The good news: I got the electric bill and used an average of 44.66kwh/day, down from 53.12 in July and 55.59 last August. Definitely going in the right direction. We haven't used the air conditioning nearly as much as in the past and we haven't missed it at all.

The bad news: I'm on a budget billing plan that resets in November and as of this month, we have $47.02 in our favor, and actual usage was about $25 over our budget billing amount. I was hoping for a noticeable reduction when the bill resets, but even if I could get it up to $120, that would only work out to a savings of $10/month, not counting rate increases. (Don't get me wrong, I'll take it, and I'm glad to see the results of my efforts, and there's still more to do. It's just that I'm stuck with the reset rate for 6 months, so I was hoping to make a bigger dent in it).

One thing I did notice: the bill isn't due until the 22nd of the month, but they were doing the automatic debit from my checking account on the 8th. It would help me from a cash-flow perspective if they could take it on the 15th, when we get paid. I called and the rep said they couldn't switch it. So I cancelled auto pay and I'll pay it myself on the 15th. A little more inconvenient for me, but it's worth it.

Cell phone is a totally different story. Hubby dropped his in the pool by accident (don't ask). Unfortunately, he just got a new phone 2 WEEKS AGO! HE's not eligible for a reduced price upgrade and we don't have insurance for the phone, so he was looking at $225 to replace his phone. Uh no. Turns out, my MIL's line, which is on our plan, is eligible for an upgrade. Supposedly, we can get the upgrade through her, but activate it under hubby's number. I'll need to go to the Verizon store and have them do it, but hopefully it will work. We'll still need to pay for the phone, but not $225.

As a result of the frustration of the cell phone event, we ordered out from the pizza place for dinner. I was a little bummed because I had something available for dinner and we've done a great job planning our meals, but such is life. We'll have tonight's dinner tomorrow, and at least it reduced the stress level a bit...