My Monday Staycation

It's Monday again. I woke up exhausted and dreaming of a vacation. Just a mini would do. So, I headed out for a professional meeting and raced back to the office afterward--to look for vacation ideas on the internet.

I don't know where the word came from or who coined it. Staycation. I've laughed at the word. What kind of word is that? But, it applied here. I still can't believe I'm using it. I'm sure I'll get plenty of ribbing about it tomorrow.

I took my first "staycation." Two hours in a restaurant with my favorite sparkling water and a yummy appetizer. I enjoyed it. There was no racing through dinner. For less than $20 I was able to mentally get away for a while. $20 was a true value on a day like today. It satisfied the need without a trip away.

Maybe vacationing is more about being fully present and enjoying where you may be.

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A Crazy Way to Save on Heating Bills

I have found the most inconvenient and disruptive way to save money on heating bills. No heat at all. Ugh...

For the past few months we have had issues with the city water supply due to a roadway drainage improvement project. We heat with a boiler system. No water means no heat. Add to that, the system and plumbing was damaged considerably by debris that was allowed into the line. So, off and on, we have had no heat.



Aside from being an inconvenience, we have not been able to implement our planned heating bill reduction strategies. The new timeline will be February 1st. Plan to spend the month with us and examine sensible ways to lower your heating bills--without freezing.

So, cross your fingers, the repairs will be done soon and I can make up with the city over this incident. On with improvement!

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Day 31 Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

It has been 31 days and yet we keep finding ways to save electricity. Because it has been so beneficial for me and my family, I'll continue to blog household savings. In January, I'll be blogging ways to cut back on the heating bills. If any of my readers have experience in this area, I would welcome a quest post and link to your regular blog. Contact me at iNails at hotmail dot com.

I saved one of the biggest savers for last. If you heat with electricity, turning the heat back can save a bundle. We heat with a combination of oil and electricity so this has worked well for us. We were gifted a heated mattress pad which we warm up before bed. It costs pennies to use and keeps us toasty. I tend to turn it off once it's warm because I still haven't gotten used to the idea of sleeping on heating coils--that's another post.

I put in a programmable thermostat and programmed it to turn the heat way back starting a couple of hours before bed. Now, we really cut it back. At night the temp is set to 50 degrees. We bought some warm PJs and a sleep cap. I've even found I sleep much better when it is cold in the room. A bonus.

We have also curbed our use of the electric heat.

Don't forget, today is the last day to sign up for the monthly newsletter and get a chance to win.

Don't forget to register for the monthly newsletter. The button is to the right. At the end of December I am giving away a Kill-A-Watt meter and 2 microwave pizza trays. More goodies to come. All you have to do is register for the newsletter during the month of December to be eligible for the fishbowl style drawing.