"Balanced Bill" offer for electric bill

[JanH]

One of the reasons we do this right now is to help us set our budget. We've only been budgeting for two months. Our electric bill fluctuates from about 70 in winter to almost 300 in summer. So leveling has helped us keep consistent for now. In the future, we will probably do as Ima suggested and put an average away in our own accounts. But for now, it is a help to get squared away and see where we stand every month.

[thomas70]

deleted

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I'm just the opposite. I consider it a challenge to get my actual charges to come in under the equal payment amount.

Steve, do you know on a month to month basis what your actual amount would have been if you weren't on the equalized plan?


if so then yeah, that would work because I could still see my progress.


Living where I am now, I don't think it would help all that much as the swing between the gas and electric bills tend to compensate one another where the budget is concerned so I'm rarely "surprised" financially in any given month.

Back home in Texas on the other hand, I could definitely see the benefit of such a plan for the electric bill.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by rexdart

Steve, do you know on a month to month basis what your actual amount would have been if you weren't on the equalized plan?.

Yes. My bill lists the actual gas and electric usage, the budget plan payment and the progress on the budget plan year-to-date: how much has been paid and what the actual usage total has been and whether I'm over or under that amount.

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Yes. My bill lists the actual gas and electric usage, the budget plan payment and the progress on the budget plan year-to-date: how much has been paid and what the actual usage total has been and whether I'm over or under that amount.

Same here. I pay an equalized amount for gas. I am "behind" most of the year, meaning I have used more gas than I have paid for. I get caught up in September or October, then winter starts and I am "behind" again. So I guess it works for me because I'm almost always paying (cumulatively) less than what I've used.

[piggybank4]

Our highest electric bill (in Texas, during the hot summer months) is $105 or $110

During the spring/fall it's only $55.

Electricity here is 9 cents per KW/h.

And that's for a household of 3 people, with the breadwinner working from home (both jobs) and the wife a stay-at-home mom -- which means we're all here, all day. Also, everything in our house is electric (we have no natural gas bill)

There are many good ways to save electricity, which is an easy way to save money.

[RJB1180]

Yes but you benefit from location!! Some of us are dealt costs by region. 2 people 1 work one SAH, high bill 210. So savings are YMMV

[piggybank4]

Texas doesn't go easy on a person during the summer!

I know plenty of people who have larger houses, different lifestyles, etc. who have $200, $300 or even $400 electric bills during the summer.

On another note, our phone & (DSL) Internet bill is about $45 a month.
That includes 100 minutes of free long distance per month.
A lot of money can be saved by ditching the "must-have" cell phone.
It's great to be able to relax and breathe while we're in the car, away from our phone!

[Hot dog]

I don't think this has too much to do wih this but I have to vent. My electric company has estimated for the last 3 months what my electric was. It is a brand new house mind you. Anyway last month they said they did an actual reading and this month I was expecting the same amount cause no ac or heating on --$60. I got a bill for $500 Evidently they have not read my meter correct and I was budgeting based on what my bill was now I have a bill for 5000 the same month as my ins and my escrow was also figure wrong and I had to pay them 330 or have my mortgage go up 25 every month Just venting

[boefixepa]

I balances my utilities myself. I take the average for the laster year and do what they do with my evelope system. I started of funded my envelopes to hit zero, or close to it, when it switched seasons. So the 'extra' in the electricity envelope runs out at the end of summer and the gas at then end of winter. I don't ever have to worry about the amounts because I have the $$ in their envelopes and I put the 'balanced' amount in the envelopes every month. It works for me.

[b4freedom]

My MIL did this 3 months after moving in. Her first month was $32. The second and third month she was away and the bill was around $15 each month. Because the first three months were so low, her estimate was extremely low, around $25. Her meter is in the basement. She's never home during the day to let the reader guy down into the basement. A few months ago, I noticed her energy bill on the table and asked why it was so low. She said that it was based on estimated usage and that they haven't read it for a long time. So, i figured out how much she'd owe if they read it that day. Nearly $2100. But, that was using the rate at the time. The rate keeps going up. I heard that this happens a lot in Philadelphia. People work and aren't home. Homes are older with gas/electric meters in the basement. Eventually the power company gets in and sends them a giant bill. The people can't pay, so the power company turns it off and they freeze to death in the winter.

[b4freedom]

Oh, and I'm paying 14.2¢/kWh for my power. - it sucks

[Broken Arrow]

b4freedom:

If you're trying to convince me to never go back to using equal payment...

it's working.

[Jacklad]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

b4freedom:

If you're trying to convince me to never go back to using equal payment...

it's working.

But even if you're not on equal payment, you'll run into the same problems with estimated charges, as my neighbour down the street found out with her water bill.

We don't have the power issue here because all the meters are outside, but the water meters are in the house. To avoid the "estimation" problem, the city has a phone number you can call anytime and give your account number and the meter reading. We've used it when there was no one available to let the meter reader in - especially after my neighbour got her large surprise.

Jackie

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Jacklad

To avoid the "estimation" problem, the city has a phone number you can call anytime and give your account number and the meter reading.

We do the same thing for our gas reading. The meter reader used to come first thing in the morning, usually while we were having breakfast. But they changed the route and now they come when we are at work. After a few months of estimates, I usually get off my rear and send in an actual reading. Actually, I do mine online.

[Hot dog]

I had never had this problem before My bill was 500 not 5000 I hit an extra 0 It just made me mad because it said they did an actual reading and it was still wrong well guess I better just learn from my mistakes and move on They aren't going to turn off the electric they said I could do some kind of payment program I just wanted a we are sorry something must have went wrong with the system or it was recorded wrong and we will work with you but they didn't seem to want to do that

[katwoman]

I'm on the plan for both gas and electric and I love it. What I don't like is that for the gas, it's equalized twice a year. Since I live in the Chicago area you can imagine the differences from summer to winter. For half of the past year I was paying $225/mn and just recently (in anticipation of winter months) the bill is now at $399/mn!

[rduell]

I use the balanced billing for my electric, but not gas. The only gas we use right now is for the hot water heater and my kitchen stove, so the bill is pretty low.

Right now we are paying $155 for electric a month.