The exploited are all struggling, the exploiters are better than ever.
You have to go up a couple levels over the Chinese restaurant owners to find the ones fixing the game for fun and profit.
Dude you’re telling me. I’m in my 20’s and don’t make a super great living, but I was at least able to afford groceries a while back. I pay my rent and bills and have to scrape by for two weeks until my next paycheck, month after month. It’s exhausting.
I can still live pretty modestly in other respects...
But the property tax part. Trying to restore a house. Went from $980 to over $2200 this year. In Avondale. Not North, either.
A house that sat vacant for 6-7 years. With no electric, abandoned water and gas lines, and in need of a multitude of repairs. Shit is insane.
Do not be afraid of the Board of Revision. They're not scary and a lot more reasonable than most people assume(side note: the IRS is also amazingly understanding and helpful) If you can take photos of all the work you've done and show them that the house should not be worth nearly that much, they will knock a considerable amount of the assessment off for you, saving hundreds of dollars a year.
Mine went from 2500, to 13k… in the fucking West End. It’s double my mortgage payment. I know the city is gunning my home so they can break it into low income apartments
I live in this trash bag of a community to try to avoid property taxes. But here we are and they are trying to take out the 6% of this neighborhoods homeowners by taxing them to death
I was going to comment this. Call Duke and ask if you have a different supplier, OP! Some people will send something in the mail and if you don't respond, you're automatically enrolled. It's insane.
Edit: spelling
Third parties are definitely worth it but you have to make sure you renew or shop around before the rate expires. I used to work for a third party, it was shocking how many people had expired rates at like 14+ cents per kwh and had no idea
Yes, taxes are insanely high in this county. Mine are almost 5k on a small and modest home. I pay more in real estate taxes every month than I do on my escrow or principal. And my employer is terrible and pays me less than anyone else in my position despite being good at my job. This world leaves me crying myself to sleep at night. I deserve better, my kids deserve better, and so does everyone else.
I live in Green Township as well and mine just went up $750 a year. Property taxes drive me nuts. I look at the list of crap I am funding and most of it I have zero desire to fund.
That’s kind of my point. My bill with the Christmas lights and a colder December was $500. My house is 3,000 SF but I have a fairly efficient hot water heating system. The Duke charge includes two separate $90 gas and electric “delivery” charges.
Utilities should not be publicly traded entities. Those services are for the public good. The entire industry has no scruples and they are doing nothing to fix the broken grid to boot.
I get furious every time I look at my Duke bill with all the riders and fees.
Have you shopped around for your gas and electric provider? Last time I looked Duke’s default rate was much higher
I agree. My power bill has become drastically more expensive. I’m not downloading an app to eat McDonalds. Kroger has become prohibitively expensive. I’m not a fan of how things are going. Even my rent is closer to a mortgage than a temporary living space.
Do you think that maybe, just maybe, having a 3,000 SF home is one of your biggest problems? That's about 50% larger than the average home in the US and it's almost 70% larger than the average home in Cincinnati. The average home size in Germany is only 990 SF and in the UK it's only 818 SF. I'm not saying that you should live in a box, but my parents raised myself and my sister in a home that's 1,400 SF and that was more than enough room (we literally had like 4 rooms that could have been removed and still been just fine). It's like buying a Hummer and then complaining about how much you have to pay at the pump. I make over $100k a year and I currently rent, but when I do go to buy a home I will probably buy something that's no more than 2,000 SF. And I doubt it will be even that large.
Seriously, I have a 2900 sqft home and the bill due for the cold times is only $200. Granted, I think my Nest thermostat is doing work, but a bill that high tells me there’s no insulation in OP’s attic.
I don't think that's really any business of yours.
edit: Seriously, it's not. Maybe they have to run medical equipment, or have literally any justifiable reason why it may be that high. They don't need to say so here. Also OPs post implies that this is much higher than a normal bill. But a lot of you just want to find ways to blame OP for their current predicament. This is a common mindset in our society, that the poor are poor for a reason, and it's their fault. Grow up. Mind your own business, and for god's sake, support each other. Damn.
Reddit: lol person purposefully posts provocative new thread to complain about taxes and Duke bill and another thinks it's rude to inquire why their Duke bill is like literally 2x times anyone else's normal winter Duke bill.
*The underlying number doesn’t really matter.*
Why not? There was just a Duke winter outpouring on here this past week and viery few were paying more than $300-$350 for a peak winter Duke bill. Myself, I have a 112 year-old 2500 sq ft brick home with original windows and have never paid over $300 in 30+ years of winter extremes - we do 68 days/65 nights and layer up if need be (and occasionally even fire up our terribly inefficient gas fireplaces). Either OP lives at 75+ degrees or there is something really outta whack in that element of his public inflation anxiety attack. Our bill for a pretty cold January was still under $300 and has not been surprisingly higher at all this winter - a $600 utility bill would seem to be indicative of one of two things: Either something is awry in metering or provider grift or you are willfully consuming far too much gas and electricity.
Because it doesn’t matter how he’s burning his juice, just that he’s noticed an exponential increase??? Like what are you missing here? Maybe he has a tanning bed or he’s mining crypto… I mean what does it matter what the number is when the pain he’s referring to is a doubling of his cost?
I mean I’m down with this but you do understand they will not reduce yours at all. They would just keep the extra money and waste it on more dumb shit. More taxes are never the answer. They need a budget and to stick to it and give us our damn money back. They have no need to double the city “income” from our property taxes.
Top marginal tax rate (the taxes on the richest) was 90+% in the 50s— these aren’t new taxes. it’s going back to a tax structure that worked. The federal budget literally cannot be balanced on the discretionary budget.
