[vendigirl]

Since I installed my programmable thermostat my equalized payments have gone down $15 a month- that's $180 a year! Well worth the $25 investment. Ands this is in spite of the fact that we had central air installed two years ago- so we actually use more gas to run that in the summer.
We have been doing the usual winterizing- new door sweeps, weatherstripping, sealing what leaks we can, and putting plastic sheeting on the windows. All the windows in our house need to be replaced, which is pretty pitiful for a house that's 15 years old. We likely won't do that until the mortgage is paid off in 2 years, so until then we have to have ugly plastic on the windows or freeze when we sit in front of them.
I've also been trying to open the curtains and blinds on south facing windows on sunny days and if I find it cold in the house I'll bake something to warm up the kitchen and living room- which is where the kids and I usually hang out all day anyway.
So far the weather has been amazing where I am. We had a high that was 15 degrees (celsius) over the normal temperture today. A few weeks of great weather will take us a long way to keeping our overall heating costs down this winter.