SUN 1/16 QUESTION: Utility costs?

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Electricty?
Gas?
Sewer?
Water?
Trash?


Are your costs for these steady? Going up? Hard to control? Just something you live with? A big part of your budget> Ridiculously overpriced?

[Deleted]

I rent so I only have to pay for gas. As silly as it is, I don't feel bad paying for heat in the winter. I feel like I'm saving so much money when I don't have to pay it in the summer. Not logical, but it works for me ;D

[kristi28]

In a good month we spend about $150 across all these, when it is nasty cold it can be as much as $300. The cost have gone up only slightly in the years that I have been in this home, so I really can't complain too much. We know that the extra insulation that we have is helping out a lot - many of our neighbors spend far more.

[Apple]

Electricity is pretty steady, around $30 in the winter and $70-80 in summer (when I run central air non-stop)
Natural gas bill is on equal pay. I've taken it down from $78 a month to $57 a month, but since I added the programmable thermostat I should really be knocking that down further. I think my adjustments are made in May, but hopefully by next month my bills will come in at $0 for a few months.
Garbage is pretty steady at $16 a month for one can a week.
They keep raising water/sewer rates so now we're at $88 a month base. I never use water above the base limit so I don't have to pay any more than that.

Once I move I won't have any water/sewer bill but I'll put money aside for well/septic tank maintenance. My electric bill should be lower year round since I won't need central air anymore (much cooler on the mountain--I should be able to get by with one room ac and fans). Not sure what the garbage bill is up there though.

[Gardening Grandma]

Electricty? We are on a budget payment plan where they figure an average based on the previous years' bills. Right now it's $106/mo
Gas? We use propane - I started paying it annually last year ($800/yr)
Sewer? NA - we have a septic system
Water? I also pay that yearly ($528/yr), because paying yearly avoids metered charges which used to run up in the summer
Trash? We take our trash to the about once a month. Cost is usually around $6 or $7

Overall, I think we've got a pretty good handle on utilities.... We supplement the electric heat pump/aux furnace with a woodburning stove.

[constanz22]

Elec. Budget just went up from $74 to $85/mo.
Gas UGH! I heat (and hot water) with fuel oil. I just got 150 gallons 4 weeks ago and will need to order more within the next week or so. Last time I got it, it was 2.899/gallon. So, that was $435 4 weeks ago and another $435 (or more) in a couple weeks. But, I know Jan and Feb are like that...although it still hurts! Once it warms up, I will go from like April to October without needing to fill at all, so, I guess it evens out! I have propane for dryer and stove. They auto fill it every 3 months or so. This is usually between $55-70 every few months.
Sewer $126/quarter
Water NONE! On a well!
Trash $18.27 month, for one can, every other week.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

These utilities run us about $300 per month ~ if we don't use heat or a/c.

We pay $95/month for water, sewer and trash. The prices are expected to go up about 30% this next year, they say. We don't use our central heat or air conditioning and this keeps our electricity bill to about $200 per month. Our friends and neighbors who use heat/air tend to have power bills in the $300-$700 range, depending on the size of their home. Ours is 2600 sq ft and is 32 years old. (We have some of the highest electricity rates in the nation.)

[rubyslippers]

Our gas budget went down to $72.00 a month but electric bill went up to $130.00 a month. Water/sewage is always increasing, around $80.00 a month now. Trash is $34.00 every two months. I'd love to have a woodstove to supplement our heat but DH won't hear of it.

[Apple]

(We have some of the highest electricity rates in the nation.)

Wow, I don't envy you on that one. I'm in the NW where hydropower is king. Only thing really better than that is nuclear, but then you have to deal with the waste. Windmills, ick--they won't the great thing people think they are until you can figure out how to make the wind blow all the time. They wreak havoc on the grid!

