Utility Bills, Budget plan or Actual?

[carj]

Our bills are similar to yours, low of $175.00 highest last summer $489.00. I am trying to conserve, I am going to start unplugging electronics overnight to see if that helps.

Our gas bills are not as bad, as low as $30.00 in the summer, highest bill last winter was just under $300.00. We prefer to be cold rather than hot, so I keep the heat at 66 degrees & use the woodstove to supplement the heat & keep costs down.

I guess I never did budget because the highest gas bill coincides with a lower electric bill & the highest electric bill comes with the lowest gas bill...

We don't have gas, so that is one reason why our electric bill is pretty high. It is the heater and the air conditioner that make ours jump up in the hottest and coldest months. But...I am willing to live with that to be comfortable.

Like you, I would prefer to be cold. I can turn down the thermostat to conserve in the winter but there is not a chance that I am turning it up in the summer and being HOT! I would rather pay the enormous bill!

 

[Piecey]

Right now, DH and I have 2 sets of utilities. We bought our house in December so we're on our 6th month of 2 sets...

One set has the gas budgeted (where we live) and none of the others are.
I like the budget, but also HATE looking at that "balance"...

We owned our house for the coldest months (but of course, weren't living there, so not using as much gas for heat as we did here) but we paid those bills outright and we still owe on the house we live in... frustrating to me. Last year we never ate through the credit, now we have a balance!!

 

[wall*e2008]

We like to pay the actual amount. We find it a good reminder to conserve.

 

[C.Ann]

I use the budget plan here at the lake.. Considering DD and her DH's travel trailer pulls off my electric too (from the end of April until Columbus Day) and DD's IL's camper van is pulling off of it when they come up on the weekends, I couldn't afford what the actual "monthly" amount is without dipping into my savings.. It's never "higher" than what I (we) have used - always significantly lower.. They review it 3 times a year - and make adjustments if necessary (which they inform me of a month in advance).. I just "paid off" last year ($115), so next month my bill will drop to $85..

Some of those "actual" amounts are downright scary!! Especially when the a/c's are running during the summer - and when I have to use the heat day and night in early spring and late fall..

I don't like to dip into my savings for bills - I prefer that they all be covered by my monthly fixed income check..