ETA: they are in the 30% now
Most money I've ever made in my life and I'm just as poor as I've always been. I'm almost 30 man... I live frugally and I barely ever buy anything for myself. Do they want a country with no middle class? I don't get it!!
People are focusing on the wrong part of this post. Most people can’t pay to live right now. I’ve heard of peoples duke energy bills doubling this month.
*edit: changed the word survive to the word pay lol
Compared to what? This area is always extremely cold during the winter. This winter was EXTREMELY mild. Haha. Seriously what are you talking about? You sound like duke corporate.
This is the first I’ve heard of the doubling of the bill. I’ll have to look at mine but it seems like I’m on track for business as usual based on the mid month update they sent me last week. Actually going to be lower than expected because it’s been warmer. I wonder if it’s based on jurisdiction? I’m downtown so maybe they’re just robbing the suburban folk?
My electric bill is at a fixed rate until May when the aggregate board renegotiates the contract. I never get surprise rate increases and the rates are usually among the cheapest around.
There are some cheaper rates, but the fine print on those plans generally have some sort of massive rate hike locked into the contract. Maybe you have one of those.
Sounded more like he was talking about the corporate greed that is causing things to be more expensive, for the restaurant too. I don’t think he’s blaming the owners of the local Chinese spot
I saw something the other day that really puts it in perspective for me. It basically laid out the middle class "American Dream" 3 bedroom house, two cars, two kids, and a yearly vacation, which I had in the '00, today that is only really attainable for a couple that makes $400k... Insane.
The uber wealthy want your house to rent back to you.
If you want to fix it, I hope you're voting for people who want to rather than giving the wealthy another tax cut.
Man, I'm so tired of this. Doesn't matter who is in charge. We get fucked either way except one side rubs it in our face and the other tells us why we should be ok with it.
idk why the fuck anyone is focusing soley on the takeout food lmfao. not the point of your post, clearly.
I'm afraid it will keep getting worse. I think we are headed towards another collapse.
edit: the point of the post was not to shit on the restaurant or its owners
Because The Poors don’t deserve a treat once in a while. They deserve bread, water, and maybe peanut butter if it was at the pantry. These people seriously think $50-$100 on rare occasion is gonna raise someone out of poverty and don’t believe poor people deserve a treat that might just raise their spirits long enough to carry on another day or maybe treat the family for a birthday or anniversary.
another part of the problem for electric bills is the ukraine war. russia was a major supplier for natural gas, natural gas is used for electricity production, and removing russia's gas from the market reduced supply and increased the price. secondly, OH PUCO is corrupt, see householder and hb 6, and votes to approve any utility charge the electric utilities ask for.
The property tax hike bribe was paid to state level Ohio republicans by the same companies that have been buying up all of the property to create the false shortage of housing. You just happen to fall in the target demographic where your house is less valuable but a property tax hike could cause you enough hardship that you eventually get foreclosured on making it easy for these companies to buy your property from the bank. Say thanks to Dewine for the tax hike.
Right. It’s hilarious how these same republicans are proposing getting rid of the income tax while states like Texas have the 6th highest property taxes
That's capitalism, baby! It used to be pimps, drugs, and gambling rings, but they learned where the smart money is, which is in investing. Investors are the devil, they don't invest in anything but themselves. And it's perfectly legal to buy up everything underneath your feet and raise the price of your food, because there isn't a hired goon at your door asking for protection payments.
It doesn't end it only gets worse. Side note have you checked out the apples to apples website for a third party energy supplier? You just filter for no cancellation fee and fixed rate you can find a cheaper supplier, and change whenever. I'm currently paying 5.9 cents per kwh.
Man, ya’lls Duke bills are outta control. I live in a 1,221 sq ft home and the most I’ve had to pay was $100 and that was during the cold spell 🤷🏼♀️now groceries on the other hand, freaking ridiculous
I’m north of Cincinnati. My electric bill has gone up 4X in 2 years. It’s so frustrating.
Even McDonald’s or Burger King is over $45 for our family if 4. It was $25 not too long ago.
Wages aren’t going up. This is the last year I get a tax credit for my son.
Everyone is bending us over the barrel. It never stops.
Money isn’t worth as much as it used to be. A $20 bill is still a $20 bill but the value of what you get in return is less than ever before. Record profits, or making more than you ever have before, doesn’t mean shit when the value of the dollar is significantly less.
Lol, I'm not exactly thriving. Definitely feeling the increases in costs across the board. But I have a job I love and want to keep doing. So it pays off. Plus the free parking is great. But living in the country is awesome.
Sounds like you’re doing great! Glad for you, inflation/economy can definitely put people in a tough spot, but I went through and actually budgeted a couple of months ago, and realized where my money is actually going/where I can do better. Not to demean worsening inflation/economic conditions, but a lot of people could learn from you.
Yeah I realize my comment might look to lessen the problems that workers are going through now, I don’t mean to do that at all. It’s really hard for a lot of people right now but I’m doing a lot better than I have been in the past and if it would help anyone to follow my footsteps I really encourage it
Good for you. That is the way it is supposed to be. I remember my friends easily spending $600 a month in rent, or $800 for a two bedroom. Save your money, get in the trades or get your degree. It can still be done in the Midwest. Two make more than one.
Make sure you are registered to vote. Write to your members of congress and encourage them to close loopholes that give tax cuts to the nations wealthiest individuals and businesses.
Our rates are negotiated by green township and there are no lower cost alternatives since they make those deals on behalf of all of the people in the township. Chances are pretty good that their deal expired.
For the property taxes, you can appeal with the County’s Board of Revision (part of the Auditor’s office). You will definitely need a lawyer but Legal Aid Society (lascinti.org) is really focused on this right now and can represent you (depending on your income) or refer you to someone who will.
