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Wow, that's really high for electric

Posted By: sm on 2006-06-02
In Reply to: Our electric went up 68% and gas sky rocketed. sm - Northeast

We have total electric (includes heat, air, and all appliances), and our bill is around $200 in the winter, $100 in summer. We get a break on the rate for having total electric. I feel lucky......


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Our electric went up 68% and gas sky rocketed. sm
I have gas heat and with the heat wave and humidity now and in the summer, my air conditioner will be running and my monthly bill is $380 just for air conditioning. My heating bill in the winter runs about the same.

That is $4500 a year for gas and electric. So, I would take your oil contract any day compared to my bills.
electric bill
Yes, our electric bills have been outrageous. Last month was $199.00, and my new bill came in and is $256.00 also! I too live in California, and we get shafted with the utilities in this state. During winter months my gas bill was as high as $175.00 which is almost five times what it used to be 7 years ago, and my paychecks keep going down in the transcription field!.
About $125 in PA - total electric, about
Pretty happy here, bill runs about the same in winter and includes heat :)
Used to, but compared electric bills
I used to never turn my computer off. Then my grandchildren visited me for 3 wks. Because I did not want them playing on my computer (they had their own laptop), I kept mine off when I was not working. When the electric bill came it, it was almost $60 less, so from that point on, I began turning it off between the hours of 5 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. plus my days off (and I get more done around the house as well) -- continued with the same savings. Figured I can buy a new tower for $720 a year in savings.
I think those descriptions are for electric and gas (heat)...

Not internet.  Internet is different because it is not based off of square footage.  To me, that would sound like because my living room is larger than my office, I use the internet more in my living room, which is untrue.... Plus, I never use the internet in my bathroom or kitchen. 


I write off the percentage that I use it, that is how my tax guy said to.... I mostly use the internet for personal use about an hour a night and a couple hours on weekends.  Otherwise it is work only.  That is where I get the figure for 75% work, 25% pleasure use. 


 


Ditto, electric went from $120 to $205 in this nonstop heat!- nm
x
But, yes to all that you have and the room, electric, heat, just remember though
you have to keep the house for at least a year or two once you start claiming it, if you think you may move in the next year, don't take the write off, just on your text books, software, computer, that you can but not the room itself. See your CPA for further details as to why.
$256.00 for June electric bill in Calif.

Am curious if anyone's else is outrageously high.  Mine typically is $150-200 for summer months. 


I keep temp at 82 during day, 78 at night.  Temperatures here soar to 95-100 though.  But, I live alone and have gas hot water, gas stove.


Working at home has its pluses and minuses!  Leaving the air off for 8-10 hours a day while I was at the hospital working saved me a lot of cash in this utility bills.


 


 


I use an electric afghan, safer than a heater
Hi: I paid about $35 for an afghan-size warming blanket I think on Overstock.com. I just make a little semicircle of blankie and keep the foot pedal in there. To warm my hands, I use 2 gooseneck lamps from Target, they were $10 each, one on each side of my desk, amazing how much heat from a light bulb. Wise
I just bought a new electric can opener at Wally World

and, get this, it comes with a "Users Manual."


This is the el cheapo $6.74 can opener and I'm thinking "hmmm, am I missing something here?"


My take on this is that if you don't know how to plug in and use a $6.74 electric can opener, there is a very good chance that you probably can't read to start off with.


It's 4 pages!


HOW TO USE: (Page 3)


1.  Raise lever, place can under the guide bar and against the geared wheel (See DIagram A to identify parts)


2. Press down on lever to pierce lid of can (Daigram B). This automatically starts thye cutting action. the can opener will continue to cut until the lid is completely severed from the can.


3 Grasp the can, then raise the lever to release the can.


4.  Carefully slide the lid away from the magnet, using caution to avoid being injured by the sharp edge of the lid.


I'm sure they do this so some stupid bozo won't sue the company because they weren't instructed on proper use of the can opener.


Electric motor repairman. I'll never match his pay.
But the more you make the more you spend. 
The old clunkity clunk electric typewriter days

Way back when, I didn't even know it was "transcription."  I did some transcribing as a secretary at a clinic with 8-10 docs. Office manager showed me how to use "a tape player that you operate with a footpedal." (never heard the words "transcriber" or "transcription"). Only had a Dorland's Med. Dictionary and IBM Selectric. Wasn't until several years later at first actual medical transcription job, realized previously had already been doing medical transcription, "typing" the doctors' chart notes and letters (plus answering phones, sorting/distributing the doctors' mail & journals, bookkeeping/accounts payable, payroll, etc.) for ridiculously low file-clerk type pay for what was really an administrative assistant type job. 


