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I am curious about the average montly expenses to maintain a typical family sized house. I have never had air conditioning before and only use my heater maybe 5-10 a year. Also, how much is cable, water, trash, etc? I know it is a boring questions, but I am trying to figure out how much house we can afford and our budget! Thanks.
Okay, I am in Greene County and I have city water and sewage. The cost is $32.00 and that includes once a week garbage pick up as well. If you go over 4000 gallons of water, the cost rises $14.00 per thousand for the sewage and water. My last electric bill was $122.00 but during the summer, it will hit the $200.00 mark with a little over. That is with someone home nearly all the time and the AC running day and night. I don't have cable. I have a satellite thru Direct Satellite and that runs some $107.00 with most features anyone would want. If you just get the basic without movie channels, it runs between $50.00 and $60.00. The cable is about $60.00 here also. My phone bill is about $50.00 a month. But I don't have a long distance carrier either. I use the cell phone for that. And my cell bill for two phones with 1000 daytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends is about $96.00.
$200 is a lot. Our house was built with 2x6 not 2x4 so we have extra insullation. We get 115* in the summer. It was 100* yesterday. Out bill is $100 usually. We also keep fans running with A/C (central air) it seems to keep the cool air moving and a fan is pennies a day to run. My A/C is set at 70*
Heck the $200.00 we are paying is cheap compared to some electric bills. I have heard people complain with $500.00 one in houses that aren't as new as ours is. The secret is the amount of insulation in the house. The newer the house, the more likely it is better insulated. You can bet your wife will be having a fit in about a month over 80 degree days here. By this time of the year it is not uncommon to have 90-100 degree days. My daughter graduated from college on May 13, 2000. And it was 100 degrees outside where the ceremony was held. We took bets to see who would pass out first, me, my now 69 year old sister or my mother who is nearly 87 now. I think my sister won. We do have ceiling fans in most of the rooms and we cut the A/C up at night where it will be warmer. But I am telling you, if you have pulmonary disease like I do, you just have to turn that A/C and pay the bill. That is really the only thing you can do with a 104 degree day with a 115 degree heat index going on.
Bethany, what temperature do you run in your house?
We now pay nearly $100 / month in New England for a "cheap" month of electricity. Mind you, 90% of our houses do not have central AC and all my heat, stove, dryer and hot water is with gas in our 1800 sf house. The gas bill is now about another $80 or so for a moderately "cheap" month.
In the winter, the electric goes to $130 and the gas to $400 and we're keeping the heat down to 65 and nobody is home during the weekdays.
Steve I have pulmonary disease and I have to have the temp at about 74 in the summer. In the winter, I keep it at 70 or so. It depends on how high the heat index is and the relative humidity. I stay in the house almost 24/7. I have so many outside allergies that it is ridiculous. I went outside to see a Dogwood tree that Chris bought me. Now I am nursing a very itchy case of poison ivy and have no idea where I picked it up from. I can go outside and touch the shrubs and break out in 1 inch hives. But we rarely eat out since I can't control the enviroment. I am allergic to perfumes and other type odors. Cigarettes are another problem. I am on several inhalers and nebulizers. About the only thing I have not acquired yet is around the clock oxygen. But my peak flow meters for my age and height should be around 450. If I can get it to 150 I am doing really well that day. We justify the increased electricity like someone would justify the increase in gas to a really super job that required commuting. We do pretty well financially. I have never been a clothes horse and I don't care that much about jewelry so I think the extra comfort is my "jewelry". LOL Oh, my house is a 1700 square foot ranch home that was built in 1984. We moved here in 1992.
I live in Guilford County in a nearly 8-year-old house (we bought it new) that's about 1200-1400 square feet. Our electric bill in the winter averages around $150-170. In the summer, it's a little cheaper. Spring and Fall are of course the best seasons for our electric bill. Our last electric bill was less than $70.
Our only phone is a cell phone. We have Cingular and pay less than $60 a month. We have a lot of minutes and other things, but I'm not sure what. Sorry. lol
We have cable TV and cable internet (RoadRunner) through Time Warner Cable. We pay close to $90 a month for that. I wish it was much cheaper. :-\
Our water and trash come in one bill from the city every three months. We pay around $90 for those three months.
Wow! I am thinking ....not bad at all! I live in a awarm climate in Summer and our bills average $300 in Summer/fall months. That is with it set at 78 downstairs and 80 up and not running it at night only during the day. House is 3500 sq '. Water is seperate here than trash. Cheapest is around $70 in winter months and $150 in Summer months. Gas is around $50 a month. Used to be less until natural gas prices were raised. We have our cable,phone,internet all tied into one bill and it is $100 per month. I was worried that my utilities would be much higher in NC but it sounds like I will come out ahead there?
CAKD, where are you looking to relocate to? I was going to tell you that if you get your electricity from a large company like Progress Energy or Duke Power I believe it is, it will be cheaper than some fly by thing like the "Town of Hookerton" or "Town of Selma" and the like. The reason is that these town operated utilities are purchased from the Progress Energy and it is more expensive. I have a friend whose water, garbage pick up and sewage is all on the bill with her electricity. In the summer I have known her bill for these utlities to be over $400.00 or actually closer to $500.00. Our water, garbage and sewage is $32.00. If we were to use over 4000 gallons, it would go by $14.00 per 1000 units over the initial 4000 gallons. Our highest electric bill last year in the middle of a humid and Hurricane Ophelia month was $236.00 and then the other $32.00 which is far less than Teri's bill. But I would be sure and ask who the electricity was coming from before I committed to built/buy in a certain area. It could save you money. Like I said be sure and stick to the Progress Energy that we have in the east here and maybe someone can clarify who has the best deal further west. If you need any other help, feel free to PM me.
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Yikes! And my stay-at-home wife freaks out when the temp gets above 80 outside. 