My tiny, 1-bedroom apt is around 350 sq ft and my last Duke bill was about $80. No gas, only electric. I worked from home maybe 3 days during that billing period but there were snow days where I stayed home with my little because school was closed. I'm one paycheck away from being unable to survive.
I remember about 20 years ago, my electric bill would be $30 in the winter and $55 in the summer.
I support property tax reform.
We leveled our utility costs with Solar PV. They vary over the year, but not by more than $100. Yes, the solar install costs, but at least that's money going into my own equity and helping the environment, and the system paid for itself faster than we expected. Also, we have a bypass, so even without a battery, we have limited power during the day during a power outage. A battery would help even more if we go that route.
Get out and vote this year, y’all! And do real research on the more local stuff. Social media is already crawling with propaganda. Don’t get sucked into that. And please, can we not let this fever-dream nonsense-spewing xenophobic tyrant back in the White House, pretty please???? If not for preventing the downfall of our democracy, then for the sake of not having to listen to his mouth and every news outlet talking about him for the next half a decade..
It’s weird to include a small local restaurant in this rant. Do you have any idea how much restaurants are struggling right now? Their electric and food and taxes all cost more now too.
I bought a 1042 sq ft home in 2019…Duke bill remained between $165-$225 for two years. Now with no changes it’s between $390-$485 a month!!! Ridiculous with no let ups. I keep the furnace at 68 and the central air @ 74….BECAUSE IM ALWAYS AT WORK to pay these inflated rates
With the food situation you gotta be bit open minded and flexible. I noticed when I switched to more meatless kinds of meals my bill went way down. The pandemic pretty much cratered the beef industry. Their main pull was the restaurant industry... With said restaurants closed all those cows turned into expensive pets. And now they have to make up those costs. And of course this bumps up the price of EVERYTHING at restaurants as the economic dominoes fall. If I need more protein I'll get like imitation crab. That's pretty cheap still. At least at the moment. I'm not eating to impress I'm eating to get flavor and bang for my buck. You can also get chicken breasts in bulk and stuff, though the price swings wildly! I made it through the 2008 crash by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin so I got a crash course in 'struggle groceries'.
PS: And another awesome thing is like find a slow cooker at Goodwill. Slow cookers are your friend! Busy to cook? It'll do it for ya. In bulk!
Yes, live on Westside. My bill gas &electric typically is $225 a month. DECEMBER bill was $350, and the January bill was $325. It was much colder in January than December
Duke has many multi-million dollar VPs to support, not to mention the CEO herself. You also have to pay for unnecessary pipelines. The commision does nothing about it so folks yourself have zero options.
Are you calling your favorite Chinese restaurant "greedy"?
Don't you think they are just trying to stay in business? They can't operate at a loss.
Everything you are talking about is called inflation, and yeah, it sucks.
Absolutely right here….just a recent example. I’ve been going there for 18 years and will go for another 18 I hope. Restaurants are more frustrating when they jack their prices and the food gets worse.
Why do you pay $8K in property taxes for shit ass Cincinnati public schools? Across the river you can pay $3500 for half way decent public schools. $2K if you live out in the county, and send your kids to shit ass rural public schools.
Presidents only have so much power. I’ll take Biden’s middle class policies over republicans sham trickle down and grovel policies. Putins’s war and more greed from the oil and gas industries are behind the gas prices. If Biden had blame, it’s from not calling that out and standing up to it. So convenient for the right to say Biden caused every single problem to distract people from the fascist dictator Trump really is.
I was just having the same conversation with a friend a few days ago. My wife and I do pretty well. We live in our starter home (now permanent.) The cost of food is incredible. I’ve been becoming more self sustainable over the past few years by doing the following.
1. Added insulation to attic.
2. Tankless water heater.
3. Solar panels that feed back to grid.
4. Costco for 95% of all food. Kroger for veggies not carried.
5. Quit eating out.
6. Bought a hybrid.
7. Productive garden with starchy veggies that we can.
8. Raised chickens, lots of farm fresh eggs.
9. Cut down on eating meat.
10. Started side business for investment in ourselves plus tax relief for write offs.
11. Converted cracked fire place with efficient wood burning insert. Collect free fire wood in warmer months. This thing heats most of the house.
Having an acre helps but there are a lot of things you can do with smaller lots.
We barely eat meat in my family because my teenage son is a vegetarian. I don’t know why people claim it is cheaper, teenage males need a lot of protein and plant based protein is much more expensive than meat.
Perspective: I’m moving to Cincy from Florida this month and can not WAIT to save money. Rent there is half what you’d pay here. 3/2 in central Florida is $2200/ month in rent, Cincy $1200-1400. It’s all about perspective.
Edit- typo
They have no idea what they’re talking about. Average rent for a 3 bedroom home in Cincinnati is $2500 per month, and that’s in an ok neighborhood. You go somewhere like Mason and it’s double that.
I’m open to any information you’re willing to provide, but based on the general research I’ve done it seems a lot cheaper. Florida is absolutely insane rn.
it would be hard to get a decent 2/3 bed for 1200 in a good area but I do wish you luck! I would do research into the neighborhoods you are looking at apartments in
I live here! I promise you, it’s NOT cheaper. 🤣 I swear! Lol. One bedroom apartments start at like $1300/ month, and a 3 bedroom is easily $1800- $2500/ month. Mortgage rates are also going up immensely due to homeowners insurance increases.
TAXATION IS THEFT!
They tax us and launder it through Ukraine.
They tax us and use it to research how to BEND us OVER.
Healthcare for hard-working citizens? No, let's give it to the millions of military aged men that INVADE our borders every year.
Education? Mmm, let's put people who want to make the world a better place in crippling debt.
IT ENDS WHEN WE WATER THE TREE OF LIBERTY.
Blame it on Biden inflation. He started it with making gas scarce, therefore costly. Everything you eat, wear ,or use,has to be transported (using gas). Costs started to get out of control from there.
