What do you pay for utilities?

[Pennywise]

So my DH and I traded downtown condo living for a house. I almost fell off my rocker when I got our utility bill!

Electricity, water, drainage, & waste removal came to just over $170 for the month.

Does this sound reasonable for a household of 2, or are we somehow big energy and water wasters?

[Giseledta]

I would look at your general usage, and look where you can cut.
Is it itemized down...

What is your cost for waste removal.. is there a cheaper plan....., what is included in it. equally use what you need, butonly get the program that you need.

drainage , is probleb;y linked to water usage... soif you cut one.. you cut the other.....
Check for leaks, and cheak what you are using..
full loadsonly on washer, dishwasher... less water in sink for dishes, you really need very little. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. is your toliet a low fw.. reg flow... or a older .. use a ocean flow.... find out... and there are things you can do to cut it down.
electricity... tehre are so many simple little things you can do to cut it down.. chec k out energy saver sites for ideas....

Message me , if you need more hints.

FYI- my family of 5, and my homedaycare, uses less then you do.. for all combined. but my rates might be differnt. track usage.. instade of costs... its a better way to track it.

[terryberry]

Pennywise, we are a household of 2 as well. I usually pay about $130/month buy we do not use our dryer.

[danam314]

Sounds right to me. We are a family of 3 but even when we were only 2 we were in the same range for out utility bills. Epcor is around $150-$170 a month - Keep in mind it includes water & power, as well as garbage collection and drainage. If you look at the breakdown of your bill about 1/2 of it is fees you can't avoid and is not your usage (delivery charges, services charges, transmission, distribution, etc) so you wont be able to lower it a whole lot.

Our Atco (gas) usually runs $40 a month in the summer and $100 in the winter.

[Pennywise]

Whew! I pride myself on being pretty "green" and our house has some enviro-friendly cost-saving features, so I was a bit freaked out when I saw our first bill. I'm glad to hear that this is in line -- guess it's the cost of home ownership!

When we were in condos, it took me about 1.5 years to train my DH to turn the lights off after he left a room! He's reformed his ways there, but has now developed a nasty habit of leaving cupboard doors open! I'm swear I'm going to lose an eye one day!

[terryberry]

Must be related to my DH! Even after 30 years, I can't get him to close cupboard doors

[Bad Kitty]

Hi all, we moved into our house in June, the first month of Epcor was $170, but I had to remind myself that I did about 10 extra loads of laundry, towels, sheets, clothes that had been in boxes for a month. Also DH watered the lawn... ALOT! Our last month bill was down $20 to $150. I've been vigilant about unplugging all the appliances we don't use regularly, toaster, kettle, even the microwave, it annoys DH, but hey $20 is $20. And we watered alot less too. Congrats on the house

[tidytaurus]

Our household of 3 uses about the same as you, however we have old appliances and 2 toilets that leak also I water the garden and usually have grandchildren here on weekends so lots of baths and laundry getting done. I don't unplug appliances and tend to keep the odd extra light on so not as frugal as others.

[miztia]

Around here, we just went on the smart meter. If you use hydro at peak times, you'll pay through the nose.

[mhk]

Congrats on your new purchase pennywise!