Here’s how many Americans are having sex to save on heating bills amid surging utility costs

Heather Senison
·2 min read
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Americans are finding some sexy ways to save on heat this winter.
Americans are finding some sexy ways to save on heat this winter.

Pay your heating bill or have sex to stay warm?

Faced with soaring utility costs, some folks are choosing the latter. That’s according to a new report from NewHomesMate, a marketplace for new construction homes.

It found that 46% of the 1,000 Americans surveyed are struggling to afford their bills. Roughly 25% pile on extra clothing, while 35% are forced to choose between heat and groceries. To keep themselves toasty, 5% are getting hot and heavy between the sheets — and 2% are getting drunk, according to the report.

Utility costs are among the expenses that are soaring these days — and instead of paying an arm and a leg for heating, creative minds have identified fun ways to save the money. Getty Images
Utility costs are among the expenses that are soaring these days — and instead of paying an arm and a leg for heating, creative minds have identified fun ways to save the money. Getty Images
Other G-rated solutions include bundling up inside. Tatyana Gladskih – stock.adobe.com
Other G-rated solutions include bundling up inside. Tatyana Gladskih – stock.adobe.com

In more of a long-term fix, 60% of homeowners in the report installed energy-saving improvements to their homes, with 16% replacing their windows and 22% switching to smart thermostats.

Though electricity costs dropped more than 20% in 2023, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, they’re still up 29% from January 2020. Northeastern households that use natural gas were expected to spend about $760 on heat this winter, according to the US Energy Information Center. That estimation rose to $1,700 for propane, $1,460 for electric heat and $1,850 for oil.

With mortgage interest rates topping 7% and — in New York — a citywide median sales price of $775,000 in February, according to StreetEasy, locals who recently bought their homes may really feel the freeze.

The Big Apple’s older building stock is drafty and inefficient, which doesn’t help things, says NewHomesMate cofounder and CEO Dan Hnatkovskyy. Fortunately, New Yorkers are skilled at using fun to cope.

“As New York has been historically known as one of the American ‘sin cities,’ its citizens are likely to turn to vices, like sex or a cocktail or two, to save on heating,” Hnatkovskyy said.