn't fair. Has she spoken to her landlord as to how the bill is calculated? I agree that she's going to have to find the time to contact the gas company, and surely she's eligible for financial help. I'm so glad you can help her in the meantime--many of us are doing that--to take some pressure off. Can you call her daily to make sure she's doing ok until she is able to handle the winter fuel costs?

Perhaps you can suggest she put rolled-up towels under doors, bubble wrap and weather stripping around windows, as Adell suggests; (can you send an Amazon order if she has no time to get this?) as well as a small electric heater to keep her warm so she can turn the gas heat down.

If she is on a shared meter, she needs to talk to the other renter who is also most likely appalled at the bill. My dd and her roommate got their first bigger bill in Oct. then made quite a few changes to lower it, and it has worked.

I know you didn't want advice, but I can't seem to help myself. :) I have dd's about the same age too.

When my three kids were growing up, starting as teens, it was an ongoing chore to get them to turn off appliances, lights, etc., when done, and to change out of summer clothes and bare feet in the winter when they got cold instead of turning up the thermostat. Nothing taught that lesson better when they moved out and became responsible for paying utility bills.

Old buildings in cold climates as you describe can be expensive to heat, no doubt. I'm going to guess she doesn't consistently turn the heat down when leaving and set it to a low temp when home. If the bill is for her unit only, it's easy enough to control. If it's a shared bill with another tenant or if usage isn't something she can control, that's a more difficult problem.

A very old house probably equals not so great efficiency. I live in NE Ohio in an older home that's over 1400 sq ft with a full heated basement and my gas bill has been under $100 per month. That is way out of whack. We also keep our house WARM at 73 degrees during the day. We have central air and heat.

Yikes that sounds high for a small apartment. I have a big house and my gas bill is less than that and I do have gas heating and hot water. Of course I am in the South with milder temperatures.

I was going to suggest that she check out thrift stores and consignment stores for clothes. When I was in my university days those were my favorite places.
She might consider cutting back on the thermostat and getting a tower ceramic heater fan that oscillates to use in the room she is in, a big one can heat a very large area. We got one for the RV and are really amazed at what a great job it does. It warms the entire RV, we don't even turn on the built in gas furnace.
We got ours at Walmart and I believe it was around $40 - 50 range. It comes with a remote control, is programmable, has lots of nice features, well worth the price. Maybe you could surprise her with one. I agree with the electric blanket too. I also like to wear layers in the winter and keep the house a little cool, and the bedroom I always like it cool. Those are all things we have learned, sharing your and our tips and advice can help her learn those things faster.

But I must give her and applause, she is working hard to provide herself with a good education and not expecting a free ride like a lot of kids expect. I think all kids should have to experience some aspects of this it goes a long way in better understanding of working for what you have. I know it made me really really appreciate my scholarships and funding and being able to spend more time devoted to my studies when I did not have to be working. We certainly struggled to make ends meet in those early days, I haven't forgotten that. I know what a joyous occasion it was to get a letter from mom and dad and find a $20 check inside! That was a big deal.
I know she appreciates your help too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lasko heater.

Maybe she could look into a weatherization program in her area. I don't know much about this program other than it exists in our area. My son worked a temp job with them several years ago. He did a lot of window and insulation installation.

You're right that it is very hard to watch your kids struggle.

Is this her first winter living in that house? My daughter lived in the upper floor of a house with other girls when she was in university, and only her bedroom was always freezing. They had to pay utilities, so we didn't want to get her a heater, as that would only add to the cost. DD's down duvet kept her body warm at night, but her face was always freezing. She had to take whatever clothes she planned to wear the next day out of her closet, and keep them in the living room each night to 'thaw' so she could put them on in the morning.

Long story short, we found out her bedroom had been an addition to the house, and they hadn't insulated the outside walls! I had her contact her landlord and state that she would withhold her next month's rent until he resolved the problem, or she would file a report. He immediately had contractors come in and remove the drywall from the entire back wall and properly insulate them, which solved the problem.

I think most of us are in for a shock when we get our heating bill for this month! I feel so sorry for your daughter and your worrying.

I can so relate. I have a daughter and her family who really struggle and I feel so sorry for them. Heaven knows, they certainly do their best to live within their means....both cars have well over 250,000 miles on them, I say a prayer every time they go out very far in them.

I used to send them some cash from time to time, but she asked me not to do that anymore....it makes them feel like I feel they can not take care of their family. They live in a very modest home, keep it "cold" in the winter, do without cable TV, do without things that her friends have or do. It breaks my heart, but I have to try to keep my mouth shut.