You wanted a laugh though: One time, in a hospital transcription dept., me & the other ladies were in the breakroom, giggling about something in the newspaper, someone made a great joke about whatever the subject was, & we were laughing so hard, the security guard came running down the hall and into our breakroom to see what was going on (he thought he heard screaming!)  When he saw us all cracking up, he just shook his head, laughed, & told us to get back to work!


% of mortgage, water, electric, gas, trash pick-
x
all that PLUS, when I started 13 years ago, electric typewriters were still used (smile!) no message
xx
Wow! I'm in North Central Florida. Last month's electric bill was $165. sm
I have electric everything and keep the thermostat set at 73. Some folks here with a different electric company have had bills triple to quadruple their normal. You may want to do some investigating.
deduct telephone, electric and portion of house payments.
Hope this helps!
My mother lives with us. We bought small electric space heater for her (sm)
as we usually keep the furnace at about 68 and keep a humidifier going. Makes a big difference. Older people get cold, so I have told her she might want to make sure and wear warmer clothes and don't hesistate to use the space heaters to provide comfort level in the family room and her bedroom for her.
We met in high school. My high school sweetheart
introduced us in a discussion over Ford versus Chevy versus Dodge. I used to race my Dodge Coronet with oldstyle 318 V-8 engine against the guys on the back roads and old highways. High school boyfriend had a Chevy truck. DH had a Ford Fairlane and later an AMC Javelin that just made me swoon. We didn't actually start dating until three years later, and my old high school boyfriend was a bit surprised at that since he introduced us.
How about a High Five??!!
nm
high 5!!
...Right on! I think many people who are gay bashers are really terrified of the unknown, terrified because they link gay people with sexual criminal behavior - pedophiles, rapists, you name it. I would not expect less of a gay person than I would a straight person when it comes to character and ethics. It is sad to see how many people are terrified of gays because they believe they have an "agenda" - out to turn the world gay!! haha!

It should be pointed out here that many gays have desires and needs just like us straight people - want to be loved, want to belong to someone, want to be committed to one person, want a home and family just like us. That should tell us something, right? Hey, for that matter, there are lot of straight people who will never want to settle down, love sleeping around, live a promiscious lifestyle, but it is only when that occurs in a gay person that it is magnified.

People can be so naive. Throughout time there have been gays in every walk of life - high ranking powerful politicians, ministers, high ranking military men, etc. Some just choose to keep it a secret. Just as I expect my straight friends to have character and ethics, so do my gay friends.

Judge people on their character, their morals, their ethics, not whether they are gay or straight.


high 5!!
...I knew there was a reason I liked you... fellow Leo

P.S. - coincidentally just before I came to the board I just popped in a CD of the 5th Dimensions - remember "Age of Aquarius? That's too funny!
HIGH
RICHARD C. LEE NEW HAVEN, CT
*High-Five*!!! LOL!
x
Very high indeed!
I've never heard of anyone making more than .02-.03/cpl off of their subs. I'd say for you to either make some rules (times they can call, etc) and define exactly what you are willing to do for them. If they say no and you really don't care for the account any longer, then just let it go. If you really do want to keep it, the only thing I can suggest is to concentrate on how much YOU are making (and if it's worth it) instead of concentrating on how much THEY are making.
50% to me is very high
I could not look in the mirror if I took 50%, even beauticians when they used to work in a shot got 70/30 and they used the equipment of the shop.   If she handles everything but the invoicing I feel you are taking advantage of someone and hopefully you can live with yourself and look in the mirror.   I usually do 80/20 but then I pick up the tapes and deliver them to the IC, proof the work and invoice out, do all contact with the account.  But to each their own. 
wow... is it that high?

I'm making 10 cpl with my hospital and 12 CPL for my doctor's Office


which is 65 character line including spaces


However my office is now deciding they want to pay me a different way since we are completely switching systems and there is no way to do a line count... and now I HAVE NO idea how much to charge because he is thinking by the "minute". well I make almost ALMOST $2.00 a minute and haven't had a raise in seven years, so I'm really at a loss of what to do.


Oh I work for companies in California.  Do you live in FL or CA or I don't understand... i mean when I look at the big companies they offer 7 or 8 CPL... am I missing something?!  LOL
good luck :)


Okay HIGH FIVE!! ROFL
x
it could be due to the high turnover,
miserable platform, and low pay on the VR programs, and just generalized problems in the company, couldn't it?
with the gas prices going sky high and, therefore, (sm)
the prices of food and other items more than likely going to skyrocket, what is everyone doing to plan for this?
Wow! and I thought $3.19 was high. This is

insane.  Thank goodness I've been working at home for the past year.  My hubby has been at a job 3/4 a mile up the street for a year now too.  A year ago we were both out of town and putting 100 combined miles a day just for commuting to work.  I cringe to think how much that would cost us.


