Break the Rules and Get a Penalty

As I try to do all the right things, I admit I let one thing go last month. After the air conditioning season was over here in the mountains, I stopped worrying about our electricity consumption. You see we must pay our electric co-op for a minimum amount of usage whether we use it or not. So I figured I won't turn off all the extra lights or worry about that TV that no one is watching until November when our electric usage increases again.

Well shame on me! It turns out all this extra usage was enough to push the electric bill well over the minimum charge. I was floored by how much those little extras added up, so I am back to turning off unused lights and TV's. I didn't suffer much guilt at first since my "if you can't" list admits we can't do everything all the time. But when these transgressions actually cost me money, the guilt is now only 2nd on the list. Or did I just miss the fact that the kids left the basement lights on for a couple weeks? Hmm.

I need to stop worrying about whether or not I actually use all the electricity we're paying for, and keep the bigger goal in sight...using less, or at least wasting less. Are you kids listening to me down there?