How high was your home heating bill this past month?
http://youtu.be/qJUFTm6cJXM
i am on the budget plan.
me too
We got the arctic cold snap here in MD also.... my gas bill was about $240 for
end of December and first three weeks of January.
:(
Our nat gas budget is $60 a month.
Notice how you don't hear or see any FrackPots detesting fracking as their as#%s freeze.
I believe the animalistic part of their biology kicks in as they turn to self survival.
BG, Billy, Dennis and IWT are most likely saying "Damn its COLD, they need to FRACK more, I'm freezing my As# off :laugh:
It is because of Fracking that WE LOCALLY pay $4 while China and Europe pay $14
By simple conservation and the fact that I'm on the budget plan, my little pile of moola inches upward, and it's no thanks to the "Anties", but then being the skin-flint miser that I am, I don't run around throwing my stash willy nilly at every new business that opens up around town.
Arther Godfry rightfully observed "For free, take; for buy, waste time."
I'm no expert on the topic of environmental issues, and don't pretend to be, but I learned a great many lessons on economics from my beloved Father and Mother who did come out of the Great Depression, and those lessons have served me well these many years, so I don't go off in a panic over the results of weather like we're having this month.
Look at it this way ... come spring the water supply will be greater thanks to the snow ... good clean water that Mother Nature has provided us with no intervention from the "Anties".
and the water from the oceans and lakes vaporized, thanks to the sun
when cooled, the moisture falls to the earth as rain or snow
and the snow will melt thanks to the sun
Ron, we get it....gas makes more sense in the winter for heating....
but why are you so hell bent against solar and wind energy to help power America in the summer and reduce our need for fossil fuel then?
Are you so afraid that once wind or solar is more widely used scientists and engineers will eventually make alternative energy much more
energy efficient than fossil fuels and you'll no longer get a paycheck from grabbing land for fracking?
When I was a child lo those many years gone by, weather like this was the norm, and folks heated their homes with coal. We were as snug as a bug in our homes, and as happy as Blue Birds singing their hearts out in the trees outside. We children didn't get any snow days off, nor did the schools close down because it was too chilly. We bundled up and went to school and had a jolly good time doing it.
Today's youth are spoiled silly and we wonder why we can't say that this is the greatest generation, while we heap more benefits on our children that they either need or deserve.
The only school bus service was to bring rural children into town and back home. Our lunch? We went home for lunch.
Oh and yes, people back then didn't need to be shamed into shoveling their sidewalks either.
Irishbobcat,
Your comment made me think back to an article that was on the internet yesterday.
www.greencarreports.com/news/1089876_electric-cars-solar-will-they-make-gasoline-utilities-obsolete (http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1089876_electric-cars-solar-will-they-make-gasoline-utilities-obsolete)
What assistance programs are out there if people have trouble making ends meet with this year's high heating bills?
Dennis,
Always have been a simple man, science has not yet enabled solar, wind or anything else to service mankinds guzzle for energy. Natural gas and oil is it for now.
Billy - Dominion East Ohio has a budget payment plan, like most gas companies. They
look at your bills for the last 12 months, take an average and set up a fixed monthly
budget payment amount.
Once a year, in the summer, they make adjustments to your budget payment if
your actual usage/bills are or more or less than projected the previous year.
My property on Illinois Ave by Wick park had a monthly budget payment of
over $400 when I bought the place several years ago. My gas bills are now
down by almost 60% due to decreases in the price of natural gas in Y-Town
since that time. Supply is much higher, thanks to shale plays and fracking.
Here in MD, we have H.E.A.P. - or Home Energy Assistance Program. Help
is given proportionate to your income, and our local laws here prohibit gas
companies from stopping service for non-payment during the coldest parts of winter.
Youngstown area has home weatherization programs for low income
people - this helps to permanently reduce their fuel expenses, versus
financial assistance with huge heating bills caused by older, poorly
insulated homes with drafty windows and doors, and inefficient heating
systems.
There are also local charities through the Catholic church(es) in Youngstown.
I have a friend who used to get help with his gas bills because because
he is retired, and low income.
Allan-Thank you for the information.
Billy: Here's the link to the Ohio H.E.A.P. program. It will answer all your questions for you.
https://development.ohio.gov/is/is_heap.htm (https://development.ohio.gov/is/is_heap.htm)
Thanks TownTalk!
My recent home heating bill was $76.00
My last bill was $225. But I'm happy with that, because my new house is: 1700 square feet, (2x the size of my west side house) has no insulation yet, has a 60 year old furnace, and the windows haven't been restored yet.
