So, we have it pretty good down here in the southwest. Still not as low as you guys though. We don’t want pity from anyone. And do eskimos die young? Linking encouraged with brief excerpts only, but posting photos and/or full content allowed only by express written permission. Think we’re ridiculous for keeping our house so cold when we don’t scrimp in more frivolous areas? So true that we do make up for it in the summer with no A/C. I remember waking up some mornings with my night time water half frozen and frost on the inside of my sigle pane windows. But then we’d be fine spending on things that would bother other people — it’s all so personal. I like the idea of moving the dial (temperature, budget, running distance etc ) up or down by 10% and seeing what it feels like, and whether you can ‘handle’ it (or even like it), and if you do, then try another 10% and then you eventually get to your ‘optimal’ equilibrium, which is unique for everyone. :-) And hey, if temperature is important to you, then YES, pay for it! :-) And yes, we’d recommend that everyone try going up or down a few degrees on the thermostat to see if you could adapt to a temp that requires less energy. There’s blankets and sweaters you could use to keep warm. So do some winterizing to fight off the chill. So our intentional comfort (temperature) level is 68 during the day (wintertime), with polar tech and blankets and gloves in the house no big deal. My husband likes it warmer than I do. Where can we save a lot without really sacrificing? :-) And whoa — I don’t know how you could even stand to shower at that place in KY if you could see your breath. First, we’ve learned that even smart people can behave irrationally, which is the only way to describe applying one set of logic to certain things and a completely contradictory set to other things. In general we do not run the heat at all it stays off.My husband, daughter and 1 roommate never complain about being cold. I would help add to the heat and humidity with my morning shower. ), We’re in similar but opposite situations in that we run the AC warmer than most around here. Keep Cold Air Out, Warm Air In Start with the simplest solution, which will help provide a comfortable temperature for the whole house, not just the floor. :-). Sometime as a child (with painfully frugal parents), I had a Scarlett O’Hara moment, “I will never be too hot or too cold again!” So I make lots of money so I can have heating when it’s cold and a/c when it’s warm. The house is long since paid off — I did that all on my own before I got married — and I enjoy beautiful clothes and great restaurants. With the cold weather set to continue in may regions, it’s important to know how to keep your house warm when the temperatures drop. As I’ve gotten older and my circulation has deteriorated, I find 67 to be reasonable during the day, but anything less makes me terribly uncomfortable. You’ve made a decision for yourself, choosing to trade some warmth for the ability to save more of your money. We have a woodstove and do that sometime, but don’t want to buy enough expensive firewood to keep our house toasty. :-) But geez — if that’s how you’re wired, then go with it. 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 … And I don’t think we’ve ever gotten cold enough indoors to see our breath… though maybe we have, and I’m just blocking out that memory. If it’s cold I put on thicker pjs or an extra blanket! Tagged as: budgeting, early retirement, finances, frugality, gratitude. And we have plenty of equivalent things to that. My fav line on your post was “smart people can behave irrationally”! But that’s for the AC and not the heater. ;-) And I would die riding in a car in the summer with no AC — so you have my admiration there! I see no need to shed clothes when I come inside my static caravan; the inside temperature rarely rises above 10 degrees Celsius (I have a thermometer: outside it’s around 1.5 degrees C. I feel toasty: if I get too warm I can unzip, layer by layer down to my thermal vests. ” I miss going to see more movies in the theater since I’ve become frugal. Be goo to the earth since is the only place we can live. My apartment is set at 69F, but I have my windows open in my room as soon as the overnight temps are above freezing, and I will frequently open the windows just to air out the place. Keep your gaze forward and take up to six easy breaths. :-) And it sounds like you’re doing pretty well on the finance front — congrats! Also, I now know to throw in some extra socks if I ever come visit. Make sure he has a doctors visit soon to ensure he’s not anemic. I’ll have plenty of opportunity to test out some of these theories as we’re moving from the South to New England next month. I’ll shiver at my desk, blowing on my fingers to keep them nimble enough to type, before I turn up the thermostat. I’d have to say no because my grandparents lived through the depression and talked about it and, as is so often the case, were affected by the trauma of that era differently. We have robes, but we tell everyone to bring slippers. I think this is why smaller living spaces appeal to me- it’s less expensive to control the indoor climate. A roaring fire exhausts over 20,000 cubic feet of heated air per hour to the outside. When enough cold air infiltrates your home, the humidity might become uncomfortably low. If we’re out of coffee, I will say: “Let’s go buy more coffee” (at an unfrugal $16 a pound for our organic, shade-grown, locally-roasted beans). It’s interesting that you said that keeping the house cooler can help with inflammation. Both bugs and rodents seek out warm places. We always sleep with our temp between 60-64 but he pumps it up when we get up to 72 or 73. So true that it’s all relative! I have no problem with it. Come January- February (-50° with those massive wind chills) and our pipes usually freeze no matter the temperature inside, but it isn’t our pipes that freeze, it’s the mobile parks that do.