Good thing hubby can walk to work.  Motor blew in our 2001 Ford ZX2.  Maybe it was a good thing?  Anybody out there need non-motor parts?  Four brand new tires, new power steering pump, new struts, bearings, front and rear brakes, tie rod ends, fuel filter and windshield all in the past 6 months.  One thing we forgot was the timing chain and that went and ruined the engine.


Don't really need a car for work and I'm serious considering not even bothering to buy another one right now.


High Level 4
I don't know if we're allowed to post it or not on here, but it's very decent for the MT world, plus they supposedly do raises periodically without you having to beg.
He's in high school and STILL has to have
PB&J with grape jelly?  Oh, please don't tell me that!  I was hoping my son would outgrow his pickiness once he hit puberty.  That's what the pediatricians and nutritionists told me!  They said they had never seen a teenaged boy decline food.  My son is SOOO picky!  I call him a carbivore because he doesn't like meats or vegetables.  He's got this taste/texture thing going on.  My in-laws said that I was coddling him, so one of them tried to make him eat peas and beef stroganoff while watching him for me one day.  He ate a couple of bites and, well, let's just say that nobody has tried to "force" the kid to eat since then.  I don't let them watch him any more either.  My mother says it's revenge because I was the same way as a kid.
I had no idea pay was ever that high
When you were up that high? 
No, this isn't too high. Maybe too low. We're in the

I'm supposed to set aside 33% plus at least 7.5% (the other 7.5% is deductible) for self-employment taxes = total 40.5% of my pay goes to taxes. If I didn't have my DH get extra taken out of his paycheck ($75 a week), I'd have to pay this in quarterly estimates, because if you end up owing too much compared to last year, they will penalize you.  I've read too many horror stores on MT boards of MTs who didn't pay their taxes or set money aside.  I'd rather pay as I go.  


It's probably not high, generally, but
if you're a single person with those expenses and work only as an MT, even for two more companies these days, it's HIGH.
Are you at a high altitude? (sm)
If you're at a high altitude, use Crisco in place of butter in your recipe.
my first job out of high school - sm
I went to try to find a job at a local hospital.  They gave me a typing test, had the word "toxicology" in it, and they hired me on the spot!  Since then, I have never had to test in my life, and I have been doing this for 30+ years.
Now which one of you is high maintenance?
LOL
I too have high QA scores but the QA
percentage is killing me (over 30%). When work is low I am reluctant to take on another acct because once again all would go to QA and affect that percentage. I have decided to just type and not worry about my QA percentage for now, just continue to type and send quality work (of course when there is work).
Doc said CO2 88.4 - isn't that kinda high?
NM
high school
Technical High School,. Fort Worth, Texas
high school
Elmont Memorial, Elmont, NY
With all these high IQ scores....
we have some serious underachievers here!!!!!!!!
I think 8 cpl is high for a newbie. I mean
there's so much more training you need!
91 with HIGH humidity in PA...ug.
:(
High bills
In Georgia, it's not unheard of for the power bill to exceed $300 during summer. In fact, it's expected. I can't believe the posters with two-digit bills. My water bill is $65! Everything around here has gone up in the last year. My doing MT was supposed to be for extras and fun money, but it's not turning out to be so.
Can you get high speed?
That's VERY expensive for dial up.  Most high speed services cost about that.
My speed is really high but this job is not what
it was years ago. With being an engineer, it would seem that the money should really be good there. I have done this now for over 30 years and if I had to do now and raise a family, I would have to work more than 1 job, possibly 3-4. It is really not the money maker it was once, not at all. The work is not easy, not just a typist job, in fact after all these years I still am always trying to make sure my QA is not lacking, otherwise your job is lacking as in gone. My speed is around 140 wpm but the speed is not what is really important. I found it extremely difficult starting out and trained for over a year inhouse before I ever earned production. This would not be a job I would recommend now unless you just want to stay at home with a child, do part time, retired, in other words where you want to put in time and really don't need to make a living doing it.
Oh, one of those high rollers?
NM
$10.00 per page is too high.
I would say 12-14 cpl is fair (65 characters with spaces).  This is easy enough to do in Word.  Just as Patti states, he will give you a lot of letters and OP notes.  Make templates.  Your average would be anywhere from $2.00 per page up to $4.00 per page depending on how lengthy of a dictator he is and what he likes in his dictation as far as headings are concerned.  Also, you may want to consider providing him with letterhead that you've created in Word if he's not picky about that.  So then when you do your count, you can count that as well.  Every little bit boosts your line count, but you DO NOT want to price him at $10.00 per page.  If you go with 12 cpl, you'll be fine, and then down the road you can bump it up if you think you need to.  JMO.  By the way, I do have a few of my own accounts, so I do speak from experience. 
That's exactly right. TAKE THE COBRA, even though the $$ is high.