Home utility expenses

[imoldernu]

At the risk of opening too many threads, it occurred to me that I haven't seen a recent post about the cost of the basic utility expenses in different locations. Of course the cost per utility is important but I think that combining the basic, ongoing expenses may be a simpler way of maintaining a home budget.
We live in a unitary town, both here in Illinois and in Florida, so the basic bills come in on a single page in both towns. Natural gas is a separate bill.

Anyway, here's a copy of a recent bill from our town. FWIW, we are a bad example for frugality, as we leave on... too many computers, lights, TV's and other appliances, and, though we know better, don't sacrifice what we should to preserve the environment. Mea Culpa... some of this becomes more difficult in old age.

So... How does this stack up with your comparable bills?

 

[Meadbh]

Electricity bills come every two months. Annualized cost for the past year: $288.76

Water/waste bills come every three months. Annualized cost for the past year: $289.44 (this will go up soon).

Total cost for the past year: $578.20
Prorated monthly cost: $48.18

Notes:
1. All costs are in Canadian dollars.
2. I live in a condo.
3. I was just looking at the consumption graphs on the BC Hydro website. It's very clear when I've been away, even last year. And I seem to be using approximately half the electricity of similar homes in the area.

 

[Mo Money]

Ummm, uhhhh: Well, with a 1700 sq ft home:

my monthly electricity is 110 (budget plan);
my monthly gas is about 175 (budget plan);
my monthly water/sewer is about 120.

So I suspect I'm a Utility Pig.... In my (pathetic) defense, I live in a mid 19th c house with a lot of old windows.

 

[retire2020]

3000 sqft home.. average 500/month for gas/electric/sewer/water

 

[aaronc879]

Even with a somewhat high $.1372/kWH I still only average about $75/mo in electricity. Everything is electric in my home, no gas. Summer bills are in the $30s, winter bills are over $100/mo.

Water and garbage/recycling are included in my condo fee.

 

[NW-Bound]

Quicken says for main home (2,700 sq.ft.) and last 12 months

Electric = $2307, or $192/month ave.
Water+Sewer+Garbage = $1636, or $136/month ave.

I have not spent much time at the boonies home the last 12 months, so both electric + water there was only $50/month.

 

[scrinch]

Jakarta, Indonesia:
Electricity- $225/mo (one A/C on most of the time, electric dryer)
Gas (LPG)- $20/mo
Water- $2/mo
Garbage- $20/mo (just went up from $15 this month)
Cable + Internet- $65
Cell phones (2)- $50/mo (lots of calls to the US, unlimited data)

 

[heeyy_joe]

Electric $230/mth @ .08KWH, 3000 sqft home with pool in Texas.

 

[zinger1457]

SE Arizona averages, 2250 sq-ft home:
Electric $51/mo
Water $18/mo
Trash $21/mo
Propane $37/mo

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Atlanta area, 1,800 square foot home built in '79 (monthly average for 2013):

Electric: 136
Nat. Gas: 82
Water: 47
Garbage: 16

Just two of us, no kids. When it's hot out, I use the AC a lot.

Sent From My Motorola Startac. Please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[SteveNU]

Connecticut 1700 sf home, 2013 averages.

Electric $142
Oil $150
Trash $16
TV, phone & Internet $155

3 people, water is from a well and sewer is septic tank.

 

[rodi]

San Diego - unless otherwise noted this is just for our primary 2100 sf house.

Gas and Electric - combined bill - average $100/month.
(granny flat has separate meter - so paid by tenant.)

Water and Sewer - combined bill - average $120/month. (Note we do not have a separate water meter for a detached granny flat - so that's for our primary (2100sf) and our 1 bedroom rental.)

Trash - included in our property taxes.
(includes both primary and granny flat.)

TV & Internet - $35/month. (Just canceled the tv part - but they are still giving us basic cable.)

4 people in the primary.

We're working on ways to reduce water usage. We gray water our outdoor shower to water plants. We're looking at graywatering the laundry. Even with mostly drought tolerant plants, we still need to irrigate the yard.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We have tiered electric rates - the highest is over 30 cents a kilowatt and we don't get a very high allocation at the lower rate tiers.

We lowered our electric bill from this month a few years ago from $290 to $77, and gas from $48 to $11. We cut water usage by a third.

We were pretty happy to be able to spend less on utilities and help the environment. It is not like we miss using more electricity. Many days we now use half the electricity of an average U.S. household.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I don't track my utilities but know generally what they are on my 2000 sq. foot two-story SFH built in 2004. I live alone.

Last month's electric: $35.00 (will probably be close to $100 soon as I have the a/c set on 70 round the clock).

Gas bill: $94.00 (budget plan). I am carrying an excess here and will likely get a bill of zero come August.

Water: $54.00 or thereabouts a quarter (take two showers a day and wash a couple of loads of laundry a week).

