# How much you spend on utilities and other essential services?



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

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?


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## cashinstinct (Apr 4, 2009)

gas 0
hydro (electricity)	1,974
water	0
internet/TV 1,167
property tax	2,688
school tax 869
boiler rent 0
car insurance 957 (2 cars)
home insurance 598 (1 home)
cellphone 557 (mine, out of contract)
cellphone 702 (wife)
home phone 0 (freephoneline.ca)

-------------------------------------

Total $9,512


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

enbridge (gas) = 886
hydro (electricity) = 1260
water = 313
internet = 815
property tax = 4032
boiler rent = 0
car/home insurance = 1513
1 cellphone = 25
Fibe TV = 1289
Home Phone = 647
--------------------------
Total = $10780

I guess you guys don't watch TV?


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## cashinstinct (Apr 4, 2009)

like_to_retire said:


> I guess you guys don't watch TV?


I included it with Internet, since I am billed for both at the same time. internet/TV 1,167


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## Video_Frank (Aug 2, 2013)

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.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> I guess you guys don't watch TV?


 I have 7-8HD channels with Terk antenna...the rest I download via Torrent




> gas 0
> water	0


Just curious why you don't pay for gas and water?


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## cashinstinct (Apr 4, 2009)

I don't have a water meter at home. My water is included in property tax (nominal amount + fixed extra because I have a pool).

I don't have gas at home. No gas service. I use electricity for heating purposes (Electric ductless heat pump + electric baseboard). I am in Quebec.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> I am in Quebec


 oic  QC is a different country


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

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.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

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


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## Nerd Investor (Nov 3, 2015)

Hmmm... no one has listed beer yet? You did say essential services, didn't you?


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## redsgomarching (Mar 6, 2016)

Nerd Investor said:


> Hmmm... no one has listed beer yet? You did say essential services, didn't you?


Could be included in groceries.
It is amazing though that people would complain about necessary items to live and omit how much they spend on beer.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

enbridge (gas) = $1500
hydro (electricity) = $1500
water = $300 (well maintenance)
internet = $960
property taxes = $4200
x2 car/home insurance = $4400
cellphones (x2) = $1200
home phone = $60
--------------------------
Total = $14,120 Ottawa


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## 1980z28 (Mar 4, 2010)

gas 700
water and sewer 800
hydro 900
rogers 1200
property tax 4312
car house ins 1158 ins is with a large group with work
no cell phone

total 9070


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

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.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

1980z28 said:


> 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..


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## DayTek (Sep 26, 2013)

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.


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## motl (Mar 3, 2014)

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.


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## 1980z28 (Mar 4, 2010)

carverman said:


> That seems like a bit for water and sewer!


Has always been this price average

Will sell house in april

New house will be much less

water and sewer,,zero,have own well and sewer
tax is for all of last year 518,,,will go up on next assessment
no gas heat,will use electricity and .09 cents per KW,thinking 1200 for the year or less,,new house with lots of insulation,,well over code
insurance for house 488
no cell phone
rogers 1200

My cost to retire will be very little in NL


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## Petee_C (Jan 13, 2017)

Satellite $76
Rogers internet $90
Cell phone x3 $51
Water $65
Hydro $190
Gas $82
Property tax guesstimate $400
Insurance $400
Voip phone $24

Total $1378/month


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## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

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.


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

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.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

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


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

redsgomarching said:


> Could be included in groceries.
> It is amazing though that people would complain about necessary items to live and omit how much they spend on beer.


Looks like you have some issues :monkey: Who is complaining here?! People just compare numbers on how much they spend on utilities... 
The comment on beer was a joke


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> MSP (BC Provincial Health Care) - $1646


 ON Health Care taxes included in our provincial tax, so don't know how much exactly we're paying.... as per rates I found on the Web about $1650


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

AB Healthcare was free but in BC will be $1800/yr. Not really utility cost though. Kinda like my beer and Whisky bill, lol


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

In ON it was introduced in 2004 .... the reason was to improve provincial health care.... however, it becoming worse and worse 

Except BC and ON, any other provinces has health care additional tax?


> Not really utility cost though


 No, it's more like additional provincial tax


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

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.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> 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


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## murumanie (Aug 4, 2015)

*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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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

murumanie said:


> Internet and TV - $450/month


Holy crap!! Do you have the top-of-the-line internet and every cable channel known to man?


