Week 2 Challenge: Review your gas and electricity
Let me rewind by 2ish years. I reviewed my gas and electricity and signed up with a new company. It was going to save us a few hundred a year to switch based on the comparison calculator, so I signed up to the cheapest company.
Within 3 months they hiked up the price and I didn’t realise. Every time the bill would come in I would quickly pay it to make sure we got our discount for paying on time before I forgot, and I wouldn’t pay attention to the increasing price. I knew I was overpaying as our bills crept up from $100 per month to an average of $190 per month (after our pay on time discount- paying late would have added approx. $160 per month more).
So I knew it was time for me to review our gas and electricity. There are many comparison websites for gas and electricity, but I used the government comparison site (Victoria) https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au and I felt sick to realise that I was over paying on my electricity to the tune of (*gulp*) $2,500 per year based on their estimate (which excluded our pay on time discount). I don’t think that the estimated savings were quite right, based on my calculations of the last few months of savings compared to the year before, I will save over $90 per month which is still a huge win (my bill is back to approx $100pm).
The best thing was though- when I reviewed the offers, I found a supplier who locked in the rate for 12 months… so although I didn’t go with the cheapest option (to save $30ish per year more) I now have peace of mind that our prices won’t go up for 12 months- and I’ve put a handy little reminder on my phone so I don’t forget to review again.
Saving Tally:
Week 2: $1,080
Total= $1,500
Did you miss our Week 1 challenge? You can review it here.
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This represents general information only. Before making any financial or investment decisions, we recommend you consult a financial planner to take into account your personal investment objectives, financial situation and individual needs. This information is based on our personal circumstance and it will be different for everyone. Information provided on this website is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice.
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About Me:
Who am I? I’m still figuring it out. I love being a wife to Tim and mum to our 2 boys. I started The Melbourne Kid in 2012 and stopped writing to focus on our family and our business Accession Finance. I am an accountant, I love being outside and in nature, I love the salty smell of the air at the beach. I love coriander and I hope you won’t judge me for it. And when I was 6 years old I knew I wanted to be a writer but my mum told me it was a dreamers job. So this blog… it’s the combination of what I know (numbers) and my childhood dream (to write) so thank you for reading and making my 6 year old self’s little dream come true.
