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How much you spend on utilities and other essential services?

21K views 88 replies 38 participants last post by  Ihatetaxes 
#1 ·
Just did calculation how much we spend on utilities and other essential services....The numbers are below,

enbridge (gas) 712.05
hydro (electricity) 1795.22
water 1059.49
internet 731.52
property tax 4161.9
boiler rent 348
car/home insurance 3120
4 cellphones 2170.92
-------------------------------------
Total $14,099

How much do you spend?
 
#5 · (Edited)
enbridge (gas) = $1427
hydro (electricity) = $1428
water = $725
internet = $2966
property tax = $5520
boiler rent = $0
car/home insurance = $3628
4 cellphones = $2054
Fibe TV = See internet
Home Phone = See internet
--------------------------
Total = $17,753.00 (plus $4k for island)
2 adults, 2 teenage boys, Durham.
 
#9 ·
I think posting $ values is not useful. I would post consumption numbers for a better comparison.

For example, the average household in Edmonton uses 16.3m3 of water per month. Western European households use 11m3 of water per month.
We've been able to average 12m2 per month of water and in our new house we are substantially lower, under 8m3 per month averaged over the year.
 
#10 ·
Electricity/heat: $1306 for 14,845 kWh in 2016 (Hydro Quebec)
Property tax/water: $2934 for unlimited water and view of a fjord (Saguenay)
School tax: $771 for 0 kids
Home insurance: $635 (TD Meloche Monnex)
Car insurance/registration: $1079 for turbocharged awd (TD Meloche Monnex)
Driver's Licence: $228 (SAAQ)
Internet: $719 for up to 300GB @ 30MBps fiber (Dery Telecom)
Phone: $610 for 12GB/3 months and provincial talk (Public mobile)
TV: $91 (Amazon Prime) + 2 day shipping
-------------------------------------
Total $8373
 
#16 ·
water and sewer 800
no cell phone

total 9070
That seems like a bit for water and sewer!

Mine is less that $216 a year ($18 per month on average which includes fire service), but then I don't use that much water as a single person.
Property tax $4312 seems high.
Rogers $100 a month..I cut the cord years ago with Rogers and Bell...they tend to overcharge for all their services.
Now I just pick up 5 channels off the air and have a pay as you go old cell phone with Freedom Mobile. I use Teksavvy'
internet + Home phone (NA LD included for $58 per month, $696 per year.

My humble semi-detached accomodation within the city of Ottawa averages $500 a month for essential services; property taxes *$268 a month paid over 10 months, ($2680 a year),gas heat avg out to about $60 a month ($700 yearly)(more in winter months less in summer months), $840 for hydro and $57 for house insurance : ($649per year incl 5% ON tax) on $260K rebuild value.

Totalled up for the year, it cost me about $425 per month + internet/home phone..around $6000 a year/$500 per month.
today a room in the city can cost as much..
 
#15 · (Edited)
We rent a townhouse which is inclusive except hydro. (1080 a month)

I didn't include car costs as it isn't essential to own a car in retirement.

Hydro 1400
Renters Insurance 400
Rogers Cable 5600 (includes TV, internet, home phone, 3 cellphones)

Total 7400

Total housing costs of rent plus utilities = 20,000 per year.
 
#17 ·
Property Tax $2700
Hydro + water (same bill) $1680
Gas $684
Insurances (Home & Auto) $2040
Cell Phones (2) $1800
Phone/Internet/Cable (same bill) $2280
Water Heater rental $360
________________________________________
Total $11544

Been thinking about getting rid of our home phone and lowering cable. It’s not worth the expense, especially the home phone now that we both have cells.
 
#18 ·
Rent a small 2 bed room unit in Ottawa. Hydro is insane compared to what we expected/told by the owner. In summer we averaged $100/month (no air conditioning) and winter it's up to $140 (gas furnace). Makes no sense honestly. We've spent the winter cutting back on everything during peak hours. Incredibly inconvenience and barely making any difference at all. The Hydro cost has ruined the value of this apartment. We're moving when the lease ends in May. Just outrageous.

Other utilities are included.

Tenant Insurance: $205
Cell Phone: $660 (each)
Internet: $840

No home phone. Car is through company. No cable.
 
#21 ·
Finally got around to totting up the final figures for 2016, so here is what we spent on what I consider "essentials"

union (gas) = $582
horizon (electricity) = $1451
internet = $459
property taxes = $3786
car(1)/home insurance = $2061
cellphones (x2) = $1016
home phone = n/a
hot water heater = $152
tv = n/a
LCBO = $819

- myself and DW. 50 year old bungalow in the Hamilton area.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Moved to Van Island but haven't been here long enough to know all the costs yet. Vehicle insurances, property tax etc is very similar to Alberta. The big shocker so far is BC Hydro. We bought a newer energy efficient place supposedly, has a heat pump with aux backup but the hydro bill for 2 months was over $700 and it's not even that cold here. I'm expecting the next bill will be higher again as we had some colder weather than normal. Why the builder didn't put a gas unit in is beyond me, as I think there would be considerable savings using gas for heating. We have natural gas but the only thing it runs is the outdoor barbecue and a fireplace. I am going to look into what it would cost to have the heating changed to gas but I don't think I would be able to recover the costs as we will likely downsize in the next 3-5 years. I guess now I know why there is so much pollution from wood burning floating around in some areas.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Okay... I'll bite for 2016

Gas (Fortis) - $1496
Electricity (BC Hydro) - $1295
Municipal water/garbage/recycle - $927
MSP (BC Provincial Health Care) - $1646
Internet/Cable/Home Phone (Shaw) - $2761
Cell phones - $732
Home Security - $452
House cleaning - $1690
Auto(2)/home insurance - $3043
Property Taxes - $3685
Pool Service - $3679
HOA - $350

Total $21756

Empty Nesters - 15 yr old large raised ranch w/ large pool
 
#28 ·
It is a matter of perspective. The OP's original post of 'utilities and other essential services' included cell phones, not exactly an essential service.

OTOH, BC won't let you 'not' pay for the MSP.
 
#29 ·
The OP's original post of 'utilities and other essential services' included cell phones, not exactly an essential service.
Cable TV is not essential, but cells are (esp. if you don;t have land line), or you can say that Hydro (electricity)is not essential service (Amish don;t use it :))

OTOH, BC won't let you 'not' pay for the MSP.
same in ON, and it depends on your income, so pure tax
 
#30 ·
yellowknife

People always complain about the cost of living in the North. Looking at some of the responses so far its doesn't seem that bad...

for our 1251 sq ft home :

Property tax - $234/month
Insurance - $180/month -
Landline - $33/month
Internet and TV - $450/month
Electricity - $200/month average
Water and garbage - $110/month average
Heating Oil - $150/month average
Firewood - $50/month average - about $600 for the year

Having the garage and a woodstove really saves a lot of money. People complain a lot about the power company but its Northwestel that is just as bad and I'm paying a lot more for similar level of services that I got in Calgary.
 
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