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Satellite internet?


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## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

Electricity $3100.00
MSP 1800.00
car insurance (2 plus travel trailer) 2500.00
tv, internet, phone 1800.00
cell 550.00
property taxes 2700.00
water 1,300.00
hedge trimming 700.00
House insurance 700.00
TOTAL 15,400.00

Larger home in then Okanagan on .70 acre. The water bill is painful and hedges are close to 15 or so feet high and is too risky for me to maintain. No gas to house. Fuel for vehicles and sporting activities are also about $10,000. PA (5,000.00 each).


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## Steve Divi (Jul 14, 2016)

gas 0
hydro (electricity) $1,820
water	0
internet/TV 620
property tax	2,720
school tax 900
car insurance 1400
home insurance 900
cellphone 0 (work pays)
cellphone 600
home phone 0 

$8,340


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## bass player (Jan 27, 2016)

cell phone - $700 (will drop to $35 per month soon)
cable/internet - $1300
hydro - $600
natural gas (heating) - $400
auto insurance - $1200
gas for car - $1000
house insurance - $850
property/school taxes - $2200
water - $0 (well)

total - $8,250

This is for a 1000 square foot house.


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## Curiouscreature (Jan 3, 2016)

Home Insurance - 1219.00
Property Tax - 2162.02
Care Insurance - 2200
Telephone/Internet/TV + Netflix - 2110.51
Auto Insurance - $2200
Mobile Phone (4 phones - 4 prepaid Koodo phones $15/month + Booster pack minutes/data as needed) - 1248.00
Electricity - 985.18
Gas - 519.25
Utilities (water) - 446.90

Looks like I should be looking to improve my home insurance rate, it has become brutal last few years. Recently moved to home phone with virgin (unlimited Canada calling for $10/month for 2 years), and took cable down to skinny cable this month...still working on wife and kids on whether we really need cable. Should have some improvements this year.

We live in South Interior of BC.


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## Zef_Nux (Aug 5, 2016)

Electricity: $ 636
Property Tax: $ 3200
School Tax: $ 842
Home Insurance: $ 960
Car Insurance: $ 0 (no need for car)
Internet: $ 1200
Cellphone x 2 : $ 960
Home Security Alarm: $444

Total: $8242


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## joetheneighbour (Apr 17, 2017)

I just have a simple question, why do people have both a land line and a cell phone? Is there a reason that I might not be aware of? I am honestly curious.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

joetheneighbour said:


> I just have a simple question, why do people have both a land line and a cell phone? Is there a reason that I might not be aware of? I am honestly curious.


By keeping my Home phone with Bell I get several discounts, the least of which is a waive of the $15 fee for a whole house PVR. I also get a discount for keeping 3 services with Bell if I have a Home phone.

A wired home phone gives me to keep a quality phone line that allows me to talk to my family and friends without sounding like I'm calling from the bat cave. Cell phone voice quality compared to a wired home phone isn't even in the same league. Cell phones are horrible for sound quality.

If my battery goes dead on my cell phone, I still have my home phone in an emergency. If the power goes out for a week, how will you charge your cell phone. My home phone will continue to operate.

Do I need to give you more reasons?

ltr


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Well, for dinosaurs like me I can probably summarize the reason in one word - inertia. 

But there is the excuse that after 40 years my home number is part of my dna, kind of like my SIN #. 

I can rationalize that the home phone is such a small % of my phone-tv-internet 'bundle' that I wouldn't save very much by dropping it. 

Or what if I need to hook my fax machine up to it some day? And its old school, wired to the wall, so if the power goes off it still works.

There is the fact that the only cell phone I had up until 8 mos ago was a Nokia 2610 with Rogers pay-as-you-go for emergencies. My activated $10 vouchers always expired after a month without being used. I did get pretty quick at pressing the number 7 four times to get the letter "s" though for the few texts I did send. I've read that I should keep it in case I decide to become a drug dealer. 

I'm still getting used to my 'new' Galaxy S4 that I got 8 mos ago. Circumstances have meant that I have used it pretty extensively, so I do appreciate its value. I still can't visit CMF on it though - its just so damned small. I learned how to dictate my texts when I have wireless rather than making my fingers do unnatural things. I really like that part. Come to think of it, its just like I'm talking on the phone. No one seems to use their cell phone to talk on do they?

