Cheaper Utility bill's in NI

AMG_3

Hi,

I was watching Smart Spender's last night on BBC1, the lady was able to save the family £50 a month on utility bill's by switching them to other supplier's. Can anyone tell me where's the cheapest place in NI for Oil, Electricity, Phone etc.

Thanks and Happy St. Patrick's Day :beer:

arkonite_babe

Unfortunately over here we are stuck with one power supplier. With phones you can basically go to any provider. Gas in NI is in bottled form, unless you live in Belfast where natural gas is available. Again that is restricted to one provider. For ideas on whats available, check out USWITCH

talksalot81

I am about to move into rented accomodation with my fiancee. Both of us have previously been in parental abodes and have little idea about utility costs. I am guessing we remain stuck with NIE and we have just phoenix gas, but do we have choice with oil?

Can anyone give us a clue as to what we might expect to pay in a year? Electricity I find is 11.02p per unit - but how much would a couple in a small house expect to pay? Likewise for oil/gas.

Many thanks

leftieM

There's a thread on here that's regularly updated with oil prices. As for electricity - we pay £40 a month during the winter and £20 a month during the summer for a family of 4 (the tumble dryer makes up the extra cost in winter). Oil costs fluctuate. We've just paid £114 for 300L and we use about 1200L a year. It really depends on your usage of course. I think we're modest users of oil and electricity.

talksalot81

So £1k for us would probably be realistic?

Thanks

leftieM

I think that would be realistic and you should have money left out of that.

shaz77_2

I've been a little unhappy as of late with BT phone bills. The phone is rarely used in our house except for incoming calls but I use the phone line for broadband. We are on option one with BT, is this the most cost effective company to be with in my situation?

Thanks

hurrah

shaz77 wrote: »

I've been a little unhappy as of late with BT phone bills. The phone is rarely used in our house except for incoming calls but I use the phone line for broadband. We are on option one with BT, is this the most cost effective company to be with in my situation?

Thanks

Have a read of Heinz most helpful post here for ideas on how to cut your phone bills.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=1598074&postcount=4

talksalot81

leftieM wrote: »

I think that would be realistic and you should have money left out of that.

Thanks, You are a star!

It is actually very difficult to know how much to budget for living costs when you have not done it before. I can do all sorts of sums and theoreticals, but it is really tough. I am very glad I am not tied into a mortgage just yet!

AceCobra

talksalot81 wrote: »

Thanks, You are a star!

It is actually very difficult to know how much to budget for living costs when you have not done it before. I can do all sorts of sums and theoreticals, but it is really tough. I am very glad I am not tied into a mortgage just yet!

I was in the similar position around a year ago, I'm good with my figures but it’s very hard to gauge what you'll actually need/have to pay. I've jotted down some averages of our main utilities although knowing me I've probably forgotten some. I know some aren’t relative but it’ll give you an idea at least.

Buget£ Actual£

Mortgage 585 685 (inc overpayment)
Rates 80 74
Electricty 35 27.55 (Average over the year but still pay the £30)
Phone 20 11.50 average (option 1 + calls routed over primus, never exceed 50p calls)
Internet 20 15
Building + Contents 25 13.50
Life insurance 15 7
Oil Savings 30 22.50 (£350 for 1200 litres around a year ago, about 1/4 left)
Tv License 11 11
Sky 15 6 (Given a gift pack for 12 months prepaid sky basic package. £6 extra was for 2 more mixes)

Obviously this isn't a full soa, more a list of the main housey type stuff

Martin.

leftieM

You won't get any better than that talksalot!