[dancinmama]

The utilities listed can run us anywhere from $300-$350/mo. The PG&E and water/sewer bill tend to balance each other out as PG&E goes up in the winter and water goes up in the summer. I have to work at keeping our utility bills down (lower the temp on the hot water heater, turn off the auto sprinkler system in the winter, only turn the heat on to "take the chill off" instead of having it kick on automatically when the temp drops below a certain level, etc.).

We have central air, but we rarely run it in the summer. We have a neighbor who runs their AC all summer long and their PG&E bills ALONE run about $900/mo. We just wait until the sun goes down and open all the windows until we go to bed. I get up really early in the morning and open everything up until the sun comes up. Sometimes I can get it down to 64 degrees in the house on a summer morning.

[dragonfly7]

Electricity? Locked in at $0.105 per kW
Gas? N/A
Water/Sewer? Averages $60 / month.
Trash? $4.50 / month

Our electricity feels overpriced because I grew up with an electric co-op, where my parents currently pay $0.066 per kW. However, it is actually $30 less per month this year versus the apartment we were in last year, even though it is a larger apartment.
Our water bill annoys me because our usage mysteriously tripled last May and has stayed there ever since, even though we've taken measures to personally reduce our usage. I suspect we are being charged for some of the apartment complex's usage for landscaping even though they claim it isn't allocated to residents. The sprinklers were run thrice daily from May until the week after Christmas. Unfortunately, I don't have any way to prove it, although I suppose I could take my January water bill to management if our usage significantly decreases.

[Malarky]

Gas: $15-30/month water heater and stove
Electric: $110-130/month $200-300/month with a/c
Oil heat: $1,500 for the season, prepaid because it's cheaper. I hope it lasts.
Water/Sewer: $110 per quarter.
Trash: $100 ish/year. Recycling is free and I recycle everything I can

[Deleted]

Our utilities are pretty consistent. I haven't seen much rise in prices. I think they are relatively cheap, when I think of all of the other junk I spend money on.

Electricty? from around $100 in the winter to around $180 in the summer.
Gas? I just switched to a gas boiler to heat the house. It is running about $140 so far this winter.
Sewer? - combined with my water
Water? - about $20
Trash? - part of my municipal property taxes. I don't know what portion is related to trash.

[upstatemom]

Gas and electric are on same bill which runs around 150 year round. We rarely use the central air in the summer and heat mostly with wood in winter. Some of my neighbors are about 300-400 for similar size house- 2000 square feet

Water- we have a well
Sewer- we have septic
Trash- part of yearly county tax bill, I think about 150 a year

[Deleted]

We have an all electric house, so on budget billing we're paying $135/mo
Water...expensive, average is 2200 gallons/mo for about $65
Sewer: septic instead
Trash: $15.00/mo

[bobbysgirl]

oil heat, 230.00 for 75 gallons last week
water, well
sewer, septic
electricity 193 last month. highway robbery with the delivery charge being more than usage
trash SIL gifts me this since he owns the company. No, his name's not Guido! He often says he feels he should be an honorary Italian. I told him once he is asked to repaint the Sistine Chapel, he can be admitted. Me? I'm 100% and happy to be!

[Becks]

On the budget plan year round for Gas & Electric at about $95 monthly. (My house is roughly 1100 sq. ft.)
Water & Sewer is about $75 every 3 months
No charge for trash pick-up

[Peace77]

We pay $147 per mo for electric / gas on budget billing.

About $75 per quarter for water. Water is going up even though we are still at the minimum charge level.

Our city does not charge for sewer or garbage. Shhhh. . . . . Don't give them ideas.

[NastyWoman]

I own a condo and water, most thrash and sewer are part of my HOA. No gas -an all electric place- but since I live in a city with its own -not-for profit- electric utility my monthly cost is ~$35 including the on site laundromat cost and the annual clean up. That last one is the part of the trash that is not covered by my HOA fees. Don't know of a better deal around here.

[rileyoday]

first post here... all electric, 1000 sq ft, 2 adults, thermostat 69 winter 78 summer new heat pump.
AEP electic 114 month. budget
water 35.
sewer 17.
trash 10.
these amounts look lower than most areas.
i like the new boards

[daisylu]

We have well and septic, so we save a lot on that.