I can remember my home number - does anyone know what their own cellphone number is?

I learned that I don't have to be afraid of losing all my contacts. So the little cheat sheet in my wallet is starting to get pretty dog-eared. Apparently all of my contacts (and a lot of my older family) live somewhere in the clouds. They can never be lost!
I really like that part.

Am I likely to cancel my landline anytime soon? Not until dinosaurs are extinct


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

joetheneighbour said:


> I just have a simple question, why do people have both a land line and a cell phone? Is there a reason that I might not be aware of? I am honestly curious.


I get a bundled discount as well from Shaw plus free LD between Shaw customers. 

But besides that, families with a number of kids, especially young kids, could not really function with multiple cell phones, even with family plans. It is situational. In our case, step daughters with kids, i.e. our grandkids all under 10 yrs of age, have landlines in addition to their cells, while my two sons and a stepson, no kids, have no landlines. My single bro does not have a landline nor does my wife's single sister.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> But there is the excuse that after 40 years my home number is part of my dna, kind of like my SIN #.


 6-7 years ago , I transfered my landline # to cellphone and disconnected landline


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## bass player (Jan 27, 2016)

gibor365 said:


> 6-7 years ago , I transfered my landline # to cellphone and disconnected landline


I did the same about 10 years ago. I've had the same ph# for 30 years.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

bass player said:


> I did the same about 10 years ago. I've had the same ph# for 30 years.


I have same number from 1999 (when we immigrated here ).

btw, recently bought for my mom and myself BLU Advance 5.0-Unlocked Dual Sim Smartphone on Amazon. Very nice cellphone.


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

Here is the plan:

Gas = $100 (back-up propane). Most of the heating will be done using kachelofen and wood from our forest.
Electricity = net income from MicroFit
Internet = $1068
Property taxes (discounted due to landuse/environmental restrictions) = $3500
Car(3)/home insurance = $3600
Cellphones (x2 but one of them covered by the company) = $780
Home phone = n/a
hot water heater = n/a
tv = n/a
LCBO = $240


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> LCBO = $240


 per year, per month or per week?!


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

Per year. I make my own beer, braggot, mead and mean mint/raspberry/apple wine.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

mordko said:


> Per year. I make my own beer, braggot, mead and mean mint/raspberry/apple wine.


Nice, I spend about this amount in 1 months


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

We up to ~$700/month for booze...very hot here. That doesn't include the cost of ice for margaritas..so another $20 or so. We do make our own water though so that cost is $0/month.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We have a practical reason for keeping our landline. It controls front door access to our building. Imagine getting a call from your front door intercom when you are on the road.

We also sublet our place and leave it for the tenants.

#2 son has 2xcell phones and young children. When the kids get old enough, they will have their own cell phones. My only problem as a grandpa is that I cannot call them and talk to whoever is home. Getting a voicemail when calling from Mexico is very frustrating.

OTOH getting the kids on FaceTime is a joy.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

kcowan said:


> We have a practical reason for keeping our landline. It controls front door access to our building. Imagine getting a call from your front door intercom when you are on the road.


When I had a condo, I had the front door intercom go to my cell phone. It was convenient. I could let myself in with just my cellphone if I didn't bring or misplaced my keys.
I could see how it could be inconvenient if you had to change the number to a subletter's number a couple times a year. Condo boards might not be prompt in that regard.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I like having a home phone because it's a household number to give out. For things like our landlord, utilities, that sort of thing where either of us will do, I like having them call the home phone. I also don't want to answer non-personal calls when I'm out and about so I tend to give the home phone to any businesses that want our phone number.

Having said that, we switched to VOIP a few years ago so having the home phone is extremely cheap. We've spent $5.40 since Jan 1.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

joetheneighbour said:


> I just have a simple question, why do people have both a land line and a cell phone? Is there a reason that I might not be aware of? I am honestly curious.


Power issues, cell tower overloading and 911 issues are some that I have heard of.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1060610/canadians-hang-on-to-hard-wired-phones-in-case-of-power-outage/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/cellphones-difficult-frustrating-for-911-dispatch-1.1285285
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...home-because-911-call-came-from-quebec-number


Cheers


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

gibor365 said:


> Nice, I spend about this amount in 1 months


Yeah, I am ideologically opposed to funding LCBO and the Beer store. That's a robbery system, not to mention that most of the beer is terrible.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

Eclectic12 said:


> Power issues, cell tower overloading and 911 issues are some that I have heard of.
> 
> Cheers


All cell towers have backup generators, but most houses do not. Most people with a land line do not have the unpowered, wired phone that only runs off the phone line power, ergo a cell phone is likely better in a power outage.

