Layout:
Home > Water bill, reimbursement

Water bill, reimbursement

July 30th, 2015 at 01:52 am

Today after getting my first quarterly water bill I confirmed with the landlord that yes, water here runs nearly thirty dollars a month! I pulled out my last two years of utility statements before I moved and I was paying around $8/month in an individually metered apartment. My new building just divides total water bill for the building by number of units, regardless of use or how many people live there, it seems. Oh well- to account for this, I'll be adding $32 per month anticipated water cost to each utility bill going forward, which will build up in the account until each payment comes due.

On a happier note, I finally received a reimbursement check for some work-related expenses totaling $370.99. Since I paid for this upfront a few months ago and haven't missed the money while reimbursement was taking a long time, I decided to use $65 of it to cover the first water bill (prorated from the move) and send $100 to retirement savings and $100 to debt. The remaining money will go back in the general savings/emergency fund.

Stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home from work today to pick up a few odds and ends- I've been craving pesto and ran out of milk for cereal in the morning, etc. I'm grateful that even with an unexpected utility expense, getting near the end of the month doesn't mean not being able to buy any more food until August comes around. Not everybody gets to spend $13 on groceries just because it's a convenient time to go, without thinking twice.

4 Responses to “Water bill, reimbursement”

  1. CB in the City Says:
    1438256775

    At my last address, I had $25-30 per month water bills, too. The bill included sewage. Does your building have washers in the units? That can really drive up the cost. Here, I have no water bill (though I pay assessment fees that cover heat, water, maintenance, etc.)

  2. Greenleaf Says:
    1438298217

    My unit does have a washer, but so did my last one and I use it with the same frequency. Ditto the dishwasher- both apartments have them, but I handwash 90+% of the time. The only difference I can see is that the last place was individually metered.

  3. PatientSaver Says:
    1438304231

    Here in CT, I pay about $50 for water every 3 months. Water, it seems, is the one thing that's cheaper here than many other places.

    Doesn't seem fair that they just evenly split water usage among tenants. There's no incentive to conserve. For what it's worth, I often crave pesto sauce too, although the best kind is homemade. I use walnuts instead of pinenuts.

  4. BudgetBrilliance Says:
    1438336723

    In Australia 50% of my bill is allocated to a mandatory supply charge. I find that odd given that I thought that everyone in a country classified as 'developed' had to have access to clean water. What if you couldn't afford to pay your bill I wonder? The supply charge and sewage is over $140 per quarter. Landlords have to pay those fees in Oz but tenants pay for what they use.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]