Averaging monthly , it comes out to:

Electricty? $150.00
Gas? $50.00
Sewer? nada
Water? $0 for normal uses, $9.00 for drinking water
Trash? nada (municipal landfill, we have to cart it, but we driveby it everyday on our way to work anyway)

[suzwantstobefree]

I run my air and heat 100% of the time in my home (1300 square feet). I live in Florida and want to be comfortable. I have a preset thermostat that is set to 72 for heat and 76 for air. My water and trash is included in one bill with my electric. I run my irrigation twice a week for 30 minutes per zone and run my dishwasher 2 to 3 times a week. It costs me a total of $229 per month on budget billing and it is about even right now with what it would be without the budget billing. I still think this is a little high but I won't conserve electic or water at the price of comfort.

[marvholly]

I just printed my budget spread sheet for 2010.

Water is 33.50/quarter but inc sewer
Gas (heat & hot water) avg was 79/month
Electric was 110/month avg
Trash is inc in property tax (you don't want to know what that is)

I have to work on the gas & electric. Water is the minimum-cannot do anything to get down.

[toservewithlove]

My gas and electric are managed on one bill. My budget just went up this month to $103.00. My 3rd floor apartment is only around 400 sq ft. My landlord covers water/sewage and trash. The building is old and the apartment is small, but there is no way I could live in another place for around the same amount of money, in a well cared for apartment, and with such a great landlord.

[sidney]

I live in Wisconsin.
My gas and electric are on the budget plan and we pay $224.00 a month. I don't think that is to bad.
Water is every 3 months $190.00. I think that is crazy. My water bill mysteriously goes up every summer. I don't water my lawn in the summer. I think they assume we wont notice.
Trash is in my taxes so I don't know how much off hand we pay for that service.

[973beachbum]

My electric isn't bad we pay about $70 in the non summer months and between $130 and $200 in the summer depending on how much they are on. We had one month in the 5 years we have lived here where the AC was on an entire month in the summer and it cost $300.

We use propane for our hot water and oil for heat. So it isn't something that I breakdown by month. With the energy prices going way up lately it would work out to be about $500 for propane and $1300 for oil a year.

I guess that would come out to $150 a month for heat and hot water, as well as cooking and $90 a month for electricity.

[westerngal]

Electric - 79.00 a month - equal pay
Gas - 52.00 a month - equal pay
Water and sewer together - 50.00 a month
Trash - 11.00 a month I don't think my power and gas are too bad considering that I live in a very cold climate in the winter time and that my house is 2900 sq. feet.

[motherto2]

Boy, I wish I lived in some of the areas posted . I have all electric but I do have a vented gas fireplace that I refused to put gas in this year since it's so expensive and it's just me. I keep heat at 65 in winter and air at 74-76 in summer. On the budget plan for electric. They reevaluate ever six months. I'm on 184/month right now, down from $233/mo. Sewer, none since I'm on septic. Water is $40 every 2 months, but I'm on the minimum since I don't use over the minimum amount. Gets my shorts that most of that is a debt payment for work done in another section of the county (ironically where all the businesses, contractors, restaurants and Gov't base are located ). I keep it colder and warmer than I care for, but since it's just me I can bundle up. If DS was home, I would have had to get the gas because he freezes all the time. I cut trash pickup 3 years ago when it was going up to about $75 every 2 months. I don't have all that much trash, and I can take it to the myself.

[ambellamy]

My HOA ($250 a month) includes all my utilites except electric.

I live in a small condo, so I budget $40 a month because my highest bill was $30 something. But the HOA takes care of the water, trash, gas, etc.

[family legacy]

electricity - $71/month on budget plan (DH has allergies so we keep the windows closed all summer and use the A/C)
gas - $45/month budget plan
water/sewer - $0 - well/septic
trash - $16/month