I think the 911 location services through cell towers are pretty darn accurate in most cities and towns.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

nobleea said:


> All cell towers have backup generators, but most houses do not. Most people with a land line do not have the unpowered, wired phone that only runs off the phone line power, ergo a cell phone is likely better in a power outage.


It's important to keep a wired phone so that you can make calls in cases of a power failure. It's certainly more reliable than a cell phone. A power failure removes your ability to charge the cell phone. I remember how valuable my wired phone was during the last ice storm.




> I think the 911 location services through cell towers are pretty darn accurate in most cities and towns.


The location service is better than it use to be  since 2010, but it's still a crap shoot.

Have a heart attack in a 16 story apartment building and make a 911 call and then drop the phone while waiting for an ambulance. Not going to happen. They have no way of establishing the floor you're on unless someone is there to tell them. It's a door to door search. _Pretty darn accurate_ simply does not cut it when you're dying. All to save a few dollars a month. I get it. Young people are risk takers, and they are the overwhelming adopters of this dumping of the hard line phone.

ltr


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## bass player (Jan 27, 2016)

like_to_retire said:


> It's important to keep a wired phone so that you can make calls in cases of a power failure. It's certainly more reliable than a cell phone. A power failure removes your ability to charge the cell phone. I remember how valuable my wired phone was during the last ice storm.


What if the ice storm had downed the phone line? 



like_to_retire said:


> The location service is better than it use to be  since 2010, but it's still a crap shoot.
> 
> Have a heart attack in a 16 story apartment building and make a 911 call and then drop the phone while waiting for an ambulance. Not going to happen. They have no way of establishing the floor you're on unless someone is there to tell them. It's a door to door search. _Pretty darn accurate_ simply does not cut it when you're dying. All to save a few dollars a month. I get it. Young people are risk takers, and they are the overwhelming adopters of this dumping of the hard line phone.


Of course, it works both ways...if you have a heart attack while not at home you may not be near a land line at all. Cell phone wins.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

bass player said:


> What if the ice storm had downed the phone line?


Then use your cell phone as a weak backup option.



bass player said:


> Of course, it works both ways...if you have a heart attack while not at home you may not be near a land line at all. Cell phone wins.


If you have a heart attack while not at home, then hopefully you can use your cell phone as a weak backup option.

ltr


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

mordko said:


> Yeah, I am ideologically opposed to funding LCBO and the Beer store. That's a robbery system, not to mention that most of the beer is terrible.


I agree , but too lazy to make my own 
However, usually you can find in LCBO, pretty good European (German, Czech, holland or UK) beer much cheaper ($2 per 0.5 L) than North American piss...
Too bad I cannot order alcohol via amazon


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

mordko said:


> not to mention that most of the beer is terrible.


Only if you wear a neck beard.


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

gibor365 said:


> I agree , but too lazy to make my own
> However, usually you can find in LCBO, pretty good European (German, Czech, holland or UK) beer much cheaper ($2 per 0.5 L) than North American piss...
> Too bad I cannot order alcohol via amazon


Right but you are still forced to pay double to a crazy monopoly. Besides beer is dead easy and you can adjust it to your taste. A bit more bubbles or rye or hops... whatever. I found that home made grape wine isn't quite as good as quality commercial stuff but beer is better. Meads and fruit wines at LCBO are just terrible.


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## joetheneighbour (Apr 17, 2017)

EXPENSES Approx. $3,240
Mortgage + Property Tax: ~$1,075
I recently reduced my mortgage payment from $950 bi-weekly to $1,075 monthly, so I can have more cash on hand for miscellaneous expenses with the baby. Yes, I was super aggressive with my mortgage payments because I really wanted to pay it off quickly. My property tax was $2,450 last year which is about $204 a month.

