The house is a 2800 sq ft split level (no basement). Part of the problem is that the bones of the house are older - furnace/AC/water heater are all nearing a replacement age, but I can't bring myself to replace them before they die.
Agree.
Are there some energy-saving things you can do besides replacing appliances? I've gotten on an energy saving kick lately, and so far have:
Had maintenance replace the vent hose on my dryer and clean out the ducts (maybe yours doesn't need replacing?)
Purchased a programmable thermostat $39.99
Purchased a low-flow showerhead (I got a 1.5gpm handheld) $18-something
Turned the temp down on my water heater from 130 to 120
Unplugged things that really don't need to be plugged in all the time (coffee maker, toaster, hair dryer, etc)
Turn off my computer when I'm not using it. (Supposedly, this can really save on energy usage. We'll see.)
I've just started to try to limit my shower times to 7 minutes. Today was day 1. I expected it to be tough, but I did it in 6 minutes.
Can you do any weather-proofing? Heavy light-eliminating drapes to keep summer sun out? A fan to bring cooler night air in?
I would also trim the restaurant budget, to maybe one meal out every other month. That's not too much of a hardship. I'd probably also cut the hobby budget to $50/mo. What are your hobbies?
$100/mo on clothing seems very excessive. What do you need to replace monthly that's so expensive? I can see replacing worn out socks & undies yearly, and other garments as they wear out or become damaged, plus maybe a couple new pieces each year. You aren't growing any more, you shouldn't need to pay for new wardrobes yearly.
Take Restaurant down to 40/mo (so one $80 meal every 2 months) = $1440 saved/year
Take Hobby down to $50/mo = $1200 saved/year
Take Clothing down to $300/year (so, $25/mo) = $900 saved/year
That alone is $3,540 saved/year.