From time to time, bill collectors have reached my home in attempts to contact other people.
In one situation during the early 1990s, the bill collectors were looking for one of my neighbors. That got resolved quickly.
In very aggravating situation during the mid-1990s, the bill collectors were  looking for someone who used to have my phone [...]

The Grand Rapids Press, which is part of the MLive newspaper network, has this article: Rebate funding expected to go fast as cash for appliance clunkers begins in Michigan.
A snippet:
Starting Wednesday, Michigan shoppers are in line for $25 to $100 in rebates when they replace their old appliances with energy-efficient models — but [...]

I’ve pointed out from time to time that participation in one assistance program often helps you find assistance in another household budget category.
Many of the non-profit, charity and government programs use the same income guidelines when determining who is eligible. Even for privately funded programs, the correlation is often made if you made the review [...]

The Detroit Free Press had this report today: More people struggling to stay warm, taxing agencies.
A snippet:
Cynthia Caruthers is among an increasing number of metro Detroiters at risk of losing heat this winter because they either can’t find work or are struggling with small paychecks.
Compared with last year, the problem this winter is particularly brutal: [...]

Bundle.com is a free spending comparison database that has statistics from across the United States.
You can find out how your personal spending habits compare to families in your demographic, geographic area, income level or a combination of those factors. You can also take a spending quiz to find out your financial personality.
I got the heads [...]

How much does it cost to light the Christmas tree or your outdoor display?
Consumers Energy in Michigan has calculated the cost in a press release that was sent this week to The Monroe Evening News and other media outlets.
“Holiday lights are a very affordable way for our customers to add cheer to businesses and neighborhoods [...]

This article by my co-worker Charles Slat is on page 6A of today’s edition of The Monroe Evening News.
Michigan Gas Utilities has joined with 10 other Michigan utilities to form Efficiency United, a consortium that will offer energy optimization programs and energy-conservation incentives to their customers.
From now and into next year, Efficiency United will introduce [...]

This annual but fun piece from Consumers Energy is on page 7a of today’s edition of The Monroe Evening News:
Families might spend more energy preparing a Thanksgiving meal than the amount of energy they’ll use in cooking it.
Consumers Energy estimates that the cost of electricity or natural gas needed to cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal [...]

Brian J. O’Connor, personal finance columnist at the Detroit News, is working on a series called The Grand Experiment. He’s aiming to cut $1,000 a month out of his household budget.
This week’s episode features the utility bills, and he picked up on a tip I hadn’t thought of: Find out whether a cheaper wireless plan [...]

USA Today has this report: Easy steps can cut winter heating bills.
Yes, there are news and consumer reports on this topic every fall. But here’s a tip involving baby safety equipment that I haven’t seen before, and would be very inexpensive to implement:
Secure outlets. To keep cold air from entering your home via electrical outlets, [...]

I’ve been seeing a lot of chatter in the state and national headlines, and today there is a report in The Monroe Evening News: Natural gas bills might be smaller.
A snippet:

Michigan Gas Utilities customers might pay 20 percent less for natural gas this heating season than they did last year due to lower market prices [...]

Local readers in Monroe County, Mich.: be sure to check the pages of The Monroe Evening News to see what the furnace clean and check specials are. Several such ads have been running in the paper in the past few days, and I don’t want to leave anyone out.
Most of those deals expire at the [...]

Detective Bryan Gee talks with resident Kelli Cook about the start of the fire that devastated her home at the River Raisin apartment complex in Monroe, Mich., Wednesday. The fire was most likely started by candles burning in the living room. It destroyed many of Ms. Cook’s belongings, but both she and her 2-year-old son [...]

Energy-saving home improvements can be aggravating for the newly frugal or those new to do-it-yourself projects. Reason: sometimes you end up with the same electric, water or gas bill anyway because the rates went up despite whatever you are doing to keep the usage down.
Unfortunately, those rates are going to go up anyway. Do you [...]

We converted most of our light fixtures to the new CFL light bulbs about a year and a half ago.
The lights that we left on the old-fashioned technology were the applications where the standard CFL bulb just wasn’t going to be the right product: such as ceiling fans, stove fan and bathroom fixtures.
This summer, several [...]