Budgeting for utility bills

purplebiro

Hi All,

Just about to exchange on my first house and having a panic about whther I can afford it or not. Looking at my budget and trying to spot any holes and wanted to check the approx amounts I have put for utility bills. Can anyone give me a bit of feedback - Monthly:

Water: £30.00
Gas: £40.00
Electric: £30.00
Phone/broadband:£20.00

I (will) live in a two bedroom victorian semi in manchester. the central heating is two years old and we will be doing a full rewire as soon as we move in. I'm not in during the day.

Any other info you need for a guestimate?

humfer

purplebiro wrote:

Hi All,

Just about to exchange on my first house and having a panic about whther I can afford it or not. Looking at my budget and trying to spot any holes and wanted to check the approx amounts I have put for utility bills. Can anyone give me a bit of feedback - Monthly:

Water: £30.00
Gas: £40.00
Electric: £30.00
Phone/broadband:£20.00

I (will) live in a two bedroom victorian semi in manchester. the central heating is two years old and we will be doing a full rewire as soon as we move in. I'm not in during the day.

Any other info you need for a guestimate?

They don't seem completely unreasonable - maybe the water is a bit high - we pay around £16 per month and theres just the 2 of us. All depends if you are a water meter or not

purplebiro

No water meter but there is just the one of me, a slimline dishwater (i'm told that nowerdays dishwashers use less water than the sink!) and no bath. plus i never wash (joking).

kuohu

I'm living alone in a 2 bed terrace and pay the following per month by DD:
Electric £25
Gas £5
Phone rental £10
Broadband £15
Water £42 over 10 months I think

Hope this helps.

KTF

I would consider putting in a water meter if its just you living there. It can work out cheaper than paying the standing charge.

humfer

KTF wrote:

I would consider putting in a water meter if its just you living there. It can work out cheaper than paying the standing charge.

Definately agree with that

Dry_Flood

If you ring your water company they will confirm this but I read in the daily mail that if you put a water meter in and its not cheaper than just paying rates, the water company have an obligation to remove it free of charge.

Another thing to think about is alot of people dont realise that its against all water companies T&C's to use a hosepipe if you do not have a water meter fitted.

KTF

When you have a meter fittedyou have 1 year from the point of installation to have it removed if you find that it isnt saving you money. After the year is up it cant be removed.