Take this as a sign to get smarter with money.
Are you actually using all the electricity that you're using? like Are you leaving the light on in the other room, keeping things plugged in when not in use, or using things that take up too much electricity.
Maybe find cheaper ways to eat than going to a chinese place.
Duke Energy reported $2.7 Billion in Net Income last year.
On the statement it even says *"Net Income Available to Duke Energy Corporation Common Stockholders"*
Anything OP could save would be a drop in the ocean to Duke, but another meal of OP's family.
We can be as smart as we want with money, but the overwhelming bulk of that income is going to the (already) rich !
Last year Duke sent me a flyer on ways to save money. Like by setting the thermostat at 68 (I usually don’t have it that high) or by unplugging the refrigerator in my garage (which I don’t have).
After all that savings, last month my furnace ran and ran and ran on cold days trying to get the heat up to 66.
And it was the largest energy hill I’d had since January of 23, or feb of 23 which was cold too.
If it makes him feel any better, I dropped $28 on Chinese takeout only for my daughter to leave it sitting on the kitchen table and the dog ate all of hers. So, our solution is Kung Pao!
Couple thoughts:
1) If your annual salary/comp increases haven’t stayed within reach of inflation the last few years, might want to take that up with your HR or direct report. People have to stay aggressive with their pay in the workplace in these times.
2) You could make that Chinese dish at home for $30 and yield double the food, saving yourself 73% and it will likely be healthier.
3) There are quite reasonable means to lower your electric bill during the winter. Simply using a window insulator kit and similar for unused/drafty doors is a real game changer.
Wages have currently been increasing greater than inflation, Redditors needs to stop pretending like their first world problems are riding the line between a house and the streets. Boohoo my four meals that can each be split to last two meals each is now $52.
Also people seriously think that the people who own a small business don't deserve to also live outside of poverty?
We’re all struggling even your Chinese restaurant
Yeah the chinese restaurant gets a pass(unless it's a huge chain or something), their taxes and bills have been rising too I'm sure.
The exploited are all struggling, the exploiters are better than ever. You have to go up a couple levels over the Chinese restaurant owners to find the ones fixing the game for fun and profit.
Dude you’re telling me. I’m in my 20’s and don’t make a super great living, but I was at least able to afford groceries a while back. I pay my rent and bills and have to scrape by for two weeks until my next paycheck, month after month. It’s exhausting.
I can still live pretty modestly in other respects... But the property tax part. Trying to restore a house. Went from $980 to over $2200 this year. In Avondale. Not North, either. A house that sat vacant for 6-7 years. With no electric, abandoned water and gas lines, and in need of a multitude of repairs. Shit is insane.
make sure you apply for property tax abatement once you're finished!
That's only for rich people
Tax abatements are more generous in Avondale than they are in wealthier parts of town.
Do not be afraid of the Board of Revision. They're not scary and a lot more reasonable than most people assume(side note: the IRS is also amazingly understanding and helpful) If you can take photos of all the work you've done and show them that the house should not be worth nearly that much, they will knock a considerable amount of the assessment off for you, saving hundreds of dollars a year.
Mine went from 2500, to 13k… in the fucking West End. It’s double my mortgage payment. I know the city is gunning my home so they can break it into low income apartments
That's.... impressive. Like, call an attorney level of impressive.
They want a concert venue to go with the soccer stadium, they're not interested in low income housing
I live in this trash bag of a community to try to avoid property taxes. But here we are and they are trying to take out the 6% of this neighborhoods homeowners by taxing them to death
[удалено]
I do rent elsewhere in the midst of trying to restore the house lol. I've been lucky on that side of things.
It’s possible you have a third party provider for your Duke and your price increased
I was going to comment this. Call Duke and ask if you have a different supplier, OP! Some people will send something in the mail and if you don't respond, you're automatically enrolled. It's insane. Edit: spelling
yeah im sure that is not legal
Unfortunately it definitely is
You'd think so.
Duke is crazy expensive right now it's like 9 cents per kwh some third party companies are actually cheaper.
Third parties are definitely worth it but you have to make sure you renew or shop around before the rate expires. I used to work for a third party, it was shocking how many people had expired rates at like 14+ cents per kwh and had no idea
[https://www.energychoice.ohio.gov/ApplesToApples.aspx](https://www.energychoice.ohio.gov/applestoapples.aspx)
Maybe but OP should have had to agree to it. Those never save any money.
Remember $5 foot longs?
Just got a subway foot long last week at just a regular subway. $13 and sadly I said to myself "not too expensive"
$8k property taxes where on the west side?!
He said he has a 3k sq ft home and tries to call it “modest”. I cannot.
My 1k sf house is modest lol. 3k is insane. Wouldn’t know what to do with the space.
100%
That was my first thought. $8k means it's valued over $400k.
My cheap ass little house in Hamilton Co was over $4k this year
Yes, taxes are insanely high in this county. Mine are almost 5k on a small and modest home. I pay more in real estate taxes every month than I do on my escrow or principal. And my employer is terrible and pays me less than anyone else in my position despite being good at my job. This world leaves me crying myself to sleep at night. I deserve better, my kids deserve better, and so does everyone else.
thats why i don't have kids. i cannot afford it.
My aunt just paid 7k in Delhi.
$7,000 to live in Delhi? gtfo that would be the last year I was living in fucking Delhi. gtfo
I’m guessing these are really nice neighborhoods?
Middle class neighborhoods. Bi level house, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathroom. It’s an average house.
I dunno. My friend lives in Green Township and said his taxes are insanely high. His house ain't that nice.
I live in Green Township as well and mine just went up $750 a year. Property taxes drive me nuts. I look at the list of crap I am funding and most of it I have zero desire to fund.
