Goodbye long-ass winter

This winter was cold...cold and LONG. Last winter was also long and cold, and since our apartment is a sieve despite plastic on windows, the gas bill was out of control. It was well over $4000 to keep it 58F, and by the end of the winter I simply couldn't keep up the bill. Money hungry price gougers they are, the gas company turned off the gas, with it our only heat, and the luxury of hot water. Thank god I cook with an electric range. At any rate, I owed some $1300 or so in back gas bill and wasn't able to get it paid off by the time THIS winter came. We made it through a very long and very cold Vermont winter with the aid of electric blankets and electric space heaters in the bedrooms. This strategy worked in that we didn't freeze to death, but of course ran the electric bill up to obscene amounts. Even with the drastic jump in electric bill, it was still only about $1800 to heat through the winter with electricity, though of course we only had quasi warm bedrooms and a bathroom visit was a carefully considered action, since it was COLD in there. We showered at my old University.

Well, its warm again, I am now beyond the starving student stage, and gainfully employed as a nurse, with my earning capacity limited only by my willingness to work overtime. Once I pay off the residual electric bill ($480) from the last month of cold weather, we will have oficially kissed the long ass winter goodbye! Because of graduations for two of my children, I don't have any extra money in this next paycheque, and it'll actually be smaller than usual because earned time doesn't have my shift differential, but I can go back to overtime next week and hopefully make it up quickly. The next mission will be to move to a better apartment, and not have to live in slumlord central any longer. THAT will be a happy day. :)