Reducing Heating Costs Experiment

My latest gas bill was for $103.  This is much more than I paid last year.  My highest heating bill last year was $61.  The gas customer charge is $15 higher than last year but most of the increase in my bill is from using more gas. I know the apartment I’m in now is poorly insulated but so was the apartment I was living in last year.  The furnace in my current apartment must be extremely inefficient.

Being a tight-fisted miser I don’t like paying this much for heat so I’ve decided to try an experiment to reduce my heating bill.  I’m turning down my thermostat to 55 degrees and am going to use an electric space heater to take off the chill in the evenings.  I won’t need it when I’m sleeping because I use my down sleeping bag as a blanket and it can keep me comfortable at temperatures much lower than 55 degrees.  Also I’m going to try to take my showers at the fitness center.  I still haven’t gotten into the habit of working out this year but this will give me one more incentive to get to the fitness center.

I have no doubt this will work to cut my gas bill.  I’m just not sure I’ll save enough on my gas to make up for the extra electric cost.  I receive my electric bill a couple weeks ahead of my gas bill which will give me an idea if this will pay off.