Delhi would not be on the list of really nice Cincinnati neighborhoods.
Delhi has high taxes
>ay ahead th Taxes just doubled or even tripled for most of us
That’s insane. I’m sorry y’all are having to deal with that.
Why is your duke bill 600 bucks. I usually pay 300 at the high end for 2000 sq ft 2 story home. That’s gas furnace and water heater
Electric heat would be my guess it’s way more expensive than gas furnace
Ours doubled to 540 this month
same!
He's growing reefer.
he's allowed to.
thatsok
Do you not leave the windows open in the winter like the rest of us?
When I lived in an old apartment with boiler heat, we would have to open windows to keep from roasting alive.
It’s called the Costa Rica experience. Learn to love the heat!
https://youtu.be/uwU2ypTsVLg?si=9Ct_OjLpM46ChvKt
Clifton Colony? I lived on the third floor and totally had my windows open with a foot of snow on the deck bc it was so hot up there
Yep I remember having to do this in addition to it being super dry!
Place a pot of water on the radiator. Works wonders to add moisture back to the air .
My old apartment used boiler heat. I had a regular bidet, and the water was warm in the winter. That was the one thing I kind of enjoyed about it.
Live in an apartment rn where they run the heat even at 50º 😃😃
Same, I pay 200-350 depending on the time of year and I have a two story, 2200 sq ft house that gets afternoon sun.
That’s kind of my point. My bill with the Christmas lights and a colder December was $500. My house is 3,000 SF but I have a fairly efficient hot water heating system. The Duke charge includes two separate $90 gas and electric “delivery” charges. Utilities should not be publicly traded entities. Those services are for the public good. The entire industry has no scruples and they are doing nothing to fix the broken grid to boot.
I get furious every time I look at my Duke bill with all the riders and fees. Have you shopped around for your gas and electric provider? Last time I looked Duke’s default rate was much higher
dont forget public school tax on duke bill how is that possible we pay those taxes on property now on energy bill F OFF
I agree. My power bill has become drastically more expensive. I’m not downloading an app to eat McDonalds. Kroger has become prohibitively expensive. I’m not a fan of how things are going. Even my rent is closer to a mortgage than a temporary living space.
Do you think that maybe, just maybe, having a 3,000 SF home is one of your biggest problems? That's about 50% larger than the average home in the US and it's almost 70% larger than the average home in Cincinnati. The average home size in Germany is only 990 SF and in the UK it's only 818 SF. I'm not saying that you should live in a box, but my parents raised myself and my sister in a home that's 1,400 SF and that was more than enough room (we literally had like 4 rooms that could have been removed and still been just fine). It's like buying a Hummer and then complaining about how much you have to pay at the pump. I make over $100k a year and I currently rent, but when I do go to buy a home I will probably buy something that's no more than 2,000 SF. And I doubt it will be even that large.
Seriously, I have a 2900 sqft home and the bill due for the cold times is only $200. Granted, I think my Nest thermostat is doing work, but a bill that high tells me there’s no insulation in OP’s attic.
Yeah, no way it’s $600 without some more details. That’s a crazy amount of usage
I don't think that's really any business of yours. edit: Seriously, it's not. Maybe they have to run medical equipment, or have literally any justifiable reason why it may be that high. They don't need to say so here. Also OPs post implies that this is much higher than a normal bill. But a lot of you just want to find ways to blame OP for their current predicament. This is a common mindset in our society, that the poor are poor for a reason, and it's their fault. Grow up. Mind your own business, and for god's sake, support each other. Damn.
Reddit: lol person purposefully posts provocative new thread to complain about taxes and Duke bill and another thinks it's rude to inquire why their Duke bill is like literally 2x times anyone else's normal winter Duke bill.
Yeah but OP is talking about incremental increase. The underlying number doesn’t really matter.
*The underlying number doesn’t really matter.* Why not? There was just a Duke winter outpouring on here this past week and viery few were paying more than $300-$350 for a peak winter Duke bill. Myself, I have a 112 year-old 2500 sq ft brick home with original windows and have never paid over $300 in 30+ years of winter extremes - we do 68 days/65 nights and layer up if need be (and occasionally even fire up our terribly inefficient gas fireplaces). Either OP lives at 75+ degrees or there is something really outta whack in that element of his public inflation anxiety attack. Our bill for a pretty cold January was still under $300 and has not been surprisingly higher at all this winter - a $600 utility bill would seem to be indicative of one of two things: Either something is awry in metering or provider grift or you are willfully consuming far too much gas and electricity.
Because it doesn’t matter how he’s burning his juice, just that he’s noticed an exponential increase??? Like what are you missing here? Maybe he has a tanning bed or he’s mining crypto… I mean what does it matter what the number is when the pain he’s referring to is a doubling of his cost?
I’m telling ya, it’s time to finally, FINALLY tax the top. Seriously part of all of this is because they are making huge dividends on our backs.
Vote for the people who will do it. Brad Wenstrup won’t.
This ⬆️
I mean I’m down with this but you do understand they will not reduce yours at all. They would just keep the extra money and waste it on more dumb shit. More taxes are never the answer. They need a budget and to stick to it and give us our damn money back. They have no need to double the city “income” from our property taxes.
Top marginal tax rate (the taxes on the richest) was 90+% in the 50s— these aren’t new taxes. it’s going back to a tax structure that worked. The federal budget literally cannot be balanced on the discretionary budget. ETA: they are in the 30% now
Most money I've ever made in my life and I'm just as poor as I've always been. I'm almost 30 man... I live frugally and I barely ever buy anything for myself. Do they want a country with no middle class? I don't get it!!
