Our Frugal Lifestyle

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Passionate about eco-frugality. I used to party hard, clubbing my way from pay-packet to pay-packet. Never getting ahead, just getting by. Then came our much wanted baby with no savings in the bank - only an old car. Changes were made to our lifestyle and we didn't turn back. In the past 6yrs we purchased a flat, found employment, lived below our means, built an emergency fund, purchased a reliable car and saw the financial benefits of our frugal lifestyle. Our only debt is our mortgage. Our aim is to manage our cash flow wisely, pay off our home quickly and eventually work for pleasure, not necessity. Join us on our journey, share insights, tips and tricks to help us and others to get ahead while having a good time.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Reliable Bills

There is one thing most of us have in common at that is regular bills. Don't you love them... That piece of paper in the mail box or in your inbox that asks for money.

Letter in the Mail Box.

Today we received our Power and Water bill. $239.50 is due. It's too high for my liking, but we are below the National Average and half the Regional Average. We also went down compared to this time last year. But a little higher then the last bill.

I Love These Graphs To Keep Track.

I know I can do better. Some times those lights are on with no one in the room. Too many times I forget to turn off the hot water switch after our morning showers. Another tap washer needs changing. What a waste of our lovely planets resources mainly due to laziness and a disorganised mind. And what a waste of my money that I earn sitting in an office away from my family each day.

Money Dripping Down the Drain.

I don't think a lower bill will be possible next time, as we will be on holidays from work. We will spend more time at home watching movies, sewing, cooking, crafting, playing, relaxing, eating, hosting and reading. So that means more time running fans, lights, ovens, sewing machines, computers and the rest to make our stay at home holidays lots of fun. And that is okay because our life needs to be frugal but of good quality too.

How about you? Will you have a lower or higher bill next time round? Please tell all in the comments below.

PS: I want to remind my Aussie Readers the Air Wick - Soup GIVEAWAY ends tomorrow so don't miss out on scoring a fancy voucher! A $200 Coles Myer voucher! Tool cool for words! ENTER NOW :-)

5 comments:

  1. Our home is all electric, so the power bill is our largest utility bill (actually, it's our only one since we are on a well). It runs about US$220 per month give or take a few dollars because we are on balanced billing. Since we live in the subtropics, we have to run our AC constantly during the summer months. Even with that, our actual electric bill runs higher in the winter because we do use our heater when it gets nippy. It is more expensive to heat than cool the house. Foreseeing that, we purchased two cords of wood this year in anticipation for the cold nights. Not only is it romantic, it will save us on the electricity bill.

    Our bill is reasonable and a fraction of our neighbors' bills, because we blew in foam insulation when we were renovating our home. It is the BEST upgrade we made to the house. Without it, we guesstimate that our electric bill would be closer to $1000 a month! It was money well spent. I highly recommend it if you are ever in a position to build a home.

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  2. Our energy bills have just gone down by £21 per month.

    Hope you can email me! :)

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  3. I just had my lowest bill of the year. Now, I am running the heat most of the day. It was supposed to snow tonight and it's 35 degrees, so I need the heat. My October and April bill have little heating or cooling costs. Come January, the bill will be way too high.

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  4. Whaooo !Our flat is all electric too (hot water, heating, cooking (a lot), computers...etc). We pay 39$ (30€)/month...
    Nuclear energy (that I am not supporting at all) is very cheap in France, at least on the bill.
    Bise, Cyril

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  5. I don't know if you have this option or not but I do a budget plan. It is where you pay the same amount every month based on last years total. Since we have had our gas and electric bills actual amount be as high as $500 in the deep of winter this is a super effective plan for us. I still pay way higher then my neighbors but I live in a 100 plus year old house with little to no insulation due to it being brick. We now have all new windows so I am hoping that this year the bills will be a bit lower. Good luck and I find myself going behind the rest of the family turning the lights off and other things that don't need to be left on when they leave a room.

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Thanks for commenting - I love getting feedback, sharing experiences and learning from you.