Saturday, August 28, 2010

Swings and roundabouts

This morning I was congratulating myself on having managed to save a bit of money over the last month or three.

This afternoon I opened the electricity bill.

Oh well.

9 comments:

  1. It couldn't possibly have been as appalling as mine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. is your utilities supplier Australian-owned?
    Singapore-owned Optus and Origin, bother me just slightly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I haven't seen my electicity bill yet, but only today I was weighing up in my mind, the advantage of dams that are now over 40% full compared to last years 27.6% or thereabouts and the fact that with all this cold we increase our consumption of energy, hence a much higher bill. It's hard to find a balance.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, it has been quite cold. I tend to spend more on cooling than heating, thanks to living in an easy-west facing house. Clever architecture there!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've taken to getting every second invoice paid into my mechanic's bank account. Saves on bank transfer fees.

    W/V: bityll - the rush of blood to one's feet on opening an envelope containing a bill

    ReplyDelete
  6. I see that here in NSW we are caught in a trap...electricity prices had to rise to pay for new infrastructure: therefore, we cut back on usage, therefore the price per unit has to rise even higher to compensate for the lower usage, therefore we cut back further...

    I recommend pyjumpers.

    Btw: did everyone but me know that the "new" bulbs dim over time?

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's exactly what my life was like, as a consultant. I don't know why bills seem easier to pay with a regular wage, but they do.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We had a $4000 car fixit bill, $2000 worth of rates, $1000 in medical expenses, a $360 power bill plus $400 worth in phone bills (his, mine and home) plus my $3000 tax bill all come in the space of a fortnight. It was horrific. I'm still traumatised.

    ReplyDelete
  9. dear Kate - comiserations from me.
    I realised a while back, that I could not afford to run a car, so got rid of it, and endure the AMAZEMENT of everyone who finds out.
    "No car!?" Sacrifices have to be made, and I make them.

    We all take our high standard of living for granted.
    Yesterday's headline 'Utilities to rise' worries me because they are ALL foreign-ownership.

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to write long(ish) comments if you have long comments to make. Off-topic comments will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and deleted if they derail the discussion. Hostile or malicious comments will be deleted regardless.