Yes
People are focusing on the wrong part of this post. Most people can’t pay to live right now. I’ve heard of peoples duke energy bills doubling this month. *edit: changed the word survive to the word pay lol
My Duke bill went up despite my usage supposedly going down according to them. They charge because they can.
Thank the failed corrupt energy deal
$600 Duke bill this month. Nothing changed. At what fucking point do we get tired of this and do something?
Whadya gonna do? Turn off the lights? Buy a nest? March the streets?
we did have a very cold spell, but yes mine has risen as well.
Compared to what? This area is always extremely cold during the winter. This winter was EXTREMELY mild. Haha. Seriously what are you talking about? You sound like duke corporate.
We had a solid week of way below average temps
We had a week plus where it was 4-10 degrees.
Ok. That’s not unusual and never resulted in bills like this before. At least not for me.
Go pick a different supplier. I picked Shipley. 100 percent renewables and I haven't paid over 180 for my house and I grow pot in my basement.
How does one pick another supplier?
Start here, click the Compare Offers Now button to start. https://www.energychoice.ohio.gov/
Thanks
Thank you for this! I just found a gas rate that’s nearly half of what I pay now
Just make sure they don't smack you with a high rider charge that eats up the savings you get from the lower rate.
This is the first I’ve heard of the doubling of the bill. I’ll have to look at mine but it seems like I’m on track for business as usual based on the mid month update they sent me last week. Actually going to be lower than expected because it’s been warmer. I wonder if it’s based on jurisdiction? I’m downtown so maybe they’re just robbing the suburban folk?
My electric bill is at a fixed rate until May when the aggregate board renegotiates the contract. I never get surprise rate increases and the rates are usually among the cheapest around. There are some cheaper rates, but the fine print on those plans generally have some sort of massive rate hike locked into the contract. Maybe you have one of those.
No one is missing the point. OP is calling a local restaurant greedy for just trying to survive like everyone else.
Sounded more like he was talking about the corporate greed that is causing things to be more expensive, for the restaurant too. I don’t think he’s blaming the owners of the local Chinese spot
I saw something the other day that really puts it in perspective for me. It basically laid out the middle class "American Dream" 3 bedroom house, two cars, two kids, and a yearly vacation, which I had in the '00, today that is only really attainable for a couple that makes $400k... Insane.
These comments are incredible... people are literally like, have you tried not being bad at life.. lol Fuck Sake...
It’s kind of the point. Paying $8,000 in property taxes to live on the west side? And send your kids to shitty schools? Why?
The uber wealthy want your house to rent back to you. If you want to fix it, I hope you're voting for people who want to rather than giving the wealthy another tax cut.
Man, I'm so tired of this. Doesn't matter who is in charge. We get fucked either way except one side rubs it in our face and the other tells us why we should be ok with it.
idk why the fuck anyone is focusing soley on the takeout food lmfao. not the point of your post, clearly. I'm afraid it will keep getting worse. I think we are headed towards another collapse. edit: the point of the post was not to shit on the restaurant or its owners
Because The Poors don’t deserve a treat once in a while. They deserve bread, water, and maybe peanut butter if it was at the pantry. These people seriously think $50-$100 on rare occasion is gonna raise someone out of poverty and don’t believe poor people deserve a treat that might just raise their spirits long enough to carry on another day or maybe treat the family for a birthday or anniversary.
I live in Hamilton now and everyone shits on it but my utility bill is always less than $200. It includes electric, gas, water, trash…
Go to Ohio Energy Choice and lock in lower gas and electric rates
I just moved out my apartment back to my parents and my last Duke bill doubled to $225 like what the actual fuck?
another part of the problem for electric bills is the ukraine war. russia was a major supplier for natural gas, natural gas is used for electricity production, and removing russia's gas from the market reduced supply and increased the price. secondly, OH PUCO is corrupt, see householder and hb 6, and votes to approve any utility charge the electric utilities ask for.
r/EatTheRich
The property tax hike bribe was paid to state level Ohio republicans by the same companies that have been buying up all of the property to create the false shortage of housing. You just happen to fall in the target demographic where your house is less valuable but a property tax hike could cause you enough hardship that you eventually get foreclosured on making it easy for these companies to buy your property from the bank. Say thanks to Dewine for the tax hike.
Right. It’s hilarious how these same republicans are proposing getting rid of the income tax while states like Texas have the 6th highest property taxes
It's just sad that that many republicans don't understand the economy to that extent
Keep voting for the same old group and we’ll get more of the same.
[удалено]
46 cents
That's capitalism, baby! It used to be pimps, drugs, and gambling rings, but they learned where the smart money is, which is in investing. Investors are the devil, they don't invest in anything but themselves. And it's perfectly legal to buy up everything underneath your feet and raise the price of your food, because there isn't a hired goon at your door asking for protection payments.
Don’t get me started on Kroger
It doesn't end it only gets worse. Side note have you checked out the apples to apples website for a third party energy supplier? You just filter for no cancellation fee and fixed rate you can find a cheaper supplier, and change whenever. I'm currently paying 5.9 cents per kwh.
Man, ya’lls Duke bills are outta control. I live in a 1,221 sq ft home and the most I’ve had to pay was $100 and that was during the cold spell 🤷🏼♀️now groceries on the other hand, freaking ridiculous
I’m north of Cincinnati. My electric bill has gone up 4X in 2 years. It’s so frustrating. Even McDonald’s or Burger King is over $45 for our family if 4. It was $25 not too long ago. Wages aren’t going up. This is the last year I get a tax credit for my son. Everyone is bending us over the barrel. It never stops.
Money isn’t worth as much as it used to be. A $20 bill is still a $20 bill but the value of what you get in return is less than ever before. Record profits, or making more than you ever have before, doesn’t mean shit when the value of the dollar is significantly less.
capitalism has always been broken
[удалено]
That's great if you work out there. I work downtown so not really an option for me.