Utility: ~$150-$200 Depending on the season
A lot of houses in Eastern Canada uses electricity for both space heating and water boiling. Depending on the season, electricity prices can be quite high, but still nothing compared to the prices in Ontario. Our house is set to 19 Degrees Celsius when we are at home, and goes down to 14 Degrees Celsius while we are at work. Our basement is kept at around 11 Degrees and our bedroom is set to around 17 Degrees when we are sleeping. Besides space heating, water heating is the next big consumption of electricity. The last biggest item is obviously the fridge and our mini fridge. One last note to remember is that a lot of provinces give rebates or tax credits for products and home improvements that can help reduce your monthly utility bills, so be sure to do some research.

Cell Phone: ~$120 for 3 Month
My wife is obsessed with finding deals, especially for cell phone plans. I’ve changed my plan 3 times in the last 3 years. My current plan is with Public Mobile which costs me $120 for 3 months and I get 12 GB of data along with unlimited calling and text, plus a $2/month deduction for auto pay (comes to $116 for 3 months). To save even more, we’ll use our points from various grocery stores to buy Public Mobile vouchers to pay our cell phone bills. Maybe I’ll get her to do a post later to talk about all the little savings and deals that she keeps finding. Her favorite website is RedFlagDeals. 

Internet: ~$55
We don’t have the best plan but it’s enough for Netflix, online gaming and binge surfing 9GAG. 

Food: ~ $600 - $800
This is buying standard groceries and does not include eating out. We do have a Costco membership that pays for itself since we do a lot of shopping there. Groceries in Eastern Canada are slightly more expensive for whatever reason, which is why our spending seems high. I can assure you we are not buying steaks or lobsters on a regular basis. 

Gas: ~$300 -~$400
We have two cars and we fill up at Costco Gas about once a week.

Insurance: ~$270
This is insurance for both cars and home insurance on the house. If you didn’t know this, you must have home insurance as a condition for the bank to give you a loan for your house.

Entertainment (Eating out + other stuff): ~$100-~$200
My wife and I probably eat out once a week, usually on the weekends. We don’t eat anything fancy, and it might be as simple as eating lunch a McDonald's. We prefer staying home on the weekends if we didn’t have to do a grocery run.

Misc Expenses: ~ $200
This includes expenses for our dog, donation to World Vision, and other random items. Instead of buying pet insurance for our dog, we put $100/month aside in a savings account for our little pup. So, if our dog lives a long healthy life, then we’ll have some extra money saved up for other items if the money remains untouched.

Things to note: both of our cars are completely paid off, so we don’t have any monthly payments on our vehicles. We don’t have Cable TV or a house phone since Netflix and cellphones are more than enough.


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## EngPhysGuy (Jul 9, 2015)

Based on 2016 numbers my monthly average was:
Condo Fees = $360
Home Gas = $35
Electricity = $120
Hot Water Tank = $30
Internet/TV = $130 - will reduce to ~$45 by canceling TV and moving to different ISP
Groceries = $300
Property taxes = $170
Car/home Insurance = $100
Car Gas = $100
Cell phone = n/a
Home phone = n/a

Restaurant/bar/booze is around $500 but target to reduce that this year by about 1/2


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## WGZ (Feb 3, 2017)

Rent: 800
Car Insurance: 205 (such a rip off)
Phone: 65 (looking at Freedom Mobile after contract expires for a 35/mo)
Credit card: 600 (+/-50) average, only use to pay for every day expenses to get reward points. For groceries I mostly buy things on sale, and since I love being lean, my food purchasing is very..."spartan", aside from the refeed days or long hours at work (high physical) where I need the calories for maintenance. 1000 calories for under $5 at McDonalds simply cannot be beat. 2 double hamburgers for $3, 2 baked apple pies for $1.50. Only drink water.
Save: ~1000, or more, living as minimalist as I can. I love my car though...but did pretty good this year so far, only spent $100 on 1 car mod.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Can't believe how frugal and/or how low some of your expenses are....

Me:

enbridge (gas) = $1500 (Can't get this much lower unless I move to a smaller house)
hydro (electricity) = $1500 (Can't get this much lower unless I move to a smaller house)
water = $300 (well maintenance) (Would be higher in the city)
internet = $960 (I need to renegotiate this year)
property taxes = $4200 (Would be higher in the city)
x2 car/home insurance = $4400 (Would be higher in the city)
cellphones (x2) = $1200 (I figure that's pretty good for unlimited everything)
home phone = $60 (I can't get much cheaper) 
--------------------------
Total = $14,120 Ottawa per year

Where do you people live where your mortgage and property taxes are only $1,075? Your home gas bill is only $35?