Trash pick up: $39.00 a quarter

Sewage: $65.00 a quarter

Cable TV, landline and high speed internet: $190.00 per month; Verizon smartphone: $80.00 per month

 

[target2019]

Our average electric cost was $134 per month in 2013. The house is approximately 3500 square feet in the NE.

 

[jjquantz]

Northern VA, DC suburbs

2500 sq ft house

12 month running average for electricity $94.49/month
Same for natural gas $75.40
Water and sewer $25
and trash/recycling $34

 

[Live And Learn]

Ummm, uhhhh: Well, with a 1700 sq ft home:

my monthly electricity is 110 (budget plan);
my monthly gas is about 175 (budget plan);
my monthly water/sewer is about 120.

So I suspect I'm a Utility Pig.... In my (pathetic) defense, I live in a mid 19th c house with a lot of old windows.

My utility bills are pathetic also. 1500 sq ft house in Tampa Bay area, built in 1980.

- Electricity is 185 / month (budget plan) - house is kept at 73F
- Water - 90 / month ... no pool ! Includes $15 / month for reclaimed water for the lawns.
- Phones - $109 for 4 dumb phones. I need to take care of this asap. We barely use the darned things
- Cable / Internet / IP Phone - $135 / month ... ridiculous. Another area where I'm sure I can save

 

[BTravlin]

Monthly averages for two people in an 1,800 sq ft condo in Mexico:

electric = $302/mo
water/sewer = $32/mo
phone/internet = $48/mo
garbage is included in HOA

 

[ER1970]

2800sf house on 1 acre in NY state, 2 adults:

All are ANNUAL

Electricity = $1320 (it rarely gets hot enough for AC in the summer)
Water/sewer = $432
garbage pick up service = $1400
gas=$360
oil/fuel = $3670 (heating in the winter is SOOO expensive and winters are long here!)
propane (for the pool) =$3450 (only use the pool in the summer)
Cable/internet/landline = $2250 ($187/m - really would like to reduce this)

 

[ER1970]

For those of you who live in the North that requires heating, what are your heating bills like in the winter months? It is so ridiculously expensive here (I think is about $4.20/gallon or something like that?). We are only 2 persons living in the house, and we close 1/2 of the house (guest bedrooms) in the winter (but do keep it at 55F so pipes won't freeze). But still, in the winter we easily spend $800/month on heating, and the heating season up here lasts for a good 6 months/yr!
What do you do to lower your heating bills?

 

[REWahoo]

2800sf house on 1 acre in NY state, 2 adults:

All are ANNUAL

Electricity = $1320 (it rarely gets hot enough for AC in the summer)
Water/sewer = $432
garbage pick up service = $1400
gas=$360
oil/fuel = $3670 (heating in the winter is SOOO expensive and winters are long here!)
propane (for the pool) =$3450 (only use the pool in the summer)
Cable/internet/landline = $2250 ($187/m - really would like to reduce this)

Wow.

 

[aja8888]

Propane for the pool (summer) - $3450? I thought pools were used to cool you off, not heat you up.

 

[target2019]

For those of you who live in the North that requires heating, what are your heating bills like in the winter months? It is so ridiculously expensive here (I think is about $4.20/gallon or something like that?). We are only 2 persons living in the house, and we close 1/2 of the house (guest bedrooms) in the winter (but do keep it at 55F so pipes won't freeze). But still, in the winter we easily spend $800/month on heating, and the heating season up here lasts for a good 6 months/yr!
What do you do to lower your heating bills?

I have two heating systems, as well as a/c. The sq. ft. is around 3500. We have gas heat, as well as hot water. So some of the gas cost is hot water and washing. In NJ, the gas for heating costs maybe $300 per month.

When we first moved in, it was ridiculous that first winter. I think we had a $600 gas bill for December 1996, our first winter. This is what I've done over the years.
1) Replace all aluminum sliders with vinyl double pane vinyl sliders.
2) Replace thermostats with programmable.
3) Install ceiling fans.
4) Install insulation in crawl space.
5) Insulate basement wall cavity.
6) New 8' slider to deck.
7) New entry doors.
8) New garage doors.
9) Blow-in insulation in attic.

It sounds like your house is very old, with little insulation in walls. And oil heat costs more than gas. Call your energy company. You can probably get an audit at little or no cost.

 

[ER1970]

Propane for the pool (summer) - $3450? I thought pools were used to cool you off, not heat you up.

Up north where we are, pool water rarely gets above 75 degrees, so pool heaters are widely used here.

 

[aja8888]

Up north where we are, pool water rarely gets above 75 degrees, so pool heaters are widely used here.

Still not making sense to me. Why have a pool to use in the summer if you have to heat it. I can see a pool heater in the cooler months up north.

As an aside, the waters in the beaches in Galveston Gulf here in Texas get in the low 80's F in the summer. Most people won't go in the water when it gets that warm.