I took the prospective homeowners course in 1998 in Portland. The instructor said for most of us, we could maintain a fast food habit or buy a house, choose one; that it makes that much of a difference. He'd had to quit his daily corner store coffee and delicious sub that he loved & he missed it but it was worth it to be a homeowner.

Not saying those darned millennials just need to give up their avocado toast to solve all their problems. I know the struggle is real and has gotten realer. I did my share of picking up a slice & diet pepsi on the fly because I was tired and stressed, instead of making a sandwich and bringing a nice apple. I regret all the $$$ I wasted on convenience food over the years. It's even more crazy expensive now.

So far, I'm maintaining the same electric costs even with the increase by being meticulous with lights & ghost power draws, but the biggest gain has been putting my water heater on a timer. A couple hours a day keeps it safely hot enough for dishes & showers without cooling down so much it costs more to heat back up.