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## bass player (Jan 27, 2016)

My Own Advisor said:


> Where do you people live where your mortgage and property taxes are only $1,075? Your home gas bill is only $35?


I'm the one with a $35 gas bill. I didn't do anything special...I live in a well insulated 1000 sq. ft. house in Winnipeg and heat with a high efficiency gas furnace. Probably one of the reasons it is so low is that when I renovated the basement I changed over to an electric hot water tank to enable me to move it to a new location to open up some space, so the cost to heat water is now reflected in my electric bill ($50 a month).


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

An avg gas bill of $35/mo does sound low. In most cases the fixed charges will be that much. 
Our admin fee ($7.47) and fixed delivery charge ($24.69) are almost that much - this before some other fees, a variable delivery charge and the cost of the actual gas volume used.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

joetheneighbour said:


> Cell Phone: ~$120 for 3 Month
> My wife is obsessed with finding deals, especially for cell phone plans. I’ve changed my plan 3 times in the last 3 years. My current plan is with Public Mobile which costs me $120 for 3 months and I get 12 GB of data along with unlimited calling and text, plus a $2/month deduction for auto pay (comes to $116 for 3 months).


I got in on the same 12GB promo and very happy with it. Bonus is no more surprise overage fees as it's prepaid. They also have a great loyalty and referral program



My Own Advisor said:


> Where do you people live where your mortgage and property taxes are only $1,075?


East coast and some parts of Quebec have some of the most affordable RE in the world relative to income, meanwhile Ontario has some of the highest.

For the price of RE in Toronto you could buy 10 of the same thing elsewhere in Canada and I doubt everyone in Toronto makes 10x the income..


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## bass player (Jan 27, 2016)

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> An avg gas bill of $35/mo does sound low.


Yes, and that includes all the fixed charges. Without them, it would be half.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

bass player said:


> Yes, and that includes all the fixed charges. Without them, it would be half.


Wow, $14/mo basic charge, and its run by Manitoba Hydro who you'd think would have an interest in promoting hydro and screwing gas users. https://www.hydro.mb.ca/regulatory_affairs/energy_rates/natural_gas/current_rates.shtml#gas_rates_residential
I may have to move to Windypeg.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

My Own Advisor said:


> x2 car/home insurance = $4400 (Would be higher in the city)


That seems really expensive for insurance.
Ours is $2900/yr for two newer cars and a brand new, fairly expensive house. Includes coverage on the rental suite as well.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

m3s said:


> I got in on the same 12GB promo and very happy with it. Bonus is no more surprise overage fees as it's prepaid. They also have a great loyalty and referral program
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm going to respectfully disagree with part of what you're saying. I live right on the East Coast and find real estate isn't overly cheap here and my property taxes certainly aren't. My rural property taxes are $4500. 

I also believe there would be little chance finding a comparable home here for 1/10 the price of one in TO, although I would agree the ratio of income to house price is better here. Many other parts of the East Coast are different but plenty of these would be in areas much more difficult to become employed. 

However notably income taxes, sales taxes are higher and incomes are lower than most of the rest of Canada.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Those are some high property taxes but it's kind of anecdotal. I've seen several detailed studies that show the east coast very affordable once adjusted for income.

Most recent CBC National claimed you could buy 8 comparable homes in Moncton for the cost of 1 in Toronto. Median income/tax does not fluctuation as severely as RE.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

Have you been in Moncton?...Its as bad as Toronto but smaller....jk


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

nobleea said:


> All cell towers have backup generators, but most houses do not. Most people with a land line do not have the unpowered, wired phone that only runs off the phone line power, ergo a cell phone is likely better in a power outage.


Where one is keeping a land line for power issues - why would one skip having a phone powered by the line?

Then too, I have lost cell usage in the city for a couple of hours at a time.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/telus-koodo-wireless-outages-fixed-companies-say-1.2527896




nobleea said:


> ... I think the 911 location services through cell towers are pretty darn accurate in most cities and towns.


The US mandated improvements while Canada has stalled so it is not clear that the 2012 complaints by 911 dispatch has been addressed.


