Looking at my utility bills...

This weekend, the summer, balmy summer weather that we had in Park City, came to abrupt end, ushering the real Fall season. This morning, our heating system kicked on and we all were turned towards a less carefree weather pattern.

I was thinking about all this and looking with astonishment at our low heating bill for the year, in our new, energy efficient home. We're now spending an equal amount to keep us warm and keep the light on than we spend on telecoms (internet, phones, not counting the purchase cost of smart phones or tablets).

What's more astonishing though, is that most of our utility money goes into water and water treatment, even though we use that precious commodity quite sparingly, which given the rarity of water in the West makes a lot of sense nowadays.

I compared these numbers with some of those we had in our New York suburban home in 1981. Heating oil was by far the biggest expense, adjusted for inflation, electricity was three times what we paid today, but water was dirt-cheap in those days! Feel free to use the illustrating table and plug-in your current numbers. I'd love to see a comparison!