The utilties budget discussion brought up a question for me. Some of you posted that you would rather save for the differences in monthly utilities than be on a budget plan with utility companies.

How much difference is there in your bills through the different seasons?

 

In my area there is a huge difference, especially in the electricity. Our A/C which runs non stop from April - September is electric.

Our January 2011 electric bill was $132.85, in August it was $323.27. We replaced the old unit with an energy efficient one several years ago and that has helped. My neighbor next door whose house is the same square footage and same builder told DH his electric bill for August was over $400.00. 

Our furnace and hot water heater run on natural gas. The bill for that in January 2011 was $72.75 and $12.33 in August. 

All my utilities, except phone, come on one bill from the city. In the winter my entire bill, the only variable charge is the electric rate all else is a standard figure per month, is about 260-270$. This summer I haven't been able to get it below 123$. The fixed fees including 2 sewer bonds (for a sewer plant that has yet to function properly!) are about 100$/month right now. My heat is electric and I use no AC.

Maggie Trudeau:

All my utilities, except phone, come on one bill from the city. In the winter my entire bill, the only variable charge is the electric rate all else is a standard figure per month, is about 260-270$. This summer I haven't been able to get it below 123$. The fixed fees including 2 sewer bonds (for a sewer plant that has yet to function properly!) are about 100$/month right now. My heat is electric and I use no AC.

 

its about like ours some thing

My electric usage is pretty steady (no A/C so that doesn't add anything) - I use a lot of fans in the summer, but that's offset by the furnace fan in the winter.  My heat is natural gas, as are my water heater and stove.  My bills range from about $60/month to about $200 when it's been really cold - my budget billing amount is $90, and I save enough to make up the difference; last year it was $64, mostly due to a 2-week cold snap that drove my gas usage much higher than usual.  My water bill, which is separate, ranges from $13 in the winter to about $55 in the summer, for irrigation of the yard and garden.  I'm slowly xeriscaping more and more of the yard - less water, and no mowing.

I rather have the same bill every month then surprise extra few hundred dollars during the most exp time of the year for us with bdays and xmas. easier for budgeting and since we would be paying the same amount yearly anyways.

We use natural gas for heat, so there's a great difference in the bills between winter and summer usage.  Our gas bill last month was $24 ... 

The difference is huge.  In warm months my water/sewage/gas bill is $50-60; in cold months we use a gas furnace and the highest I've seen that bill is $350, but generally it's around $300 in the cold months.  Like I've said before: after hearing that some neighbors pay twice that, I will be content with my $300 bill.

When I tell people that we keep our heat setting around 64*, they balk.  The lowest they set theirs is 68* and many keep it closer to 70-74*.  One family I know that does this wears t-shirts and no shoes around their house most of the winter and I think that says a lot.  I often wear 2 layers, socks, slippers, and keep throw blankets piled around for when we'll be sitting at the computer or to watch a movie in the living room.  Or we'll all pile on my bed on top of or under the heated blanket and play a game or watch a movie in my bedroom.  I rarely get complaints from my family about the house being cold.