By Jack Borckmann
The future is waiting for us to worry about our utility bills and there is many ways to help, ake it less of a problem. Most of us are not paying a utility bill yet because we don’t own or rent a building. I assure you though in the future sometime you will be looking at your bills and wondering why they are so high and how to bring them down. The average cost of a utility bill in the U.S. is about $2,060 per year according to energystar.gov. The utility bill that we will all be worried about in our future is on average made up of about 6 different categories. Including heating, cooling, water heating, appliances, lighting, and electronics. This pie chart by energy star shows how the average utility bill is broken up.
As you can see the majority of the average cost is in the heating and cooling bills. According to angieslist the best way to help lower your cost is in the different months is to use the natural temperature of nature and not playing with the thermostat. By frequently adjusting the temperature in your house you are using more energy to do so, the best way is to find a comfortable temperature and to stick with it. Another great tip is to use the nature so if you need to open the windows, or in the winter open the curtains for the side of the house with the sun, or in the summer close your curtains to keep the sun from heating up the inside of your house.
Now after looking at how to lower the major cost of your average utility bill lets looks at the best way to help finance it. If you take the average cost per year from EnergyStar and make it monthly that would be about $172 a month. According to mint.com the best way to start budgeting for each month is to do the first step of checking your monthly bills so you can get the average amount a monthly bill is for you specifically. Next is the use of some type of budgeting tool to help make sure you have enough put aside each month for your bills. The top budgeting app that mint.com recommends is obviously mint.com. But from personal budgeting app experience, there isn’t just one good one, it all depends on the person so just go through multiple apps and find the best one for you.
As you can see that each month your utility bill can cost a lot and everyone who owns or rents a house or an apartment will have to deal with. This can be something that will be a major problem to some but if you get the right mindset and find ways such as these before to help plan, this doesn’t have to be a major problem and you can get ahead of the problem before it even is one. So try to remember there is ways to help lower your monthly cost, you just need to be smart about everything.
Works Cited
“8 Ways to Save Money on Heating and AC Energy Costs.” Angie's List | Join for FREE to See 10 Million Verified Reviews, 28 Oct. 2015, www.angieslist.com/articles/8-ways-save-money-heating-and-ac-energy-costs.htm.“Breaking Down the Typical Utility Bill.” ENERGY STAR, www.energystar.gov/products/ask-the-expert/breaking-down-the-typical-utility-bill.
“Planning for Utility Costs in Your Monthly Budget.” Mint, 16 Dec. 2014, www.mint.com/budgeting-3/planning-for-utility-cost-in-your-monthly-budget.
I can definitely see how the heating and cooling bill is the majority of the average cost, especially in Wisconsin when we have cold winters and hot summers. I liked how you included tips on how to lower the utility bill. I definitely know that at my house, we normally keep the temperature at the same degree even if I am freezing cold outside, there are only a few times when were raise our temperature. I also hear people talk about how their utility bill increased from the month before, this must be because they are constantly adjusting their thermostat and changing the temperature.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the helpful tip of sticking with a certain heating/cooling temperature or just use the natures temperature to save money. But there is more to think about/ Water,gas,electricity etc. Things that I wish were added onto the paper rather than just thermostat.
ReplyDeleteI have always been aware of utility expenses, but I thought it was interesting that the average cost of a utility bill in the U.S. is about $2,060 per year. That's about $172 a month, as stated in the essay. I didn't realize how much it really costs. Some useful tips you mentioned were keeping the house at a consistent temperature and using windows to your advantage. I think it's very important to look into things like this because utility bills will most likely always be a part of our futures.
ReplyDeleteHere is another great tip to help save money on utilities, don't have them! I am just kidding,I thought you had a great paper Jack! My one little problem with it is that you implied that you need an app to have an adequate budget. This is not the case however. While it is true that apps do help certain individuals a great amount with establishing a budget, it is not for everybody. In fact, one could establish a budget simply by looking at last months expenses, looking at this months revenue, and deciding how much you want to spend, and on what. Most people simply lose track of time, or say that they will make their budget later, and we all know that later never comes. This is why the most effective budget is simply the one that gets made.
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