When Clark and I were first married, we lived in a rinky-dink apartment on the side of the mountain. Now, three years in, we live in a resort condo on the side of a mountain. While there are multitudes of difference in size and location, there's not much of a difference when it comes to utilities.

When you live in a cold area, the winter seems to bring a spike of many things: electric bill, water bill, weather-appropriate-clothes expenses, and so forth. Our first year of marriage we were prepared: we had a space heater and a fireplace. I'm not joking. We'd sit on the couch huddled together in blankets, sweatshirts, three pairs of socks, hats, and gloves with the fire going or the space heater going, too afraid to run the base board heating. It wasn't that we were afraid of the apartment catching fire, it's that we were afraid of getting an electric bill we couldn't afford.

Now, living in a two bedroom, two story condo verse a one bedroom, one story apartment-- we're still the same. Last winter we got way too many bills that were up and above the budget. Part of that was because our fire "box" was out of order, and part of it was that we weren't exactly careful. Our realtors brought over three small space heaters that we could move from room to room to keep us warm, but they weren't very sufficient.

This year, with a working fireplace, there was only one thing missing: a large space heater. We are now in possession of one, but we have yet to see if it will make a difference or not. Last night we were huddled on the couch watching an episode of the HBO series The Pacific, when we realized we hadn't turned on a little heater upstairs to prepare our room. Clark stared at me, I stared at him, and he pulled out his hands and "assumed the position."

"Rock, paper, scissors you," he said.

"You're on."

I lost, but he still ascended the stairs first with the heater.

I don't how efficient having a space heater is, so I'll keep you posted. If you're willing to deal with cold breezes and walking around in layers of clothes,then this is the plan for you. If you're in a spot where you need to save money, it's worked for us in the past.I just hope it works this time around as well!

You can find a space heater typically within the garden centers of Walmarts and Targets, or where ever the seasonal things are located. This one:


DeLonghi SafeHeat Oil-Filled Radiator - Light Gray (TRD0715T)

is not the one we have, but it's supposed to be the best. It's $74.99 at Target. So, if you're looking for a way to save money on the heat, and you can afford to walk around with some layers to begin with, I would fully suggest giving the space heater a try!