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.
Water bill, reimbursement
July 30th, 2015 at 01:52 am
July 30th, 2015 at 12:46 pm 1438256775
July 31st, 2015 at 12:16 am 1438298217
July 31st, 2015 at 01:57 am 1438304231
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.
July 31st, 2015 at 10:58 am 1438336723