Is the heat busting your budget?

[34saving]

I'm beginning to think I'm just a lazy slacker who needs to get over it, but what's the heat doing to your budget? Here are some addtional expenses I'm incurring:
1) AC. This one is an obvious expense.
2) Because I can't stand to be outside for long (110 heat index today and that's just TOO HOT for this native Minnesotan) I find myself shopping instead of walking/going to the playground.
3) Because we don't want to "heat up the house" (use the oven or stove to fight the air conditioning) I find us bringing home take out more often.
4) I even went to McDonalds for lunch so my 2-year-old could use the playground! (Since the ones outside are just too hot.)

So, what's the impact of the (almost) nationwide heat wave on your pocketbook?

[Ima saver]

It was 95 degrees when I went to town today, it is definately costing more in air conditioning costs. My husband has to work outside in this heat. Yesterday, he did not feel too well. I don't have any desire to go outside in this heat!

[JoyJoy]

Wow 34saving I empathize with you being in Minnesota!!! We have been hearing for days now about the sweltering heat there. I don't even want to imagine what havoc this heatwave will cause to your budget. We have high temperatures here in NY as well but not like Minnesota. I know you have cold winters, but I didn't think your summers were hot like this.

I'm the one who pays the electric bill (lucky me huh?). I don't even want to see next month's bill. I have already prepared myself for a shocker! August's bill is $170...something. Just have to grin and bear it along with the high gas prices, food, etc.

Stay cool and continue to take your 2 year old to McDonalds and tire him/her out so you can get a book, a glass of lemonade and a smile!

[Diolla]

Except for the AC which we only use to cool the main room it really doesn't impact me that much.

My laundry room is in the uncooled portion of the house and I only use the washer at night when it is cooler then hang the clothes to dry.

My kitchen is also in the uncooled area but adding to the heat is not my idea of a fun time so mostly I use the grill or microwave. When we get a break from the heat (which we did a couple of weekends ago) I do a big cooking marathon and then have stuff ready to 'nuke' for dinners. I hate eating out when I have perfectly good food at home. Lots of times we eat salad/sandwich type stuff, who wants hot food on a hot day?

Since we just turned on our AC July 1st I haven't even gotten the bill yet for the AC so I really don't know how much that is going to come in at, I budgeted higher in the summer but this is the first time we have had to use it.

I do hope it ends soon though, it is getting old.

[lrjohnson]

Yesterday was 69. Today it's 59. I am so loving the Nothern Coastal living right now. I don't bake and I don't freeze. Others sometimes complain about the quantity of rain, but I love love love the rain. So I'm set.

[Ima saver]

I never wanted a basement, now my next house will have one. It is so much cooler in the basement. My husband is going to have to insulate a big house this week. You have to wear long pants and a sweat shirt so the stuff does not get on your skin. Can you imagine how hot he is going to be??

[Bookie]

Temperatures here are running in the mid-to-upper 90s. My top-floor apartment gets a lot of sun in the afternoon. I run the A/C at 85, use fans, and close the blinds. My July electric bill was $52.74.

The heat probably has a positive impact on my other spending. I try to get my errands run early while it's still (relatively) cool. I go with lists, group my stops around a circular route, and hunker down at home the rest of the day. It's too hot and humid to spend money.

[Kirbycruiser]

My air conditioning broke in my truck and it will cost $800 + to fix it (ouch).

[Dido]

I'm with Bookie--it's too hot and humid to go out and spend. I'm hunkered down in my main room in front of the A/C. No desire to go outside!! So my electric expenses will be up but other things are down.

[Kris10Leigh]

It's not affecting me, but it is affecting my kids. They've been inside with the A/C instead of outside riding their bikes. Normally I encourage them to go outside, but not in this heat! In fact I DVR'd a movie for them to watch tomorrow to keep them occupied and that is always a last resort for me.

It's affecting the dog too. He goes out, does his thing, and comes right back in.

I'm curious to see how my energy bill compares to last year at this time.

[getforfree]

Those months when I don't have to use neither heater and AC, my bill is about $25. Last month (the end of it) was hot. We had really hot weather here in CA, about 114 degrees. So my Ac was working extra hard,day and night. The last 3 days we didn't use AC, not sure what the temperature was, but I think about 85-90. I expect my bill to be about $200, last month it was $85.

Yea, the heat is definatelly costing me money.

[tgavin71]

We have been getting reports about the heatwave conditions that a lot of you are enduring and I empathise with you. Summer temps where I am usually hover around the 100 to 104 mark. Every couple of weeks we will get up to 110 for a few days and we all walk around saying stupid things like "How about this heat?" and " Wow, isn't it hot today?"
To keep cool without blowing the budget we use ceiling fans. They are a lot cheaper to run than AC. Plus it is easier to aclimatise when going from inside to outside. My parents have their house so cold in summer that we have to take jumpers when go to visit. Then they wonder why they can't handle the heat when they come to visit us.
Block out as much sun as possible. It will reduce heat.
Use rooms on the other side of the house to where the sun in shining. At my house the backyard gets the sun in the morning and the front of the house in the afternoon. So during summer we use the backyard in the afternoon and the front loungeroom in the mornings.

[tgavin71]

Don't forget to drink lots and lots and lots of water.

[PrincessPerky]

for free AC try the library..or spend some extra and go to a museam (childrens preferably) the malls around here often have indoor playgrounds, and tables at the food court, pack a lunch and enjoy the free AC. (make sure you leave your house with the AC set a bit higher than you have it when home so you really are saving though)

[shelbylovesmelby]

no it's not busting our budget as I'm keeping the a/c on energy saver & when dh isn't looking turning it way down llllooooowwww.

Our elec/gas bill is about $25 more this past month. But that's cause of the a/c & having to water my garden 2x a day since we have had little rain & I don't want my veggies to die so watering my garden costs me whatever electricity costs me to run the well pump.

[banana]

My electric bill always goes way up in the summer months. I could average $40 without a/c with ac it goes up to 90-130 depending on how hot it is.

[Hypersion]

Just got my e bill today $125 for a 2B apartment usually it only around $60. Plus my landlord just increased my rent from $1050 to $1100.

Things are tuff all over.

[Ima saver]

I guess it is hot all over! I figure this will probably be my highest electric bill so far this year!

[debtfreeme]

Our electric is usually around 90 dollars and we do have a whole house fan that we use. If the AC goes on it is only for a couple of hours after work to initially cool off the house, then off until the sun sets, then on with the WH fan which cools us off quickly, then we sleep with windows wide open and leave the house and doors open until we leave for work (starting to open the sliding doors around 530am).
For two weeks though in the central valley in CA it was not really that much cooler during the night as during the day which is why so many people have gotten ill. The house never cooled off because it never cooled off at night staying around 80-90 at night with humidity. We tried our best not to use the AC but for about a week we did, keeping the house around 80-82. Not really cool but when it is 110+ it feels down right chilly. My one room mate who likes it really cold was out of town for a good portion of the hot weather so the other two of us keeping it "comfortable" not "chilly" should make it a little better. I am expecting it to be around 225 or less/ but split three way is not so bad.

[rob62521]

I know the recent incredibly hot temps will be hurting us. I'm asthmatic as well as have allergies so having a/c is a necessity. I know I didn't want to do much even with the a/c on because I turned it up so it wouldn't run as much. I tried to cook as much as I could on top of the stove in morning and then stashed it in the fridge to heat up in the microwave in the evening. I didn't run our big appliances until after 10. We were asked to conserve electricity.