What Are You Doing About It

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

The rise in gasoline, we see NOW. We are told to prepare for shocking prices for home energy in the months ahead.

While savoring the good old days… the finest of homes, clothing, cars… many express feeling an impact of growing prices. What are are some of the things you"re doing about it?

How have you altered your life style? How are you rethinking your good life? How are you preparing for the expected expenditures increase?

At our house, we are making these efforts:
1. Getting up earlier so as to want the bed earlier (Less TV and lighting).
2. To allow for less heat, we wear clothing that covers the skin.
3. Learning to drive 55 mph to increase MPG. (I like fast!)
4. Installing a Heatpump and insulation. (Have central A/C and oil heat)
5. Learning to cook-in Oriental and Mexican rather than eating out. (Bummer)

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

We have replaced all our light bulbs with Compact Flourescents. We saw the difference already. And as we will be needing some new appliances next year, we have already begun to research the most energy efficient replacements.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I have recently changed my IRA, 401K, and other investments to reflect more holdings in various energy sources.

As the demand for oil increases, so does the demand of every other energy source. This trend should continue, and all energy stocks should do very well.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

I have recently changed my IRA, 401K, and other investments to reflect more holdings in various energy sources.

As the demand for oil increases, so does the demand of every other energy source. This trend should continue, and all energy stocks should do very well.

Angie,
Ah ha !You must watch "Mad Money" with Cramer, too ! I took his advice and bought VLO, BTU and CHK which have performed well, however, I'm always cautious when following trends and buying sector stocks. I'll just continue to monitor them and what the analysts say. Until then, let's enjoy the ride up and hopefully, not down.
As for energy saving, I've always tried to reduce my personal consumption. Frequently, I'll hang my wash out on my "solar dryer" (aka clothesline) and combine some local errands with my power walk (bank and post office) two miles away. I do the lightbulb thing, too and light a fire on the lving room nights when heating the whole house isn't necessary.
It's the little things.
B
B

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

My husband LOVES Cramer!

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Angie,
Ah ha !You must watch "Mad Money" with Cramer, too !

hahaha...yep...I do!.....

I think we'll be alright for the near future at least. Most of mine have 90 day lock-ins. I don't see anything changing in that time frame.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

We don't live that high on the hog to start with, so no eliminating "the finest" of anything here! We're all electric, so aside from hoarding firewood for our wood burning stove (that REALLY kicks out some heat), there isn't a lot to be done for energy in the home - we have always bought energy efficient applicances, lightbulbs, etc. We got vinyl siding last year, but that wasn't so much for insulation as it was to avoid painting the whole house for ever more. I've always preferred natural breeze to AC so we'll avoid that as long as possible (helps to live among the tall shady trees). I cook a lot anyway, and we drive economical cars. I've always had a veggie garden, so in a lot of "consumer economics" things, we're already not participating. I've always been a hippie at heart, and run my own private commune!

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

Windows

We replaced our windows (house built in 1955) with energy efficient windows a few years ago, went from a Dodge Caravan to a Honda CRV and have owned energy stocks for a long time (good dividend payers).
Bart

[JoAnn Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoAnn]

We have an all electric house too, but still have to watch our bills. We keep the house 'comfortable' year 'round..meaning...when we have to heat, we don't turn the thermostat up too high and I may have to put on a sweater or sweat shirt with my jeans. Come A/C time, the thermostat is set a little higher and the ceiling fans come on. Our BIG help here is we can turn off our water heater when the A/C is running! Some sort of thermal recovery system with the A/C that allows us to turn off the water heater. And down here, the A/C runs a longer time period than ours did in the north. Other ways we conserve is by turning things off we are not using.

[Fern Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fern]

Let's see...we have an electric golf cart, and use that for neighborhood jaunts to friends houses, the community center, and to pick up the mail (at a mail store 2 miles away). That means a lot less wear and tear on the cars, and less fuel. We drive the van much less, and try to bunch errands to do them in one fell swoop.

We barbeque a lot. Its natural gas, as is the oven, but there is less impact on the whole house...doesn't warm things up in the summertime, cooking time is less, etc. When we do use the oven, we use combination convection, which cooks quicker.

I have a bottle-glass type bathroom window in the master bath, and it catches outside light and brings it in. Because of this, I can't remember the last time I put on a light in the bathroom.

Since we're in a "water watching" area, we have instant hot water 18 hours a day. It doesn't save energy, but it *does* save water, since we don't have to wait for it to heat up. We lived in an apartment for a few months previous and would have to run the water 10 minutes (!) to get it hot.

Also, we have no real grass (although we do have a patch of very realistic faux grass in our courtyard), just native plants and trees. We don't water, we drip, twice a day, four minutes a time, three times a week. No runoff, and everything does well.

We also recycle everything that can be recycled.

Fern

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Gas saving tips for your driving from edmunds

Which work and which don't

http://cnn.edmunds.com/ownership/dri...2/article.html

[funtime2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close funtime2]

When we built our house 4 years ago, we had geothermal heat and air put in. We also have tankless hot water that run on natural gas. These 2 things are a big help with energy cost. We are not doing anything new as a result of what is going on with the cost at this time because we are already efficent users. I suppose we will try to cut back on use of the car when we can.