I know I may be strange, but I really enjoy waiting for the mail man to arrive each day. Sometimes he only brings bills, but most days there will be a personal note or even a magazine or catalog or something else neat in the mailbox for me. Last week I even got a check from the mortgage company as they had taken too much money from us and wanted to refund it. Gotta love that!!
Well, on Friday I was leafing thru the mail and I just about passed out. Our utility bill arrived and it was really REALLY big....as in $370+!!!!! Now during the warmest and coldest months, especially with the increases in utilities in our area, we might have one close to $200 or a bit more, but usually $150-ish is the norm for us.
Of course I called Huntsville Utilties and asked about the bill and asked if perhaps it had been misread. Well, it had....the month before. It really did not strike me odd that the late July/early August bill was in the $150-$160 range, but according to their records (based on our past usage during the same time frame in previous years), that was way too low. She had me go outside and read the meter and the newest reading was correct. He had read it too low the previous month and it was made up for this month.
YIKES!!!! Thankfully we were able to make things work out in the budget to pay for it, but it looks like we need to put a lot more in the "utilities" category from now on. She said our average bill should be $220 each month based on the upcoming expected increases in rates. She also offered to set up a balance pay system where you pay the same amount each month, then every six months you pay the difference or get a refund if you used more/less than the average amount for those months. I am wondering if that might not be a better way to handle these unexpected changes in amount????????
If anyone's tried that, I'd love to get your input.
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