What Utility Could You Go Without?

Discussion in Gas & Electricity started by SEA81 • Jun 16, 2012.

  1. SEA81

    SEA81Active Member

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    I've been reading a book about a couple who both lose their job and refuse to accept help from anyone until they find something new. They play a game of "utility roulette" every month to see what utility they will pay last, meaning which one could they probably go without in the event that it gets cut off for a few weeks, they'll be okay.

    I have been in a similar situation and have been thinking about this myself. Mine would definitely be gas. My stove is gas, but I can cook in my toaster oven, microwave, crock pot or grill. It's summer, so I don't need heat. And if I absolutely had to, I can take a cold shower (my hot water heater is gas). Everything else in my house is electric. On the other end of the spectrum, I think electricity would be worst thing to lose.

    Just wondering what you guys would choose if you were/have been in this situation.
     
  2. Sandra Piddock

    Sandra PiddockExpert

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    I'd go with gas as well. You can't manage without water, and I earn my living online, so if I had the electric cut off, it would make matters even worse than they already are. I could rustle up meals with the microwave, and I'm not averse to taking a cold shower. The washing machine is cold fill, so giving up gas would be the least disruptive strategy in our house.
     
  3. dissn_it

    dissn_itActive Member

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    I'll have to go with gas as well. We also have a gas stove and gas hot water heater. Everything else is electric so we would still have lights and power to run devices. I used to have a good storage of water built up but that is gone now. If I did still have it, I would have chosen water instead of gas.
     
  4. Sugarhill

    SugarhillActive Member

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    I would go without electricity. I can always leave my house to do any work on the computer and it may actually help with my efficiency. But, I'd never give up hot showers or the ability to warm my home with the oven. I would've eaten up all my food before my refrigerator lost its cool temperature.
     
  5. NopGuy

    NopGuyActive Member

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    I could go with gas as well. I don't mind cold showers since it's practically summer here and I can always cook up food with my oven, toaster, or microwave. I'd hate to lose electricity since almost everything in the home is powered by it and water because we all need water to live (duh).
     
  6. Esperahol

    EsperaholActive Member

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    My apartment runs on electricity except the water heater so I guess I'm taking cold showers for awhile as I let the gas go out.
     
  7. tosaytheleast

    tosaytheleastActive Member

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    I don't use gas when I live alone so obviously I ca live without it. I use microwave for heating refrigerated foods that I take out from fast foods, and use rice cooker for noodles so I don't need a stove. Also I guess that in the next ten years, electric stoves will be more available and affordable so gas stoves will be dispatched.
     
  8. hunysukle

    hunysukleActive Member

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    I could go without cable. NOT internet, but just cable. I could also go with my phone, but it's a little more necessary than cable. I really don't need to watch TV. I can't live without electricity, water, food, and internet.
     
  9. Adeal4u

    Adeal4uActive Member

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    I need electricity to make money, so that would be my choice. I don't mind not having gas because I've been without gas before. I've never been without electricity, and I don't plan on doing so anytime soon.
     
  10. classy_ally

    classy_allyMember

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    I would prefer not to lose any of them. lol!!! But if I had to pick, I guess gas makes the most sense. My oven is electric so I would be good.
     
  11. Mrs. Pirz

    Mrs. PirzExpert

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    I dont pay gas so that utility doesnt apply to me. I already dont have cable or a home phone so I wouldnt have to worry about that. If I cut off electricity I can't cool my home, store food, cook, wash or dry clothes, charge my cell phone in case of an emergency or see anything. If I cut off water I cant shower, flush the toilet, brush my teeth or do dishes.

    I think I would take cutting water off - I can store rain water and use that to flush the toilet and since I have a filtered pitcher I can store my water in there in the fridge to keep cool for drinking. I can buy a couple of water gallons at the store which will run me about $1 a gallon and ration them (just like during hurricanes) for showering. I can use paper plates instead of my real plates to avoid any food mess that can bring in unwanted insects.

    So ... yeah - water
     
  12. j_pin

    j_pinActive Member

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    I don't think I could really go without any of my utilities! Although, after dealing with the aftermath of several hurricanes in the past I can tell you it would be much, much better to lose your power than your water. It sucks not having power, but not having water is almost unbearable. Nothing to drink, nothing to brush your teeth with, or flush the toilets, or shower with. You can't even wash your dishes! It's really terrible especially for longer than very, very short term.
     
  13. Isabellas2007

    Isabellas2007Active Member

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    I would have to say if I could go without any of them it would have to be the cable bill. This is one which many people forget to mention, but it is a luxury item and one which we can easily get rid of if we needed to.
     
  14. Victor Leigh

    Victor LeighActive Member

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    For me, the first thing to go would be the phone. I don't use it much anyway. The rest, like water, electricity and internet connections are things which I cannot live without. If I don't have those, I will have to go back to tapping rubber or something like that.
     
  15. Sugarhill

    SugarhillActive Member

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    I don't think anyone has forgotten to mention it, they just haven't because it's not a utility. Water and electricity are the real utilities and landline telephone service has been added to the list, but cable and the internet are not and never have been.

    I remember when I worked in a cable TV call center and we were doing an upgrade to the cable lines. This woman called in irate and threatening to call the utility commission because we had to interrupt the service during the day. I told her to go ahead and hope that she'll someone on the phone that is kind enough to explain to her what a utility is.
     
  16. MasterProX

    MasterProXMember

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    The first thing I'd get rid of would be the landline, since I have my own cell phone and stuff. There's still other people in my house that use the landline though, so that's the only thing stopping me from getting rid of it.
     
  17. rollybooz

    rollyboozActive Member

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    For me, it's definitely the phones then the gas. I think that when one is down and out, the last you should be thinking about, is a nice afternoon chat with Mrs. Robinson down the street, so the telephones can just go. My mobile lines can go as well since the most important call I have to make is probably for emergency services and most mobile phones can do that without having a working SIM card in it. If I still need to save, then take the gas as well. I can cook by starting a fire out in the backyard with some timber and if I do need a warm bath, I just need to work harder and boil some water before I bath. The last thing I would want to lose is water, since clean water is needed for survival. Some may argue that electricity is more important, but if you cannot function well without water, what's the point of having electricity when you don't even have the health to utilise it for anything?
     
  18. dconklin

    dconklinActive Member

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    For me it would be my cell phones and cable, tho I am sure the honey would disagree! The cell phones are our only phone, but the electric and gas are more important. We won't have hot water or a stove without gas and we won't have lights or a fridge without electric.
     
  19. youtubedomination

    youtubedominationMember

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    I think that I could easily get rid of our landline, we have two cellphones in our home already so there's really not much use for it. The landline however, just seems more convenient which may be why we haven't gotten rid of it yet.
     
  20. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    I would choose gas. I have a gas stove, but the water in the apartment is heated by electricity. I need to have electricity and water. I can't imagine not having water.

    If I had a landline, I would get rid of that first. I use a cellphone instead. Once I had to go without a cellphone for a short time. It was horrible being cut off.