I leave everything plug and watch TV on a one bedroom apartment but my lightbill is no more the $35 to $50 if I include AC in the summer and heat in the winter. Although I do play for gas... Lol

saw most of the comments on how most of you save electricity and save a bunch. try to shop for electricity rates and ask them for all the details on your bill. There is a $4.95 to $9.50 base monthly fee if you use less than 1000 KWh. It kills me because I try to conserve energy and always use less than 1000 KWh. So much for conserving electricity. Hypocrites!!!

I live in Texas where it is plenty hot, so we have to use our AC unit. Temps here are @100 degrees. I use AC mostly at nite and during the late afternoons when temp hits 100. I have cut everything I can, light bulbs, phone chargers, computers, etc. but I feel really good when my bill is under $100.00. I also unplug lamps, etc. when not in use. Glad someone else can get such a low bill, but I don't see how she does it. The taxes on my bill is more than $5.00. Pleased with what I.... More

I cringe every time I hear someone say CFL and Environmentally Friendly in the same sentence. Most Americans don't know that CFLs contain mercury in the ballast and should NEVER be thrown in the trash or general recycling bin. We are poisoning our water supply of the future, and water will likely soon be scarce to begin with! I hear they are trying to outlaw them in some European countries.

Go green -- Buy LED!! They use a fraction of the energy that a CFL does, and they last.... More

I am glad that you wrote this article because it encourages me to find different ways to save on my utility bills. One thing that I wanted to ask others. Our electric company put in new meters that can be read from the street. At about that time my electric bill went up a lot. An elderly couple I know had the same experience. Is there a way that we can monitor our own electric bills to observe what efforts really pay off in our own homes?

I live in Milwaukee, WI. I used to live in a studio apartment with gas for heat and cooking. My electric bill averaged around $20 a month. I went on a 2-week vacation and unplugged everything (TV, computer, clock radio, cell phone charger etc....all phantom power suckers) except my refrigerator. My bill for that month ended up being about half what it usually was. Definitely worth disconnecting those items from power when not in use!

I think it's great that someone can write that, at least in Southern California, it's POSSIBLE to consume only $5 worth of electricity. If heat or AC aren't needed, and there aren't ridiculous surcharges added to the bill, no dryer, etc. I'm sure it is possible. Most of us could probably follow her guidelines and come up with a $30-$50 power bill easily, at least in Spring or Fall.

that the author spends way more money outside the home, which defeats the purpose of saving money on her electric bill. if she only has a mini fridge that she can unplug at night, then she either eats out or goes grocery shopping every day. She didn't mention a washer/dryer, which means she either goes to the laundromat or the dry cleaners. She didn't mention whether or not she has an all electric apartment, or if she uses gas for cooking and heating water.

I would have liked more information. .... More

While the intentions of this article were clearly good, it's a bit disappointing.

Whether or not the author pays $5 a month isn't even the point. The article makes no comparison to what has been saved. Maybe if she didn't do anything her bill would have been $6, or maybe it was $60, we don't know because she left out that import fact. While the comparison to average Americans is interesting, this woman who lives by her self and doesn't use a dryer or many appliances, is clearly not.... More

For Electricity. We are a family of 4, 3500sq 5 bed, 3.5 bath, 3 level home built in the 80's with single pane glass windows everywhere. We have gas heat, stove, H2O heater. For the month of December our total bill was $128 which includes that $20 "Wholesale fee" We pay around $.10/kwh I think. Our bills are so confusing on purpose. We have all new appliances, CF bulbs, tv's etc.. But I also have to do 6-8 loads of laundry/week (clothes lines are not allowed) but in the summer I drape.... More

Utilities always charge a delivery fee. The delivery fee at a minimum is $10.00 usually it's based off the KWH usage but they generally will not go below 10.00 for delivery fees. I pay about $60.00 to $70.00 a month on average for electricity in Buffalo NY. I have a small 1000 square foot house and it's me and my Wife. Lights get left on after 5:30 from Nov to March because it's dark by then in the winter. TV gets 30-40 hours of use a week and i leave all my appliance plugged in. I do use.... More

I'd be interested to see what your bill is if you did everything wrong... i.e plugged everything in, left the fridge on, and switched to incandescent bulbs. In fact, just do an experiment where you switch to incandescent bulbs. With 3 light bulbs in the whole apartment I doubt that makes a difference.

www.FreeRecyclingQuotes.com has an online environmental store where you can get products to save you on your energy bill. Hope this helps.

I live in Boston and for some people who pay electric for heat thier is no way they can lower thier bills to 5 dollars unless freezing themselves. I have gas heat but still my electric bills run average between 30 and 40 for the winter and much more in the summer so you are just going without to actually save a buck. Nice though that u can live like that because I know I could not....

every electric company in the usa has a minimum charge, it is impossible that you only had a $5.00 bill, you may have lowered it somewhat, but you lowered your standard of living to that of someone on the street along with it.

Good effort. Good for you. I feel that you must eat out alot. Also living in a warm state aptly won't use as much energy to keep you warm and if this is a traditional apartment building that may contribute too. Do you have plenty of windows for nautral light?
More power to you. It's nice to see that it can be done. The more the merrier. When we move to our new home, I will then be able to start living off the grid more too I hope. Energy efficiency is great but there is an.... More

So basically the writer is saying that we should all live alone in tiny shoebox apartments with no television, no real fridge, clearly no washer/dryer, no microwave, no fans, no clocks, no hot water...I can also live cheaply if I live like a homeless person. My gas/electric bill is about $80-100 a month and I live in Southern California in a 1500 square foot home, that is certainly not a major expense, it's less than my cell phone bill most months.

CFL's use the most energy when switching on and were originally designed for offices and schools where lights burn many hours a day. Most homeowners have trained themselves to turn lights off and on so to save energy on the new CFL's only turn them on when you will need it during the day and keep it on until you no longer need it that day (or days). We made the switch to all CFLs and it cost me 10% MORE a month so watch the on and off on these bulbs.

Great job on saving energy and keeping your bill low. The first place for people who want to be like you is to take an energy survey from their utility -- SCE's is at www.sce.com/survey. We also have great tips for conserving at www.sce.com/tips. And we Tweet them too, @socaledison.

Keep up the good work!