You did read the Jan 2017 article I posted a link for where twice in year, a 911 call made from Ontario was relayed to Quebec because the phone number was a Quebec number, right? 

The firefighters dispatched were thirty minutes away instead of the ones a few minutes away.


At least it was better than one for Limoges, where not only did Quebec 911 get a cell phone 911 call from 30 Km into Ontario - the fire fighters the call was routed to were 55 Km away instead of in town. 


Cheers


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

Eclectic12 said:


> Where one is keeping a land line for power issues - why would one skip having a phone powered by the line?


Common sense is not common. I'm sure many who have a landline still, keep it for the power issue thing. But then don't think it through that they need the basic, 30yr old unpowered phone to see that through, rather than the cordless phone set they've used for years.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Why a 30 year old?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...e8-8d9e-5054-a4f4-76d54823f78c&pf_rd_i=172746
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...e8-8d9e-5054-a4f4-76d54823f78c&pf_rd_i=172746
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product...rded-phone-52200-901-52200-901/10182623.aspx?


As for improved 911 location services, California reports that *the number of 911 calls coming in with location info is dropping*. 

A review of Texas major city 911 calls says 2/3 did not provide an instant location fix.

For the Virginia Suburbs of Washington, Fairfax County reported 25% of cell phone 911 calls included precise location info while Loudoun County reported 29%.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/22/cellphone-911-lack-location-data/23570499/




> "It is now *easier than ever for victims to reach 911, but harder than ever for responders to reach them*," said David Shoar, the sheriff in St. John's County, Fla., writing to the FCC in November as president of the Florida Sheriffs Association.





> Every day we receive calls where we get a (cell) tower address, and that's it.



Cheers


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I met a guy on the development team for an international emergency services app. It's LONG over do

Any app on your phone can easily get your precise location but 911 can't? I've had a device that can ping emergency services via satellite for eons

Wall phones are dead. If you're worried about 911 you should get an emergency beacon


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

m3s said:


> Any app on your phone can easily get your precise location but 911 can't?


Yep, but that app is on your phone. Not on the 911 system.

ltr


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

nobleea said:


> That seems really expensive for insurance.
> Ours is $2900/yr for two newer cars and a brand new, fairly expensive house. Includes coverage on the rental suite as well.


Yeah, not cheap. I will shop around but paying almost $200 per month for house insurance which includes septic back up. We live on well and septic on 0.5 acre.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

m3s said:


> I met a guy on the development team for an international emergency services app. It's LONG over do
> Any app on your phone can easily get your precise location but 911 can't?


As per the article as well as her mother, Shanell Anderson's smart phone had similar capabilities but that did not help.

I suspect Canada is in even worse shape. 

According to a 2008 article, the deaths around that time sparked Canada to review then build a plan for improvements. Complaints by industry that it was too expensive shelved those plans, where the US was lauded for putting teeth behind their legislation. The US was described as being a decade ahead of Canada for cell phone location capabilities.

If the US (i.e. advanced system) is reporting 911 calls with location info *as low as 10% of calls based on carrier in Silicon Valley*, what is it like in Canada?




m3s said:


> ... Wall phones are dead.


Dying ... as of 2015, 78% of households had land lines. A 2016 article suggests 5% growth in cell phone only households so that makes it looks like the numbers may be around 68% or so currently.




m3s said:


> ... If you're worried about 911 you should get an emergency beacon


??? ... you seem to be aware that dramatic improvements are possible yet for some reason you want those concerned to develop a new system?

The barriers seem to be the industry complaints, a lack of concern as well as a lack of will power. Surely it's easier, better and cheaper to fix what already exists.




like_to_retire said:


> Yep, but that app is on your phone. Not on the 911 system.


Question is ... why not force the 911 call to trigger the GPS info or an app proactively instead of the delays of a challenge/response?


Though as seen with the shelved plans to change the system after at least three 2008 deaths in Canada, pressure by the public is likely needed to counter industry pressure. Part of the challenge is that the public seems to willing to make assumptions such as one third of Canadians seem to believe fire/police/paramedics would respond to an emergency message posted to social media.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/19/911-wireless-canada_n_4298241.html


Cheers


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

m3s said:


> Those are some high property taxes but it's kind of anecdotal. I've seen several detailed studies that show the east coast very affordable once adjusted for income.
> 
> Most recent CBC National claimed you could buy 8 comparable homes in Moncton for the cost of 1 in Toronto. Median income/tax does not fluctuation as severely as RE.


