You know that your fancy coffee is probably better for people and for the planet than super cheap coffee that involves questionable cost-cutting measures, so you shell out. Living room windows stay open as soon as it is ~50F. It’s not unhealthy to keep the heat down if you don’t have other adverse health problems. My dog suffers right along with me. We just want to let you guys know how thankful we are that you’re reading. I would rather put on more clothes and stay warm than to have the heat up so high.. All rights reserved. (Plus reburns the smoke so it doesn’t pollute so much! I also advocate here to not overheat the house and put on an extra layer of cloths. When you need to go buy more organic grocery items, it’s a health/environment issue, so you shell out. :), Thank goodness we have a wood stove, not a fireplace — SO much more efficient, and doesn’t have that vacuum effect. And yeah, if we *had* to live without heat, we know we’d survive. If the cold is a deal breaker for you, then it’s worth paying for heat. :-), I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a freeze baby (pretty strange for a guy, I think). Personally, I’d like to drop it down a bit further at night but my husband likes things warmer. if you're under 65, healthy and active, you can safely have your home cooler than 18C, as long as you're comfortable use a hot water bottle or electric blanket to keep warm in bed – but do not use both at the same time have at least 1 hot meal a day – eating regularly helps … How high? In the summertime, though, that’s where I get to flex my frugality muscles a bit. I really wish I could be the 56 degree house, but I just can’t do it… I literally shiver! Unfortunately due to health issues, we can’t keep our thermostat that low, but we do keep it lower than we prefer. Whereas turning up the heat is kinda not-great for the environment, so you don’t do it. This is also likely to not come as a surprise. 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 happily wear my hoody (and sometimes even mittens) and take those savings every day of the year. But then we’d be fine spending on things that would bother other people — it’s all so personal. She’s only taxing her system and (especially at her age) that kind of strain ain’t healthy. 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. Currently, 60ºF is fine but it’s been a short experiment so far. 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? As it is, we pay about $200 a month in the winter to maintain 56, with occasional bumps up to 60 (15º C) when we’re in a treat yoself mood. Not that our sky is that blue every day, but that is what you get in the cold, dry mountain air, way up high. I mean if someone doesn’T like the cold, why would he chose to live in the mountains? Especially when the bizarro-logic attached to the thermostat sometimes means sacrificing our comfort and maybe even our safety. Some people just don’t step out their boundary. This discussion reminds me of an Op Ed piece from the writer Ken Ilgunas from last year. Or, as I wrote to Penny last week in response to her brilliant post, the Privilege of Pretending, it feels like when we talk frugality, we’re really just being frugality tourists. My husband likes it warmer than I do. Same as we’d all expect to be hot in the desert. I don’t know if you are familiar with this guy but his outlook on life has many things in common with the FIRE community, even though I doubt he had any interest in retiring early, since he’s already making his own path. And it saves a ton of money. Yes, I have problems – let the replies roll! Personal preference I guess but I am happy at 52. . In other words, if you want something but you know it isn’t good for the world, you forgo it, but if you want it and you know it’s ok for the world, you purchase it. That’s the joy of mountains. As I dig deeper, I find evidence to the contrary or rather that you’d have to keep the house super cold in order to deter germs. salads), animals and pets, poor hygiene, and through children. Tagged as: budgeting, early retirement, finances, frugality, gratitude. One of the many things I enjoy about condo/apartment living is that I’ve often been able to make it through the mild Pacific Northwest winters without turning on the heat much at all. Loved Walden on Wheels, loved that NYT piece. Allowing your body to be cold is great for your metabolism. Cause moms with 5 kids can’t sit down and relax. I keep my house at 55 degrees, actually because I feel comfortableand I like it cold, that’s pure biology. Not quite sure why we have such a hangup about our gas bill, but we are just not willing to pay that! But yeah, we fully recognize that 56 is borderline crazy. Holy bluebird skies and…. Did you know that there are reasons to keep your home cold (by not turning up the thermostat)? Are We Cut Out for Small Town Living Long Term? How they feel and how people look at them is more important. What’s super interesting to me about the thermostat to me is how it has this strange power that nothing else in our lives has. I’m not sure if the term is still used, but we used to always say we were “living well below our means”. 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