DH's frugrality keeps the house cold - has he crossed the line?

[pinecone]

Just wondering if this seems extreme to anybody. Our family lives in Wisconsin, it's very seasonal here, meaning temps get pretty cold in winter. This winter DH has taken to keeping the thermostat in the low 50's. When I complain that it is cold for me and DD he says to turn it up 3 degrees. That doesn't even take us to 60 most times! He says 3 degrees will feel like a heatwave. I think we should choose a steady daytime temp and a steady nighttime temp. I'm pretty hearty, so 60-62 during the day would probably be fine with nighttime temps in the low 50's. I have yet to see what our financial savings is as we pay on a budget plan, though theoretically we should be saving a lot!

I understand the how/why he's doing this, but in my opinion he's pushing it too far. Just want to know if I'm justified in asking for some steady temps. And please don't tell me to put on a sweater. We're already wearing hats, sweaters and standing in front of our gas fireplace.

Signed,
:
Chilly in Wisconsin

[Purple*Lotus]

I keep mine on no higher than 55 all the time, day and night. I do not have children though, so I am not sure if that makes a difference.

[MidwifeErika]

I don't think you are asking too much for it to be 62 or 63 during the day. The low 50s is really chilly! I usually put mine at 67 during the day and down to 61 at night, so my place is downright balmy compared to yours! And boy, I still need to cover up with a blanket when I sit still for too long!

[Scribe]

That's WAY extreme, IMO. But then again, I live in Texas and set my theromostat at 68.

[Starr]

There is no way that would fly in my house. That is just too chilly, especially when you come inside from the cold and are chilled. Our is set at 68 and 64 at night, on a good day.

[fek&fuzz]

Originally Posted by ~*Jaime

I keep mine on no higher than 55 all the time, day and night. I do not have children though, so I am not sure if that makes a difference.

I think what might make a difference is that you live in West Virginia and the OP lives in Wisconsin.

[sadean]

I think it is extreme. We do 65-68 during the day/evening and 60 at night.

[dziejen]

Pinecone, we are in MA but it gets very cold here too in the winter. We are keeping our thermostat low this year too -- much much lower than in the past because we simply cannot afford to pay for oil -- at least until the baby arrives -- but the low 50s seem very cold. We are close to 60 during the day and maybe 55 overnight when everyone is snuggled in their beds but if you are dressed like you are outside and still uncomfortably cold it seems like you need to make a compromise somewhere. For me if I am too cold it is painful so it is really not fair to make someone live like that. Maybe you could reach an agreement that you keep it warmer during the day and pile on the blankets at night to let it get lower? All the best to you!

[D_McG]

Can you afford the heating bills? IF so then I wouldn't stand for that at all.

I grew up in a cold house and it was so miserable.I was constantly uncomfortable and to this day I sit on my hands (habit to keep them warm)

:

[pinecone]

Thanks! Now I know I'm not being unreasonable. By the way, DH thinks keeping the air conditioner at 78-80 in the summer is the way to go.

I appreciate my husband's money-sense, but he can get pretty rigid in his concept of what makes sense (cents).

Thanks again.

[Ruthiegirl]

Wow, the low 50's is really low. When our budget is feeling really tight, we set our thermostat to 57. We have two small children and an old house though.

Is money that tight? There are programs to help subsidize heating costs. I don't know what is available in Wisconsin, but since you guys get some heavy weather, I would think that there must be something to help out if you need it.

[pinecone]

Originally Posted by D_McG

Can you afford the heating bills? :

Yes we can afford the bills. We just try to live sparingly so that we can save earnestly. DH wants an early retirement.

[FancyD]

Turn up the heat, and tell him to stuff it. Nicely. It's for the kids, right? Actually, I wouldn't ask, I would just do it.

[Ruthla]

Yeah, that sounds extreme to me.

OTOH, when I had the thermostat at 67 a few weeks ago and DD1 complained that it was too cold (she was in a thin LS t-shirt and a cotton skirt, no leggings or socks) I told her to put on some more layers or snuggle under a blanket- there were 4 other people in the house at the time who were perfectly comfortable.

[mommyddeville]

Originally Posted by pinecone

Yes we can afford the bills. We just try to live sparingly so that we can save earnestly. DH wants an early retirement.

Early retirement is great, but if you're miserable until then, it's not worth it.

[LisainCalifornia]

This is actually one of my pet peeves. I think that out of anything you can spend money on, being acceptably comfortable in your own modest home is one of them. I will let go of all the other "stuff" that people think is necessary, but being able to be warm enough or cool enough to live a comfortable existance is like denying food and water.

The thing that I remember the most about my childhood is that I was always freezing in the winter and suffering in the summer due to a heating/cooling frugal parent. "Put on a sweater" should have been tatooed on my head---and the sweater didn't really help. Forget the darn sweater, how about just turning the heat up enough so that people are not shivering in their home?

We keep our thermostat at 65-67 during the winter, and that seems very appropriate for our house.

What is the good in retiring early if you have to suffer your entire life to get there? Retirement is not all it's cracked up to be, either.

[polyhymnia]

We keep the thermostat at 50 during the night/day but do kick it up to about 58 in the evening when we are home - but it rarely drops below freezing here. And somehow, putting the thermostat at 58 heats the place up to about 62 which is really comfortable for us. I don't know which is off - the thermostat or our thermometer..

[the_lissa]

I think it is a little much. I'm in Canada, and we keep the thermostat at 15 (59ish) except for a couple hours at bed time and when we wake up where we put it up to 17 (62 or 64?)

[goobergrl6]

yeah I would not have that. DH thought I was nuts having the heat set at 67. In fact a mainstream board am I on just had a thing about what your heat is set on and I was the lowest! Most people were at about 73ish. DH did turn the one upstairs where the kids sleep to 69 because the little one does not keep on a blanket and he was cold.

[mtm]

I'd find somewhere else to cut. We keep ours 15/16 (60ish) and if we're still cold with a sweater on then the heat goes up. I don't understand why one person gets all the say when others are getting cold. Is he controlling generally?