I hope your daughter finds a good reason why her bill is so expensive and a quick fix.

Thank you all for the responses. She called me this afternoon and she has talked to the gas co and also her landlord. The gas company checked her downstairs neighbors's bill (the apartments are the same) and although they wouldn't tell her the amount of the bill they did say there is something not right. The other tenant's bill is significantly lower and they have two kids and there is someone home all day as my daughter is out at work every day. I hate to say it but it sounds like someone may be hooked into her meter. It will take a little time but I feel confident that they will get this straightened out. As far as thrift shopping I'll just say this---we are known as the queens of thrift. Her apartment is furnished with dumpster finds and thrift finds. At least 75% of her clothing, dishes, bedding etc has come from thrift stores. I taught her well. As far as college she has been receiving some money each semester through FASA and I have helped with tuition. She has been able to buy or borrow her books. I don't know if she would qualify for assistance with heating but she has strong feelings about it. She feels she is single and working and that there are others who in much worse financial straights. I do point out that we pay taxes to help with those programs but she is pretty adamant. Anyway she is doing what she can to get some answers and once again, Im proud of her. Satine

You have a right to be very proud of a young lady who wants to carry her own weight and not abuse the system like so many others are doing! Bless her and I hope she gets this reduced!

Satine, perhaps she can get on the so-called budget plan with the utility company. That way she will know what her gas bill will be each month and can budget for it. Instead of getting clobbered in the cold months, they average your bill out over the year, so each month's payment is the same. I think at the end of the year you may have to pay for any overage or get money back if you paid too much.

Here's a link to my utility company's'so budget plan. Of course, she needs to get the meter problem solved, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Peco budget plan

mom? since you have more of the local stores where you're at, bet you could find a pair of jeans cheaper than a college town??? and valentines day is coming up, lol

i'm sure glad that they did find a problem and she won't have to pay what we do for a 4 br house!

What a great gal to grab the problem by the horns and talk to the right people to figure things out! I hope the gas company can get to the bottom of the incorrect charge and not charge her until things are resolved.

She sounds like a smart and strong woman. I hope the heating issue is sorted out and corrected quickly for her.

You are doing what you need to do. She needs 'an ear' and your sympathy and moral support. It sounds like she's handling this well, now that she's past the big, shocking bills.

I wonder if there is an alternative for cheaper housing. Roommates can be a pain, but half the rent is better than the whole thing -- if she can find a good match. Might there be any Seniors who would share a home in exchange for some part time help? (I'm reminded of this by our thread about dedtired's mother, who needs a driver.)

Remember how far she's come and the kind of support that has helped her get this far. Trust her to continue to be strong in the face of setbacks.

If that was gas heat, it probably also included cooking, hot water, and a clothes dryer. Her bill does seem outsized, but last month required higher than normal heating and there are other unknown circumstances that could be pushing the bill. It all depends.

It is possible that she needs to downsize her life style to fit the budget. If she lives alone and is responsible for only herself, as a college student, she could make do with a room or en efficiency apartment where the heat is furnished. That;s what I had to do when I was working my way through college. I did live in an apartment for a couple of years, but it was shared with one or 2 other guys. That was not trouble free since I had the larger income. One occupant was a free-loader and it got difficult to pry his share of the rent money from him. In the end, I fell back to a rented room to ditch the problem of shared expenses. Also, that fit my life style better during the last two years of college since I had to leave town half of the time to attend a university that offered my degree.

I'd also have her look into if everything is divided properly with it being two apartments in one old house. Perhaps the hot water heater isn't separated from the other unit and is just on her meter? The clothes dryer could be on her meter and etc etc. That would worry me. She should either have her own appliances or they should be on a separated meter that the landlord takes care of and would include it in the rent price. Another thing to consider, not trying to belittle anyone, but some kids really don't know how to control their thermostats. I have to laugh at the stories my sister tells of her girls and the thermostat. In the summer they would just go to it and turn it all the way down when they were hot. Something else to ask her is what temp does she put it on when she's gone? She should not turn it down too low or the heater will have to run and run and run to get warm once she gets home. She should just turn it down several degrees cooler than what is comfortable to live in. Does she feel a lot of cold coming in through the windows, maybe some heavy curtains would help or be sure to keep the curtains closed when it is so terribly cold like it has been lately.

Aw! I have been watching this. Glad you've gone from worrying to proud. And you hung in there. Actually, you both hung in there. Progress towards fixing her bill problem! That's your girl. Great job daughter! Great job teaching her mom.