Reducing Bills! - Electricity Bills, Phone Bills, Water Bills | Deika Morrison: Financial Security Tips + Tools

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I was supposed to be writing about benefits and rewards tonight, but let's have a change of topic.

Anyone catch today's local paper? 15% increases by retailers because of the depreciation of the dollar. WOW! Well, my first thought is that those discounts will definitely come in mighty handy now! If you missed yesterday's post on the value of discounts, check it out here: Earn And Save - Real $$$ with Discounts!

Where else can we can possibly cut some expenses right away. Let's try the utilities - electricity, phone/internet and water.

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Electricity

If you live in Jamaica, you probably think it's impossible to save money here. We all had those astronomical bills earlier in the year. (If you are elsewhere, you may still find this story useful because its about changing consumption habits)

If you already understand your bill, forgive this boring part. Here's what you need to know to manage your electricity bill. The bill is determined by the consumption and the rate. The rate is driven by oil prices and depreciation. By law, JPS (the local utility company) is allowed to request a rate increase. So, when your bill is increasing, one or more of these scenarios if happening:

Constant consumption, higher rate due to a rate increase. A rate increase in not something you can control.
Constant consumption, higher rate due to oil prices. Oil prices are outside of your control.
Constant consumption, higher rate due to depreciation. Depreciation is outside of your control.
Higher consumption, constant rates. Rates are outside of your control, but you can do something about consumption.
Higher consumption, higher rates. Rates are outside of your control, but you can do something about consumption.

What can you control? Consumption. Reduce Consumption!

So, what's happening now. Well, oil prices are down (YAY!), but depreciation is way above average. So, in November we had a 2% depreciation, in December we had a 3% depreciation and now in January we are at 5.6% depreciation so far for the month. So, should you expect a higher rate? I am. A depreciating dollar means the rate is going up, regardless of what happens to oil prices. And I've also braced myself for the rate increase JPS will ask for in a few months.

So, in anticipation of that, what have we done here at home? Read on.

We found out what really uses up electricity in the house. So here's what the electrician told me - the electric stove, toaster oven, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, water heater and air conditioners. Here are some tips 1) use energy saving light bulbs and appliances (turn off the lights when you are not in the rooms), manage your water heater (turn it off when you can, or spend the money for a timer - we just manage ours), manage the use of the stove, the dishwasher and the toaster oven (don't use it if you don't have to, so make sure the dishwasher is full, etc), manage the air conditioners (don't use them when you don't need them, turn them off if no one is in the room and use fans as much as possible if you need a substitute), and manage the iron (turn it on once and do a lot of ironing rather than turn it off and on repeatedly). Even though these are not big ticket items, try to unplug whatever you can when you can. So, for example, when you are not using your cell phone charger to charge your phone, don't keep it plugged in because it's still increasing your consumption!

We had a meeting with everyone in the house and decided we would have an "Electricity Police". I appointed myself. As the Electricity Police, I announced that there would a $100 fine for every incident that resulted in wasted electricity. Examples include: leaving on a light, leaving on a fan, leaving on the air conditioning, using the air conditioning unnecessarily etc. Everyone immediately complained - loudly - that the fine was completely unreasonable. To which I responded: "Oh, so since no one objects to the principle of a fine, the fine shall be $10 per incident with possibility of escalation if behavior does not change". The proceeds from the fines shall go into a common pool for all the members of the house. Quick Tip: make sure you agree on what is considered "unnecessary use of electricity" because people will debate fines. We are in our first month, and truthfully, I have relaxed the fines. They are being charged but not collected. BUT, the objective is being achieved - we have been much more responsible in the use of the electricity in the house and I have a log of the offenders for future use. For now, as the Electricity Police, I just turn off the lights etc,. However, if I am not satisfied with the consumption levels at the next bill, then the fines shall be imposed AND collected.

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On to the phone, mobile in particular:

OK, maybe I am alone in this, but I was not the most cost efficient when it came to mobile phones. Prior to my experiments, I had 3 mobile phones - 1 regular mobile phone with carrier "A", a blackberry number with carrier "A" (the blackberry did not work but I never disconnected the number) and a company mobile number. Three phones for someone who does not talk on the phone. No, it was time to look at this situation.

Almost all of the people I talk to use carrier "B". I however had a number carrier "A". So minute for minute it was costing me much more to talk to the few people I did. Then I realized that I use blackberry messenger much more than talking, so I got a blackberry with carrier "B" so that would save me and my family and friends money when we did talk on the phone. My plan reflects my usage - I don't talk much so I don't need a lot of minutes.

But wait, sounds like I got a 4th phone. I had. BUT, I permanently disconnected the blackberry number from carrier "A" which I was never using but paying for. Saved me thousands of dollars every month. Then, since everyone already know my other number I kept it but revised the plan. Good thing I looked! The plan was the most expensive for the most minutes, but I don't talk on the phone. So I took it to the bare minimum. Saved me thousands of dollars every month AGAIN!.

And here's the bonus! My new carrier "B" reduces my bill by $100 every month because I pay online!

Bottom Line: Check your phone plans and get only what you need. Be realistic.

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A quick word on water.

Leaky pipes are an unnecessary expense that adds up. Check your bills every month and watch your consumption. If it seems to be moving suspiciously, you may have a leak that you don't know about. Have an audit done and have it fixed. It'll save you in recurring expenses for an indefinite period. I've seen water bills that had deviations in the thousands of dollars. Left unchecked, that will be thousands of dollars you have to pay every month. Totally unnecessary.

A special plug here for for conservation: The world's water resources are limited. It looks like a lot but freshwater available for potable use for human consumption is about 1% of all the water in the world. And much of it is polluted by human and industrial sources. And the human population has significant demands. So do yourself a favor, literally, and conserve every drop because it is very precious.