I never imagined I'd still be reporting so close to Thanksgiving on those stalwart souls who haven't turned on the heat.

I give you guys a lot of credit. I'm with you in spirit. Although my heat is regularly kicking on, it's set at 59 degrees. You get used to it, for the most part. I hope I can keep it this low all winter long. In past years, my indoor high temp was set at 60 or 62, so this is my own ongoing personal challenge.

Here are the remaining 6 finalists who still have not turned on the heat (as far as I know):

debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
nomorecredit- NY
swimgirl - Northern California

Those who already turned on the heat:
monkeymama - N. California – Nov. 23
canoineag – Denver – Nov. 9
Joan.of.the.Arch – MO – Nov. 9
Analise - northern California - Nov. 9
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
toyguy1963 - Ohio - Oct. 27
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

There are still nine stalwart souls who haven't' turned on the heat. Most of these folks, I must point out, don't live in warm climates!

I turned my heat on weeks ago but it really hasn't kicked on much, 1. Because it's still been mostly mild and 2. It's set at 55 overnight and 58 for about 4 hours daily on weekdays.

Still no heat:

debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
nomorecredit- NY

Those who already turned on the heat:
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
monkeymama - N. California - Nov. 4
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

Another big bill looms ahead.

There's still tread on my car tires, but just barely enough to touch the head on a Lincoln penny.

Car tires weren't really on my radar, but I've experienced some skidding this past week coming home from work. The road was wet and i skidded easily on a level surface, without even applying the brake that hard. I was on a busy interstate highway doing about 50 in heavy commuter traffic.

So my next stop will be at the library to check Consumer Reports recommendations. I'd rather not take any chances.

I have a set of four snow tires that have a little less wear, so I may just defer the new tire purchase until spring.

In past years, I put the snows on in fall and took them off in spring. I do get noticeably better traction with four snow tires. More recently, someone told me that frequently putting tires on and off the rims and can possibly weaken the tire. I haven't had any luck looking for an extra set of rims at a junkyard.

I see from my records that the last time I purchased tires, I bought Dunlop SP Sport A2 tires, which were ranked #1 among all-season tires by Consumer Reports in their Nov. 02 issue. The four tires cost just $240.

The tires were warrantied for 50,000 miles, but mileage was one thing I didn't make note of when I purchased the tires. By checking the mileage noted on a few receipts I saved for oil changes and rough annual estimates, I calculate these Dunlops had 40,000 miles at most. It doesn't appear I could have benefited from that warranty because I didn't have a Dunlop authorized dealer do my tire rotations all these years.

I may wind up at Town Fair Tire when I'm ready to purchase. They'll do those rotations, and fix any flats, for free.

When I bought my Dunlops last year, I wound up purchasing them from Tire Rack online. When I priced tires at Town Fair Tire, their prices were significantly higher.

But using four snow tires meant that twice a year, I shelled out $40 a pop to have the snows put on, then taken off in spring, adding $80 annually to my car expenses. So that extra traction the snows afforded me actually cost me an extra $480 over the six years I used them.

I've heard from a few more contestants who have turned on the heat during the past week, so I've adjusted the list of finalists below. For all those still going with no heat, bravo.

Still no heat:
monkeymama - Northern California
debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
Buckeye - Ohio
Koppur - Massachusetts
nomorecredit- NY

Those who already turned on the heat:
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
ann link - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1