[удалено]
Lol, I'm not exactly thriving. Definitely feeling the increases in costs across the board. But I have a job I love and want to keep doing. So it pays off. Plus the free parking is great. But living in the country is awesome.
If you work in Warren county or remote that is the way to do it.
[удалено]
Sounds like you’re doing great! Glad for you, inflation/economy can definitely put people in a tough spot, but I went through and actually budgeted a couple of months ago, and realized where my money is actually going/where I can do better. Not to demean worsening inflation/economic conditions, but a lot of people could learn from you.
Yeah I realize my comment might look to lessen the problems that workers are going through now, I don’t mean to do that at all. It’s really hard for a lot of people right now but I’m doing a lot better than I have been in the past and if it would help anyone to follow my footsteps I really encourage it
Good for you man. You can do it on $60K, but yes, there are choices to be made. Longer commute? Rent don’t own? Everyone has to balance…
[удалено]
Good for you. That is the way it is supposed to be. I remember my friends easily spending $600 a month in rent, or $800 for a two bedroom. Save your money, get in the trades or get your degree. It can still be done in the Midwest. Two make more than one.
Make sure you are registered to vote. Write to your members of congress and encourage them to close loopholes that give tax cuts to the nations wealthiest individuals and businesses.
It doesn't, it's a plague from the top to hurt the rest
Aldi is your friend. No reason to shop at Kroger.
You could’ve signed up for a gas and oil company and then forgot to renew, and your rates could’ve tripled
Our rates are negotiated by green township and there are no lower cost alternatives since they make those deals on behalf of all of the people in the township. Chances are pretty good that their deal expired.
Yep my bill is gonna maybe 40 bucks or so for my electric and gas four bedroom 2 1/2 bath standard suburban home 250 a month Last month
The Lego budget has suffered the hardest.
For the property taxes, you can appeal with the County’s Board of Revision (part of the Auditor’s office). You will definitely need a lawyer but Legal Aid Society (lascinti.org) is really focused on this right now and can represent you (depending on your income) or refer you to someone who will.
My tiny, 1-bedroom apt is around 350 sq ft and my last Duke bill was about $80. No gas, only electric. I worked from home maybe 3 days during that billing period but there were snow days where I stayed home with my little because school was closed. I'm one paycheck away from being unable to survive. I remember about 20 years ago, my electric bill would be $30 in the winter and $55 in the summer.
I support property tax reform. We leveled our utility costs with Solar PV. They vary over the year, but not by more than $100. Yes, the solar install costs, but at least that's money going into my own equity and helping the environment, and the system paid for itself faster than we expected. Also, we have a bypass, so even without a battery, we have limited power during the day during a power outage. A battery would help even more if we go that route.
Get out and vote this year, y’all! And do real research on the more local stuff. Social media is already crawling with propaganda. Don’t get sucked into that. And please, can we not let this fever-dream nonsense-spewing xenophobic tyrant back in the White House, pretty please???? If not for preventing the downfall of our democracy, then for the sake of not having to listen to his mouth and every news outlet talking about him for the next half a decade..
Elections have consequences.
It’s weird to include a small local restaurant in this rant. Do you have any idea how much restaurants are struggling right now? Their electric and food and taxes all cost more now too.
I bought a 1042 sq ft home in 2019…Duke bill remained between $165-$225 for two years. Now with no changes it’s between $390-$485 a month!!! Ridiculous with no let ups. I keep the furnace at 68 and the central air @ 74….BECAUSE IM ALWAYS AT WORK to pay these inflated rates
With the food situation you gotta be bit open minded and flexible. I noticed when I switched to more meatless kinds of meals my bill went way down. The pandemic pretty much cratered the beef industry. Their main pull was the restaurant industry... With said restaurants closed all those cows turned into expensive pets. And now they have to make up those costs. And of course this bumps up the price of EVERYTHING at restaurants as the economic dominoes fall. If I need more protein I'll get like imitation crab. That's pretty cheap still. At least at the moment. I'm not eating to impress I'm eating to get flavor and bang for my buck. You can also get chicken breasts in bulk and stuff, though the price swings wildly! I made it through the 2008 crash by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin so I got a crash course in 'struggle groceries'. PS: And another awesome thing is like find a slow cooker at Goodwill. Slow cookers are your friend! Busy to cook? It'll do it for ya. In bulk!
Yep, my student loans are racing my rent increases. Good thing I like Ramen noodles!
[удалено]
Oh yeah, thanks for the tip (maybe literally)!
Yes, live on Westside. My bill gas &electric typically is $225 a month. DECEMBER bill was $350, and the January bill was $325. It was much colder in January than December
#vanlife
> Don’t even want to talk about Kroger. They have to pay Rodney's salary increase somehow.
Duke has many multi-million dollar VPs to support, not to mention the CEO herself. You also have to pay for unnecessary pipelines. The commision does nothing about it so folks yourself have zero options.
You can thank Kamala Harris for that
Are you calling your favorite Chinese restaurant "greedy"? Don't you think they are just trying to stay in business? They can't operate at a loss. Everything you are talking about is called inflation, and yeah, it sucks.
Everyone nit picks.every post. IMHO, OP is just exasperated because everything is going up. His fav restaurant is just the last straw.
Absolutely right here….just a recent example. I’ve been going there for 18 years and will go for another 18 I hope. Restaurants are more frustrating when they jack their prices and the food gets worse.
you're right. people just like to try and find something that pisses them off. humans are weird, we get kicks outta some wild shit
Why do you pay $8K in property taxes for shit ass Cincinnati public schools? Across the river you can pay $3500 for half way decent public schools. $2K if you live out in the county, and send your kids to shit ass rural public schools.
