Budget Billing

**Patty A** · 11-14-2008, 09:39 AM

Dou you use budget billing on your utilities? I do and I love it. I know from one month to the next what my bill will be and it helps so much to be able to know for the buget. I then know just what it will be from one month to the next and can forget about any suprises as far as those bills go. I just wondered how many of you use that, and if you like it or not?

**Wendy99** · 11-14-2008, 09:50 AM

I just switched to budget billing for our heat in September. I did it all for the purpose of knowing for the budget and the fact that dh gets paid less in the winter when thet heat bill was at its highest .. hoping it works out alright, so far so good

**lovestoread** · 11-14-2008, 11:15 AM

I have done this for years, as I am self employed and my husbands' check is different every week.... I love it and would not do it any other way...

**Izzy0906** · 11-14-2008, 11:53 AM

I sure do. I would get hammered in the summer with my electric bill and then barely have one at all (about $20) in the winter. This way, I'm paying an equal amount that i can afford and NO suprises. Most of the time, I have a credit at the end of the 12 months both for Gas & electric.

**katybug** · 11-14-2008, 12:08 PM

I didn't like it, because I didn't like paying more (on average) for my bills. Even though it was the same every month, mentally I just didn't like it.

It is harder to spot when something is wrong. (Like I had a water issue, and my bill was 10X more then usual) EVEN though water isn't one that is averaged, I still like keeping my eye on things.

~KB

**onencgirl** · 11-14-2008, 01:54 PM

I've done it with my electric for years and love it. It is so easy to figure my monthly budget knowing what it is every month.

**dcompton** · 11-14-2008, 02:00 PM

I do and like it.

The only time I had a problem was when I moved to a new apartment, and I don't know how the electric company did the calculations - usually they still base it on your own average usage, and it adjusts gradually over the next 12 months. I was paying so much I finally called and bailed out - with the credit I had built up overpaying covered mys bill for July, August, and September, my three highest months in broiling Louisiana.

But that was apparently an isolated incident. No problems now.

**Starlight9803** · 11-14-2008, 02:43 PM

I would consider using it, but it isn't offered by our electric company. Also, maybe I'm just the cynical type, but I would also worrying about something being "off" and not really knowing about it until it was too late. I need the instant gratification of my energy savings on my bill every two months LOL.

**Spikey1341** · 11-14-2008, 02:45 PM

We have done this for years. I really do like it because you can budget your payment because it is the same every month.

**phoeny_moonstar** · 11-14-2008, 05:28 PM

We've used it for months and love it... no problem's here!

**Kaos Kitty** · 11-14-2008, 06:02 PM

I hate being tied into anything with a company. So instead, I used to just pay extra every month and ended up with a huge credit ready for winter gas months. But then I became paranoid about them keeping track of my surplus on the bills, and then started to think I would be better off putting the "extra" in an ING account until I needed it (earning 3.5% interest). Have I been so disiplined as to put the difference between each bill and my budget in a savings account until needed for the higher bills in the winter?

No.

But I have a dream...someday soon I shall be so displined (to sit down 5 minutes a month) and reap the $10+ in interest a year this strategy would net me. It may not seem like much - but the idea of the utility company making money off of my "budgeted overpayment" in the summer months just irks me. I intend to pinch every penny till it screams!

**Wendy99** · 11-14-2008, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by Kaos Kitty

I hate being tied into anything with a company. So instead, I used to just pay extra every month and ended up with a huge credit ready for winter gas months. But then I became paranoid about them keeping track of my surplus on the bills, and then started to think I would be better off putting the "extra" in an ING account until I needed it (earning 3.5% interest). Have I been so disiplined as to put the difference between each bill and my budget in a savings account until needed for the higher bills in the winter?

Here we aren't tied into anything .. if we decide we want out of the budget billing we just say so. We had it when we first moved in, but decided I didnt like it. We are on it again now - different situation - 2 kids later LOL and we love it so far.

**AspiringToBeFrugal** · 11-15-2008, 06:21 PM

I just signed up for this service w/ our electric company (they are the only ones who offer it so I don't get the opportunity with water/trash) and am REALLY looking forward to being able to budget for a set amount in the upcoming months.

Our electric company will evaluate our usage in November 2009 (a year from when I signed up) and move the rate up or down depending on if we used way more elec. than usual or less. I'm doing my part to keep our usage down as much as possible so we can hopefully move our rate down next year but we'll see.