We can’t keep the house that cold either. I miss going to see more movies in the theater since I’ve become frugal. No sign of mould; haven’t had any cold symptoms or respiratory problems for at least a couple of years even though I was asthmatic and catarrhal as a child and growing up. "Your bedroom is the most important room in the house in which to keep a humidifier going," says Kelleher. No. If I try to turn the thermostat down any lower, I think there will be a cat mutiny; they’ve never shed so little fur before this winter that we’ve had the small house at 60F. Some people I know like to set the thermostat to 72 or even 70 degrees, I keep my house warmer than that in the winter LOL! I was always amazed (and HOT) when I went to friends’ houses and their heat was up at 70 degrees and everyone was wearing short sleeves. It has actually been fun and has turned into a game for us, we put a digital thermostat in our room to see how low the temp got. I set my a/c to 78/79 degrees and mom is still cold, but at least the humidity is under control and we don't have sweat dripping down our faces, besides, I'm cold … This changed my life. It’s interesting that you said that keeping the house cooler can help with inflammation. Not quite sure why we have such a hangup about our gas bill, but we are just not willing to pay that! “…And we still need TONS of help with cleaning.” There you go, no other excuse needed. We still have maids that show up every other week, because it’s worth it to us to not have another chore looming over us on our evenings when we’re not working or dealing with kids. She always had the very best skin and hand creams when I knew her. I spend my money wisely and set my priorities but aside from cutting unnecessary shopping, I haven’t really committed to doing anything extreme like what you guys are doing. Last week, a super special thing happened here: we had our first 100 comment post. As I dig deeper, I find evidence to the contrary or rather that … More likely we’ll move to the beach! I have found I can leave my thermostat much lower and save a lot and yet still feel toasty warm and comfy with an electric blanket on the bed and an electric throw for sitting in. I do use a programmable thermostat to drop it down considerably during the day when we’re not there and only turn it up from around 5-10pm during the week and the daytime on the weekends. In any calendar year in which affiliate income fully covers the cost of web hosting, photo editing and email list maintenance (currently $150/month+), I will donate all earnings above and beyond expenses to charity directly or to our donor advised fund for charitable giving, for the remainder of that year. I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. My SIL was visiting and (severely) complained how cold our 68 degrees house was! In the summer we don’t have a/c so it is warmer (I will use a fan for sleeping). Especially when the bizarro-logic attached to the thermostat sometimes means sacrificing our comfort and maybe even our safety. We scrimp on certain things, like eating out or trips to the bar, because we don’t enjoy them and we’d rather use the money to invest in our future or travel. We’re going well into the midnight hours. This discussion reminds me of an Op Ed piece from the writer Ken Ilgunas from last year. Cold walls during winter will lower the temperature throughout your whole house. Though after we retire, we’ll go find our own firewood, and then we can get things up to maybe 60 or 61 degrees F. :-). Keep your gaze forward and take up to six easy breaths. I dig it. Personal preference I guess but I am happy at 52. Cause moms with 5 kids can’t sit down and relax. Haha — no cat mutinies! Look at it as a cry for help, if you will. I really do sleep better in a cooler room ♥. Then there was my other grandmother who remained sensible but never did without that which she really wanted. And judging by today’s comments, you’re not alone. Though it was still cold down there as Dad would let the fire in the wood burning furnace die down through the night. Although… there are countries that believe otherwise and actually have their babies take naps outside in the snow! We live in northern Florida. I wish we could get there on maids — it would give us SO MUCH peace of mind, because we certainly don’t have time for real cleaning. Haha. :-) And whoa — I don’t know how you could even stand to shower at that place in KY if you could see your breath. Spinel ( 3220) “Great Answer” ( 2 ) Flag as… ¶. That is why many adults don’t know how to manage their finance and debt. Maybe one cold and have been doing this for 15 years. If I make our laundry soap, dishwasher soap, hand soap, fabric softener or hair conditioner I know the exact cost of those ingredients and how that compares to the watered down, wasteful, over-packaged store bought alternatives. Still not as low as you guys though. Understanding Reduces Fear // Lessons from the Sky, Around the Personal Finance blogosphere - March 4th, 2016, http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/opinion/this-cold-house.html?referer=, The Road Less Traveled Challenge – Our Next Life, Fessing Up to Our Most Cheapskate Habits – Our Next Life, What If We Retired Today? My dog suffers right along with me. My sister will be visiting soon, and my nephew dislikes mosquitoes. Also, I have a candelabra which holds 11 tapers, and they will warm up the dining room. In the end, I think we both have our extremes of what our tolerances can handle. But thanks for the reminder to add the rest to the reading list! Well, I never! haha Plus, I don’t want child services coming after us! I’m not an overly large person, so I get cold pretty easily. maybe. But certainly it’s a fact that plenty of people spend too much and save too little. So do some winterizing to fight off the chill. The same with our whole coffee beans or non-GMO yogurt or whatever. Wow, you keep your thermostat at 64 degrees! The strange thing: i have no idea how much it would save us…, I like that — personal frugality! We don’t want pity from anyone. I’m not particularly extreme in my frugality. A fire for sure helps! I’m not sure if the term is still used, but we used to always say we were “living well below our means”. Holy bluebird skies and…. Really liked your blog, I