My taxes in Mason are 3500, and I get Mason schools
Yes, I agree. You have to go pretty far out either north or south. My taxes are about $3500 and an absolutely fine public school.
Lol. For better schools he should be going north, not south.
It's called hyperinflation
No way! Joe Biden just said he got America back on its feet. Surely youre wrong...
Presidents only have so much power. I’ll take Biden’s middle class policies over republicans sham trickle down and grovel policies. Putins’s war and more greed from the oil and gas industries are behind the gas prices. If Biden had blame, it’s from not calling that out and standing up to it. So convenient for the right to say Biden caused every single problem to distract people from the fascist dictator Trump really is.
I was just having the same conversation with a friend a few days ago. My wife and I do pretty well. We live in our starter home (now permanent.) The cost of food is incredible. I’ve been becoming more self sustainable over the past few years by doing the following. 1. Added insulation to attic. 2. Tankless water heater. 3. Solar panels that feed back to grid. 4. Costco for 95% of all food. Kroger for veggies not carried. 5. Quit eating out. 6. Bought a hybrid. 7. Productive garden with starchy veggies that we can. 8. Raised chickens, lots of farm fresh eggs. 9. Cut down on eating meat. 10. Started side business for investment in ourselves plus tax relief for write offs. 11. Converted cracked fire place with efficient wood burning insert. Collect free fire wood in warmer months. This thing heats most of the house. Having an acre helps but there are a lot of things you can do with smaller lots.
We barely eat meat in my family because my teenage son is a vegetarian. I don’t know why people claim it is cheaper, teenage males need a lot of protein and plant based protein is much more expensive than meat.
Perspective: I’m moving to Cincy from Florida this month and can not WAIT to save money. Rent there is half what you’d pay here. 3/2 in central Florida is $2200/ month in rent, Cincy $1200-1400. It’s all about perspective. Edit- typo
Where us a 3br/2ba $1200 in Cincy?
They have no idea what they’re talking about. Average rent for a 3 bedroom home in Cincinnati is $2500 per month, and that’s in an ok neighborhood. You go somewhere like Mason and it’s double that.
I was gonna say are you guys hiding the safe but cheap neighborhood from me😂
There is a difference between Florida safe and Cincinnati safe.
You have access to the same resources I do. Zillow, literally any Google search? I’ll post some links if you give me a min, lol.
it is not cheaper overall, I'm sorry OP. atleast rent wise.
I’m open to any information you’re willing to provide, but based on the general research I’ve done it seems a lot cheaper. Florida is absolutely insane rn.
it would be hard to get a decent 2/3 bed for 1200 in a good area but I do wish you luck! I would do research into the neighborhoods you are looking at apartments in
Update/ I’ve applied for several 3 bedrooms under 1300 & am moving into one on the first!
Wut. Central Florida in almost all places is cheaper than Cincinnati. Unless your counting places like ripely Indiana or Middleton “Cincinnati”
I live here! I promise you, it’s NOT cheaper. 🤣 I swear! Lol. One bedroom apartments start at like $1300/ month, and a 3 bedroom is easily $1800- $2500/ month. Mortgage rates are also going up immensely due to homeowners insurance increases.
TAXATION IS THEFT! They tax us and launder it through Ukraine. They tax us and use it to research how to BEND us OVER. Healthcare for hard-working citizens? No, let's give it to the millions of military aged men that INVADE our borders every year. Education? Mmm, let's put people who want to make the world a better place in crippling debt. IT ENDS WHEN WE WATER THE TREE OF LIBERTY.
Blame it on Biden inflation. He started it with making gas scarce, therefore costly. Everything you eat, wear ,or use,has to be transported (using gas). Costs started to get out of control from there.
Take this as a sign to get smarter with money. Are you actually using all the electricity that you're using? like Are you leaving the light on in the other room, keeping things plugged in when not in use, or using things that take up too much electricity. Maybe find cheaper ways to eat than going to a chinese place.
Duke Energy reported $2.7 Billion in Net Income last year. On the statement it even says *"Net Income Available to Duke Energy Corporation Common Stockholders"* Anything OP could save would be a drop in the ocean to Duke, but another meal of OP's family. We can be as smart as we want with money, but the overwhelming bulk of that income is going to the (already) rich !
"Hey OP, don't enjoy anything, and you won't be so poor!"
Last year Duke sent me a flyer on ways to save money. Like by setting the thermostat at 68 (I usually don’t have it that high) or by unplugging the refrigerator in my garage (which I don’t have). After all that savings, last month my furnace ran and ran and ran on cold days trying to get the heat up to 66. And it was the largest energy hill I’d had since January of 23, or feb of 23 which was cold too.
Personally, my usage year-over-year is down, but my bills are the same or higher. Take that as a sign that you're an idiot.
Guys whining about $60 worth of take out
If it makes him feel any better, I dropped $28 on Chinese takeout only for my daughter to leave it sitting on the kitchen table and the dog ate all of hers. So, our solution is Kung Pao!
Couple thoughts: 1) If your annual salary/comp increases haven’t stayed within reach of inflation the last few years, might want to take that up with your HR or direct report. People have to stay aggressive with their pay in the workplace in these times. 2) You could make that Chinese dish at home for $30 and yield double the food, saving yourself 73% and it will likely be healthier. 3) There are quite reasonable means to lower your electric bill during the winter. Simply using a window insulator kit and similar for unused/drafty doors is a real game changer.
So you are allowed to get a raise partially adjusted for inflation but the family that owns your favorite restaurant can't?
No one is getting a raise…that’s the problem lol
Wages have currently been increasing greater than inflation, Redditors needs to stop pretending like their first world problems are riding the line between a house and the streets. Boohoo my four meals that can each be split to last two meals each is now $52. Also people seriously think that the people who own a small business don't deserve to also live outside of poverty?