We're not disagreeing Toronto is expensive. To clarify you can find "some" parts of the East Coast as very affordable, just as you stated "some" parts of Quebec are very affordable, also considering incomes. For that matter "some" parts of Ontario are also very affordable relative to income. I've seen the news and read the reports. 

Anecdotal yes but factual and valid. My municipality represents 20%+ of the entire population of the Maritimes, a sizeable part of the "East Coast" with much less than world leading affordability, and sporting high property taxes. 

This is why I responded originally to give readers a more complete picture of "East Coast" costs.


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## dubmac (Jan 9, 2011)

Property Tax: $3815 (for 1/2 house in Vancouver)
Home Insurance & Home contents Insurance: about $1200
Car Insurance: $2100
Hydro: $1140
Gas (Fortis): $500
Cell phones (4) - no data: 130/mo = $1560. 
Internet, Phone, LD: $950 
Cable: $600
Food (3): around 800-1000 (depends who is home).


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## dubmac (Jan 9, 2011)

Property Tax: $3815 (for 1/2 house in Vancouver)
Home Insurance & Home contents Insurance: about $1200
Car Insurance: $2100
Hydro: $1140
Gas (Fortis): $500
Cell phones (4) - no data: 130/mo = $1560. 
Internet, Phone, LD: $950 
Cable: $600
_________________________________

Total: $12,235 on utilities, taxes etc.

throw in food ($11,000) and fuel, car mtce ($2000) = $25,235


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## ykphil (Dec 13, 2009)

Land phone: $0
Cable: $0
Internet: $0
Cell: $240 (2 Mexican cell phone plans)
*Calgary Condo*
Condo fees (includes all utilities): $4,380
Property Tax: $1,800
Condo Insurance: $180
*Vancouver Island property*
Property Tax: $900
Garbage pickup: $130
Power: $1,200

Total: $8,830


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Eclectic12 said:


> The barriers seem to be the industry complaints, a lack of concern as well as a lack of will power. Surely it's easier, better and cheaper to fix what already exists.


Well if anyone can sort out this mess it's google! link to recent article

When highways were gridlocked overnight in Montreal and the city didn't even know for 6 hrs all I could think was why don't they use something like waze already. Lots of potential smartphones nowadays

I am a waze editor and also "waze royalty" :smug: Great app imo


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## Odie (May 10, 2017)

Property Tax: 4000
Car/Home Insurance: 3228
Hydro: 4200
Gas: 1200
Water: 1200
Rogers: 4620 (internet, television, home phone, 2 cell phones with 7G data shared)

We are working on cutting back on these, however there are considerations around special needs among our kids (i.e. extra laundry that cannot wait for off peak, severe environmental allergies so cannot hang clothes or open windows to let in air and turn off a/c).


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> i.e. extra laundry that cannot wait for off peak


 ohh... didn't even think about "off peak" hours  

next year our car insurance goes up , as my son had at fault mini-accident on my wife car


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## Ihatetaxes (May 5, 2010)

Electricity/water - $2,986.17 (pool, hot tub, central air used all summer)
Natural Gas - $1,036.30 (furnace, pool heater, hot water, BBQ, gas range in kitchen, 3 gas fireplaces that get used a lot)
Water Heater rental - $363.12 
Property taxes $5,574.49
Car insurance - $2,050 for 2 cars
Gasoline - $2,500 for 2 cars including a couple of big road trips
TV, internet, home phone - $2,400
Cell x 2 - $1,500 (both unlimited long distance, 5g data per month on one, 3g on the other)
House insurance - $1,081.08
Groceries - $12,000 - family of 4 and we enjoy cooking at home and don't eat out often
LCBO - $3,500 (80% wine, 10% beer, 10% liquor)

Some of these are down quite a bit over the past couple of years. Home and car insurance, home phone, internet, TV all heavily negotiated with suppliers to reduce cost. For example we tried to cancel Bell home phone and due to bundled services ended up now paying $35/month including unlimited long distance in Canada. Faster internet (25 mb and no data limit) but cheaper than old plan. Home insurance down about $500 from a couple of years ago. Car insurance down close to $1,000 from 3-4 years ago due to changing carriers (and zero tickets or accidents in 10+ years)


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