Thursday, March 19, 2009

My Ever-Changing Utility Bills

I am happy because this month is the first time in a long time that I am back to only electricity, internet and phone bills. Ok, so I have to get the propane tank filled every month and haul my own trash but those are more like chores than bills.

Now that my tenants are paying for their own utilities I am only responsible for myself. The last water bill came in for $3.50. Trash was $16. Sewer was $16.50. The gas company gave me money back because I paid in advance. I called the cable company today to find out if I owe them or they owe me. Turns out they owe me so I should get a check soon.

Then I got my Qwest internet bill. This is for my internet at the RV and has been $37 every month since last year. The new bill was $43. Uh oh. It went up. This is why they told me to sign up for the 'price for life' plan. I didn't sign up because I wasn't sure where I would be living. Now that I know I am staying in the RV for a while I decided that it would be safe to sign up. I called Qwest and inquired about the rates. The customer service person told me that my bill would go back to $37 if I signed up for the 'price for life' which is really only a 2 year contract. I'm not sure if I believe her since the price on the internet said the price is $40 but at least it is less than $43. I also found out that next month my bill would have gone up to $50. I had a partial month credit for last month. Good thing I called. Then she tried to sell me home phone service... no thanks, satellite TV...no thanks, and cell phone...oh wait...Qwest partners with Verizon now and I already have Verizon so they gave me another $5 off when I agreed to combine my billing statements. Sounds good to me. I never would have thought that I qualified for another discount. I'm glad I called.

Now I only have 2 re-occurring bills: electricity and internet/cell phone. Some day I'll have solar power and get rid of the electric bill too (or perhaps sell power back to the electric company). For now, 2 bills make my life much simpler.

8 comments:

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

Only 2 re-occurring bills is awesome, and congrats on the discounts you just got. It is always nice to save money, but reducing those every month expenses is really great!

Daizy said...

Yes, it is good. I thought I missed the deadline. I was very happy to get an even better deal.

Daizy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lucy said...

Yay for discounts! The $5 off the phone service must've been a pleasant surprise.

Sharon S said...

Hi there-oh well done indeed getting the internet bill down further, only 2 utilities is awesome!

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

I cant beleive you got it down any further. Amazing.

Anonymous said...

Nice on the tenants paying the utility bills.
I know what you mean about the internet bill. My 'promotion' just ended at $59 (some promotion huh?) and it went up to $80! Called Customer service and got my cable interent back down to $59 for 6 months. Geesh! I wish I could go with DSL, but they don't have it in my area. Nor all the other cheaper stuff besides dial up. And well, that doesn't work!

Daizy said...

Frugalchick, yes it was a nice surprise. Good thing I called otherwise my next bill would have been another unpleasant surprise.

Sharon Rose, yes, 2 bills is so much simpler and they are paid automatically so I save on stamps too.

Lizzie, maybe I should call them every year just in case.

Money Funk, glad they gave you the deal again. $80 is outrageous. I hope you can keep getting the deal somehow.