PG&E: Heat Storm Credit

Fall has been very mild in Northern California. Yesterday the temperature was still 76F/25C. We barely had to turn on the heater in the morning. Our electricity and gas bills have been low. The Oct 15-Nov 15 bill was a grand total of $39. Something struck me as odd on the statement: the bill included a Heat Storm Bill credit of $4.35. PG&E 's website has more details:

PG&E is giving customers a credit. As we all know, California experienced unusually high temperatures in late July 2006. Higher temperatures led to higher energy usage and that, unfortunately, led to higher energy bills. Because of this unprecedented situation and because of our broader commitment to serving our customers, we’re taking unprecedented action. We are retroactively lowering your July bill. In October all residential customers will see a 15 percent credit based on their electric energy usage in July.

Let me repeat the PR-machine-at-work "Because of this unprecedented situation and because of our broader commitment to serving our customers, we’re taking unprecedented action."

When a big corporation is handing out cash, count your chickens!

Technorati: PG&E Electricity Environment Personal Finance

Will the real maestro please stand up?

Get Rich Slowly posed the question What is the best personal finance book you’ve ever read? The truth is that I read few personal finance books. I have a copy of David Bach's Smart Couples finish rich. I mostly enjoyed the (auto)biographies, such as Losing my virginity (Richard Branson) or Greenspan, the man behind the money. Recently, I came across a great set of interviews by Charlie Rose with Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, following Buffet's $31Billion gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation : Charlie Rose - Warren Buffett: The Man - Part One in a Three Part Series (Part 2 and 3 can also be found at video.google.com).

Opening day

Since moving away from Quicken several months ago, I have been on the look out for personal finance spreadsheet tips and tricks. How do YOU keep track of your personal finances? In my search, I've come across several interesting personal finance blogs. Some discuss the basics on investing, others have frugality tips, others show detailed snapshots of their personal finances. I also learned about a the Carnivals phenomenon: the Carnival of Frugality, the Carnival of Investing, etc.

Since I find myself posting commentary on many blogs entries, and I keep numerous personal finance spreadsheets myself, I decided to create my own personal finance blog. I care a lot about the best price quality ratio when I spend my money, so finding a title was easy. Welcome to Ratio(Price, Quality)!