Save a buck this winter

My parents just returned from a two-week vacation to Arizona, where they went to visit some friends. This is the third year winter in a row that they?ve gone to Arizona. Before they left, my dad told me he likes to go at the end of January because it ?breaks up the winter.?

Iowa?s winter can be very dreary if it?s windy and cold for months on end, so I can understand my parents? desire to take a vacation from it. But who would need a vacation from this winter? This is the warmest winter I can remember. I think it has been great, and my wallet couldn?t agree more. My heating bills are considerably lower than they have been in years.

I have never met a thin person who liked the winter, and I am no exception. Even with multiple layers of clothing on my torso and legs, my hands and feet are cold all the time.

When I moved into my first apartment in Webster City I tried to live on a very low budget. In the summer, this meant using fans instead of the air conditioner. Even with the fan on high and all the windows open, it was hard to get through June and July. My dad told me that he grew up without a fan, so I reckoned that if he could go without a fan I could go without air conditioning. I turned on the AC when I finally tired of getting stuck to the couch.

I tried to save money in the winter, too, by using as little energy as possible. I set the thermostat at 65, which felt like it was warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing but not warm enough that you could take your jacket off. You just have to get used to walking around in blankets ? over your snow pants. I didn?t think that setting the thermostat at 65 was unreasonable but my landlord made me feel like a natural gas-glutton. He set his thermostat at 60! I don?t know how he did it. He must have worn multiple Snuggies. I bet he saved a lot of money on refrigeration, though.

My landlord lived directly below me, so before the winter started I assumed that I wouldn?t need to raise the thermostat very high because my apartment could be heated partly by his. Well, that doesn?t work if the person below you wants to live in an ice chest.