will have to look at more Although, I would say that in your guys’ specific case, the amount of work travel that you do, probably lends itself to even longer work schedules. had made me a lot wussier about heat! Your body gets used to that being it’s normal environment and adjusts so that you no longer feel cold. People think we’re a bit strange to keep a $200 grocery budget. Not too shabby! I don’t think I’ve ever had a larger gas bill than $40 and even that was on the high side and rather uncommon. The important thing is realizing that you have a choice. It’s true that it does require a certain amount of energy to kick-start your heating system and warm your house up when it’s cold. Most people are more adaptable than they think! Oh, and thanks for the mention! Allowing your body to be cold is great for your metabolism. Have you read his blog? If you have wood floors or bare floorboards then heat will be more easily lost than if you have carpet. Step 4: hang up satisfied knowing you won’t feel guilty about cleaning again. In the winter (heating season), I set the thermostat at 17C (62.6F) during the day and 13.5C (56.3F) at night. Even if it were just me and my wife, I don’t think we would attempt that here in South Dakota. Of course, don’t set it too cold or you will be too busy shivering to be productive. Deliciously Simple Meatballs – Grain Free, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, keep warm without cranking up that thermostat. (These days though, I stay with my boyfriend and there is no central heating here and the insulation is pretty bad…I survive thanks to my hot water bottle.). Tagged as: budgeting, early retirement, finances, frugality, gratitude. But as you noted, there are lots of examples of people coming out of the depression with a great sense of what’s truly important, and spending accordingly. Haha — that’s why PF is personal! Step 2: google “cleaning service in my area” Focus on the temperature in your body, not the house. for “book” in my last post read “blog” !! Did you know that bugs prefer warmer temps to breed and live? So, yes, I have our heat in the winter turned up to *wait for the cringing*.. 70 degrees. Does that mean that our messy house and undone laundry are intentional living too? Keep reading to find out the possible risks and benefits of drinking cold water. Okay, like I said saving money because you are using the heater less is a bit of a no brainer. Your email address will not be published. I keep my place at 80f. First, we’ve learned that even smart people can behave irrationally, which is the only way to describe applying one set of logic to certain things and a completely contradictory set to other things. He was house sitting in a ranch house in I think Nebraska, and he set it to 45 degrees all winter: Haha! The beauty of it, though, is that I legitimately love what I do so, even if I end up working a little longer, it won’t be the end of the world. Unfortunately nothing will be done. This post, and particularly your conclusion, is really in line with a topic that I’ve recently heard Tim Ferris discussing on his podcast that he has drawn from stoic philosophy. Secondly, I give you serious congrats on being able to acclimate to your thermostat being that low. In general we do not run the heat at all it stays off.My husband, daughter and 1 roommate never complain about being cold. Thanks for an informative post — hope it inspires some readers to put on sweaters and keep the heat down! Definitely encourage others to read his stuff! I think this is great. With love and thanks for a great book! Germs can spread around the house through contact, air (coughs and sneezes), raw foods (e.g. Oh, we’ve fully been those moochers! :-) Though what’s our excuse? Much like putting an ice pack on an injury, cooler temps in your home can reduce inflammation. And haha, yeah, I’m the same way with lights. Is it because we like the challenge of having to adapt to something different? Yes! When you need to go buy more organic grocery items, it’s a health/environment issue, so you shell out. You could easily spend $400 a month with A/C here in the summer time if you kept it closer to 73 or 74. He talks about going a week every 3-6 months with the barest of essentials, no showers, change of clothes, minimal and cheapest of food, heat down, etc. Sure it feels warm by the fire, but every Btu that goes up the chimney is replaced by cold air pulled into the house elsewhere. If someone you know is in a group facility, pay attention to the inside temperature and to whether that person is dressed warmly enough. Yeah…the thermostat is not something I’m going to budge on. We never consider forgoing things we need, we only occasionally forgo things we want and our fill-the-bucket list is very full. Like Income Surfer mentioned, it’s all about intentional living, thereby utilizing your finances to best further your own agenda and goals. To keep it cold would allow for the dampness to ruin many things. As I’ve gotten older and my circulation has deteriorated, I find 67 to be reasonable during the day, but anything less makes me terribly uncomfortable. Everything on this blog is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to substitute for obtaining professional financial advice. Another thing to note about weather strips and caulk … I do not like the cold. :-) And hey, if temperature is important to you, then YES, pay for it! We have an interesting strategy to make the most of the heat we do allow though. We’d love to hear it all! It’s certainly not that we don’t like to be warm and toasty. Turning your thermostat down 2 degrees can save 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Our overall utility bills have dropped significantly over last year. Everybody wins! Mrs. SSC keeps it around 80 F if she has her say about it and I crank it way down to 78… On the occasion I turn it to 77 or 76 F, then she starts complaining about it “being cold”…. I would feel so good if my husband didn’t insist on keeping our house above 80 degrees F at all times, sometimes warmer. A cooler room means you’ll fall asleep quicker and you will sleep more deeply! Loved Walden on Wheels, loved that NYT piece. Just got back from skiing in Utah last week and forgot just how blue that sky is and what skiing on real snow is!