I’d say truck on down to a TopGolf. It’s an indoor range that you can get drinks and food at.

Oh, I don’t disagree with that. This Christmas was brought to us not by Santa but by linemen out on Xmas Eve sloughing through massive storm damage. Its not for lack of gratefulness, mostly that our usage to cost wasn’t making sense year over year.

I bought a power meter for about $20 and it's handy to get an idea of what appliances use. It may make sense to upgrade appliances if you were thinking about it anyways. I upgraded the computers that I use and the new ones take about one-tenth the power of the old ones.

We switched to LED lighting many years ago and that did make a difference.

We went to synthetic clothes (mostly) about ten years ago. These clothes dry quickly and it has reduced the amount of washing and drying as they are less dense than natural fibers and about 70% of the wash is hang-dry instead of using the dryer. We have a very long closet in the basement and hang dry on the hangers.

The problem is the cost of natural gas. The New England grid relies on power produced by natural gas, and the cost of that has skyrocketed. You probably aren't using an obscene amount of electricity, it's just that electricity costs an obscene amount here in New England.

Everyone is blaming the utility companies, but in actuality, it is the natural gas suppliers that are raping and pillaging our wallets. It's no different than what went on with gas prices post covid. Supply and demand.

This is why electric cars are receiving the pushback that they are. First off, the power plants will generate more emissions than a gas car does in order for you to charge it. Secondly, you will still be at the mercy of a supplier regarding the cost of operation, and thirdly our infrastructure is not capable right now of handling the demand if we were all plugging in our cars everyday.

It's a wild time to be alive. We have put the cart before the horse in our attempts to "fix" these problems.

We have electric baseboard heat in the basement. We've been here since the 1980s and I turned it one once for a few minutes to see if it works. My office is in the basement and I have a small, electric space heater but most of the time I just get used to the cold. Even moreso with the high electricity prices. My wife is away in Singapore for five months so I'm using her office in the living room when it is cold outside.

Great list, I’ll add the water heater! Take shorter showers and cold wash laundry when possible

We moved to NH in the 1980s and what people told us is to avoid electric heat. I think Seabrook improved things with electricity prices but it's something that's always stayed with me. There's an overall shortage of electricity in New England. NH generates more than enough power for the state but a lot of it is sold outside the state due to demand. I think that we should put in another nuclear reactor at Seabrook but permitting to construction is typically 10 years in the US.

I don't know if you're aware of this but electricity prices doubled in NH last summer. So what we paid last year was a lot less than what we are paying now. We had plenty of notice so that we knew it was coming but it's still unpleasant to deal with.

My electric bill is $120 for 1600ish sqft and my oil is about $250 to keep the house at 60. Last year would have been about $60 for electric and the same for oil (it was much colder but lower prices and of course electric rates went way up). Oil delivers based on degree days not monthly but in winter it works out to about once a month. I think that electric heat is screwing you.

We live in a 1,200 sq foot home and our electricity bill was $240 and natural gas $95. We have 3 people at home during the day doing WFH. We're paying $0.33/KWH (power + delivery). It sounds like your main problem is electric heat. BTW, my son used to live in an apartment in Boston - it was an built in the 1960s with electric heat and his electricity bills in the winter were monstrous. The only consolation is that this time of the year is the worst. Bills go way down in the spring and fall and are only moderate again in the summer if you have air conditioning.

Our kids lived in an apartment that had electric heat when they were in college but utilities were covered in the rental price. It was a 2-bedroom in Lowell back from 2008-2012 and the rent was $1,000. The good, old days I guess. Back when I was renting, the prices were around $300/month.

You’re definitely not alone in this - electric bills are insane right now

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I live in Exeter, my house is 2,700 sq. ft and our electricity bill is about 200 USD. I do agree it is the electric heating

Right but how do I know what she is lol?

Drop it to 55 while you are at work and at night while you are sleeping. We run mini splits to heat a 2500 sqft house and our last bill was around $450. Windows make a huge difference too, if they are old you could replace them and it will save a ton on heating/cooling

This is my actual goal. My wife and I are Gen X, and see this as completely doable. For those complaining about not having enough opportunities for success, I have a few things to share. This is a long term goal that seemed unattainable when we were 20 yrs old. We lived in a crappy apartment and shared a shitbox car. But, stayed somewhat cautious with spending, maintained excellent credit and bought real estate in down markets. We sold our cabin in the north country for a 300% profit in 2021 and sold my long term rental property just yesterday for a nearly 600% profit. Real estate trends are cyclic. It is important to look at the long game, be patient and be ready for when the market comes back in your favor. It will happen. My wife and I are not extraordinary in any way. Some college, no money from our families, good jobs (not great jobs). The home we live in will be paid off in five yrs and we now have freed up cash for a condo in FL when the market works back around. If someone had told me 25 yrs ago that this would be a reality for me, I would have said that they had no idea what they were talking about.

My bill with a similar sized house and one person is $250 with the direct energy rate lock in at 13 cents over the summer for comparison- sadly, that sounds right

I think an association would be a great idea for everyone.

It's not defective wiring. It's systems put in place decades ago before current hosing codes. They're all grandfathered in and are fine to keep in place until you upgrade part of the system.

Yes you have to disclose, I never commented on that. I was pointing out updating it to modern standards isn't a trivial task.

You don't need an association, you just need to do some basic research. If you're unwilling to put in the time for that you'd be unwilling to read the association's paperwork too: https://www.apartments.com/rental-manager/resources/state-laws/new-hampshire

LOLOLOL! Who's your political kommisar? You must have one!

Its theft if not disclosed in a lease, and you are the thief. There is no way you should not have known that the wiring was defective. ..in most states its criminal but realistically the prosecutor will give you a chance to pay back the tenants and redo the wiring.

Otherwise, as a civil matter, you still cant steal tenants electricity. A smart tenant can recover damages, punitive damages, and force you to do the work while the lease is valid...realistically you would pay their whole electric bill for the term of the lease plus meet some reasonable demands.

Im amazed at how few tenants know their rights. The state needs a tenants association...join with a small yearly fee..learn their rights and get hooked up with an attorney if their claims are realistic. You could get a good rating and get a premium on rent for doing things right.

You know that you can charge as a high a rent as you want...just dont count on being paid if the tenant hits hard times. But you cant lie.

Ours was $560 in a 7500 square foot house this month. No electric heat though.

1. Have you put up plastic film around your windows?

2. Are your lights LEDs?

3. Are you using a power strip to turn off your electronics like your TV and other devices? You can't trust their power buttons.

4. Is your refrigerator overloaded or opened too often?

5. Do you use an electric dryer?

6. Turn it down to 60F and wear better clothing.

7. Can you feel drafts around your doors or other vents?

It’s a pretty good newish stove. Very happy with it. It does not connect to a thermostat but it does have one built into it. The power supply is a fantastic idea! Rarely lose power and not for long but things happen so prudent to be prepared. Thanks for sharing.

Even if you're not a crappy landlord you still can't do it. I contacted a bunch of electricians and they all flaked out. The one I did manage to contract disappeared before they finished.

Plus the 20k-30k cost to separate everything (real quotes), don't complain about your high rent.