Quote from: Towntalk on January 25, 2014, 12:45:26 PM
Billy: Here's the link to the Ohio H.E.A.P. program. It will answer all your questions for you.
https://development.ohio.gov/is/is_heap.htm (https://development.ohio.gov/is/is_heap.htm)
I thank God for HEAP. There is no way we would have made it through this winter without those budgeted bills.
I'm really glad that they helped. This winter has been murder on all of us, but particularly for those who's income qualifies them for this program. Getting hit by high heating bills on top of other major expenses that can't be avoided isn't fun.
How many able bodied people get HEAP in Youngstown while most here have to "sweat-their-brow" to pay their share?
How many in Youngstown get Heap and assistance and yet are "Fractivist?"
hmmm, I am able-bodied, and I work. Yet my income qualifies me for this program, for which I am extremely grateful.
But to answer your questions... I don't know. Do you?
I don't honestly know, nor do I know just how applications are verified.
Are there cheats? As with any other program, I suspect that there are, but before I get too harsh, I want more details.
As I said I'm not on this program.
Peggy, for families like yourself, there is no problem whatever. That's what it was created for.
TT,
I have no problem helping the genuinely poor and invalids, no one can question what my wife and I do for community for the past decade. That being said, when I see someone or family on assistance, my first question, is:
1. Are both parents of the assisted children supporting in any manner?
We're on the same page of the same hymnal my friend. I can look at my own extended family and see individuals who for one reason or another needed help. After my father died, Mother and I had precious little to live on, but, Mother never even considered welfare ... she went out and got a job. What gripes me is the fact that there are those who have made a career of welfare ... not just for themselves, but for the next generation.
Here I am, going on 75 ... I had good paying jobs all my adult life, but unfortunately none of them had retirement benefits, so all I have to go on is Social Security, yet thanks to the way I was brought up, I can hold my head high, and not ask anything from anyone, nor do I have to depend on local food banks, yet manage to keep a full pantry, and can go to sleep at night knowing that all my bills are paid in full, and should an emergency arise, I have someone who is covering my back.
What more does anyone have a right to expect?
Oh yes, all my bills are paid by me, and not some agency. I do not begrudge those who need help, and would never look down on them, for I very well could find myself in the same boat.
Great reply TT. Unfortunately, I am not in the same boat, nor is my mom.
As you know I have a son who has Autism and I am his sole caretaker. His father does pay child support.
He is a disabled U.S. veteran, and does pay child support. It has been 10 yrs since I've had a job that offered health coverage or retirement.
The ones that did offer health coverage charged us employees so much that we couldn't afford it. So for a time I was on assistance. But when I received a small increase in the child support check, the medicaid was discontinued. My son has partial health coverage through his father's military benefits, but they do not cover dental or vision, so he does have coverage through medicaid - it is secondary to the military coverage. Thank God he has it, as he's had to have 3 surgeries on his eyes, and two dental surgeries. Yet another eye surgery is scheduled for June. He is 14 yrs old.
As for me, I have not had health coveragefor the last 5 years. I am eligible under the expanded Ohio Medicaid plan, but have not applied for it, and not sure that I will, even though I could. I have never applied for food stamps, and refuse to do so.
I, too, am appalled at those who have made government assistance a habit. They get health coverage, food stamps, etc, yet drive nice cars, wear expensive jewelry, and buy steaks and lobster tails. I would rather we eat our hamburgers and pork chops and mac & cheese knowing I bought it with honest work, than live like that.
Don't put your long johns away yet ... more snow on the way. What a bummer! These old bones are crying out for warm weather to finally arive.
I took my long johns off Sunday to get them washed ... after wearing them 24/7 all winter long they stood up on their own. Oh well, at least they're clean again.
LOL!
I didn't and don't wear long johns. I am one of those crazy people who LOOOOOVE cold weather!
Fortunately, my son takes after me in that respect.
Peggy,
You might wanna check and see what kind of benefits you qualify for under the new health care laws. They
were intended to help folks like you, who are hard working and decent folks trying to taken care of
someone. From the little bit I've read the government will help pay for your health care based on
your income, etc.
Bless the little man in your life. My mother was a group home parent for autistic children when I was
young - my heart goes out to you.
:)
Thank you so much Allan.
For the first time in almost 7 yrs, I finally have medical benefits! YAYY! Now hopefully, I can get my myriad of health issues taken care of, so that I will be around long enough to make sure my boy is capable of taking care of himself into adulthood. That is the plan. ;)
God bless your mother for taking care of those who could not take care of themselves.
It takes really special people to give of themselves in that way.
Yupp....my mother is a very special person, indeed. She worked at group homes in
Sharon and Masury, back in the day.