We didn’t get to go to Missy’s funeral yesterday because our car broke down.  I feel bad that we couldn’t go, but what could we do?  There’s going to be a remembrance dinner for her sometime in the next couple weeks, and we won’t miss that.  I think Hubby’s Dad’s band is also going to throw a benefit concert for her kids. We’ll help in any possible way we can.  I’d love to be able to donate a large sum to them, but it’s just not possible.

We’re currently struggling as it is just the two of us thanks to car breakdowns, taxes, and now a huge increase in our power bill.  We new Blue Ridge was increasing rates for the area, but we weren’t prepared for what we received.  We were expecting a 40% increase which I think is just ridiculous when the entire world is struggling right now, but what can you do?

According to our last 3 power bills, we actually received closer to a 60% increase!  Our power bill is normally between $90-110 in the winter months because we use our wood heat, and we don’t have to pay a heating bill.  The last 3 months our power bill hasn’t been under $170. I freaked out thinking something was wrong with our hot water heater or something, but Hubby had everything checked.  I talked to a few family and friends to compare bills, and after I figured their increases we all fall in the 50-60% increase range.

I seriously don’t have a clue what we’re going to do when the summer months get here.  $170 is a high bill for us when we’re running the AC.  I freak out if we hit $200.  I don’t know what I’m going to do if I get a power bill for $250-300 or even more.  I know it’s something I definitely won’t be able to afford.

I know there are people out there who say think about your options, make sure your house is energy efficient, etc.  My house is as energy efficient as it’s going to get.  We have a drafty house in the winter because it’s old, and it’s almost impossible to stop all the “leaks”.  Having wood heat means it’s not going to matter either way though because we heat it for FREE.  In the summer I only use the window AC units when I have to, and most of the time I rely on the awesome breeze we get daily along with the ceiling fans in every room.  Hubby’s the one that tends to turn the AC on when he comes home, and he might just have to learn to deal without it.