Ok frugal people

when do you turn your furnace on?
I try and hold out till Nov. LOL I dont know if thats going to happen this year tho!
Thankfully my house hold heat very well so during the day the curtains are wide open to let the free heat in! At night I close them all and it does help! If I use the oven I leave the oven door open when finished to help heat.
How or what do you do to cut your bills?

BTW I am still looking for firewood! Some crazy fool on kijiji will sell me wood but wants 50. a cord to deliver LOL LOL no thanks

Porter Lumber in Dover used to have a good price for a load of slabwood. I don't know if it still is or if you have the room for that much.

I had it on one night a week ago, although I generally like it ice cold, that one night was just to much

we had heat on this morning for a hour

I'm pretty frugal when it comes to the furnace.

First....I'm always hot....like being cool....the weather this time of the year is perfect for me.

Secondly...I'm just too darn cheap to turn the darn thing on until absolutely necessary. My windows are open all night long this time of the year....

When the kids start complaining that it's cold in the house, I tell them to put on an extra sweater.

It's a running joke in our family that when you come to visit, you better be wearing your long johns and don't take off your coat. My Dad has sat at our table for 2 hours wearing a hat!

LOL I keep it cool in here also and tell my kids to put some clothes on. I do like my heat tho

Our home is not far from the 403 so we can hear the drum of traffic all day and all night but especially at night. Our windows are open during the day but always closed at night. (I can hear the grass grow so you can only imagine how the sound of traffic keeps me awake!! LOL) We love to have it cool in our house so the furnace isn't turned on for a long time. HOWEVER, the a/c might be on more than others because we do like it cool for sleeping. (No a/c now though!)
I try to really cut back on gasoline consumption. My dog and I walk an hour every day, good exercise for both of us. Errands are planned to be done efficiently for time and fuel. (Admittedly, sometimes I go to the grocery store using my hubby's car...chuckle chuckle) I use about a tank of gas per month.
I also quantity cook so that not as much energy is used for the next meal. I buy my meat on special and plan our dinners around that. For produce, I try to shop at the market. Perhaps it's not always cheaper, but fresher and supporting our farmers. I make my own home cleaners. I do our home repairs as much as possible. I watch for specials at the Bay and use Bay Points. Last year, I was able to purchase a well made full length coat, a shorter coat and "half a purse" using the Bay points I had saved for a couple of years. I share books and pick up used books at the Book Exchange. Use the library for informational books. I'm a bargain hunter.
Another great way to save money is to have your kids grow up, get a job and leave home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't turn my furnace on until November if I can help it. Maybe for an hour some mornings but not yet. Once the furnace is on I keep it at about 68 during the day if I am home and turn it down to 65 overnight. That might be a little hard to do with a daycare Leslie. You don't want the kids catching cold or their parents might get upset if your house is too cold. I like to be warm also but I just put a blanket over my lap when I am reading and that seems to help. Cheaper than paying Union Gas!

When you do turn the furnace on make sure your changing that filter atleast every 2 months, and don't use the cheapest ones either. Mid-price range seem to do a good job. Another way to cut costs is to caulk around all windows etc. use weather stripping around the doors. I wouldn't have thought it would make that much of a difference but it did show up on our bills last year. My sister uses a programable themastat. It turns the furance up about 6 a.m. and it runs at that temp till about 8 a.m. then cuts back again in the afternoon it comes on about 4:30 and runs till about 8 then cuts back again till the a.m. In a house with little ones you may not be able to do this but she uses a lot less than we do and she also has 3 bedroom home.

We use a washable filter in our furnace. Once a month it gets washed. We have to replace it about every five years. Another cost cutting feature!
My hubby offered to colour my hair for me and cut it too. I smiled sweetly and softly said...Not in a milliion years!

jjgrinder wrote:

I'm pretty frugal when it comes to the furnace.

First....I'm always hot....like being cool....the weather this time of the year is perfect for me.

Secondly...I'm just too darn cheap to turn the darn thing on until absolutely necessary. My windows are open all night long this time of the year....

You sound like me!

I just shut the air off this week

Gebo wrote:

I just shut the air off this week

LOL I only had the air on once this year~~~