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Thread: Monthly Bills

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    18

    Default Monthly Bills

    Hi,

    I am looking for a bit if help as trying to work out what our monthly bills would be like for a 3 bed house in the Ashburton area.

    I have come up with the following and wanted to see how realistic this was:

    mortgage $2,000.00
    council tax $170.00
    gas/electric $300.00
    food $1,080.00
    car insurance $30.00
    home insurance $40.00
    phone/internet $100.00
    tv $88.00
    petrol $60.00
    mobile phones $100.00

    I guess we will also need to buy firewood but have no idea how much that would be so any help with this would be appreciated. Also if I have missed anything else off please let me know.

    Any comments would be gratefully received.

    Many thanks

    Louise

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Blenheim
    Posts
    1,620

    Default

    If you calculate $ 300.00 for power, that should easily cover the cost for heating with a heatpump, or, if you have a logburner, buy you wood.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    nz
    Posts
    9

    Default

    60 bucks a month for petrol seems quite low unless you truly do not use the car much.
    If you're driving 30 minutes a day everyday, and with petrol prices rising, I'd at least budget double that.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    California to Tasman Bay
    Posts
    1,137

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by LG39 View Post
    Hi,

    I am looking for a bit if help as trying to work out what our monthly bills would be like for a 3 bed house in the Ashburton area.

    I have come up with the following and wanted to see how realistic this was:

    mortgage $2,000.00
    council tax $170.00
    gas/electric $300.00
    food $1,080.00
    car insurance $30.00
    home insurance $40.00
    phone/internet $100.00
    tv $88.00
    petrol $60.00
    mobile phones $100.00

    I guess we will also need to buy firewood but have no idea how much that would be so any help with this would be appreciated. Also if I have missed anything else off please let me know.

    Any comments would be gratefully received.

    Many thanks

    Louise
    All of these have a wide variation depending on your personal needs.

    Your food budget seems very reasonable. My food budget is 880 a month which I just increased from 800.

    I think your petrol is quite low.

    We save 50 a month for WOF, rego, and other car related costs.

    There are a few variants of television that don't include Sky. You could make that lower if you wanted.

    Health care isn't free. Every time you need to go to the doctor there is a fee. That can add up if you have to return to figure out an illness. If you need additional care, like a mole checked or something like that, it costs extra. We save about 40 a month for those costs and as we are a relatively healthy family, that's been sufficient. There is also private insurance available. Accidents are free. If your kid falls out of a tree, there is no cost.

    You might want to consider adding dental. Kids are covered in school for a check up (the frequency depends on your area and your children's teeth) but adults are not covered.

    I've never paid over 180 a month for gas/electric but I don't live in as cold a location and we only use supplemental electric heat for a few weeks a year in the mornings. We also get rebates from Network Tasman. I don't know if there is a similar scheme in the Ashburton area. It really helps in winter. We pay between 100-120 in the other months.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Chch, NZ
    Posts
    2,226

    Default

    We save 50 a month for WOF, rego, and other car related costs.
    The cost of vehicle ownership can be greatly understated. Annual registration fee say $300. If you work in Ashburton your driving distance may be a lot less. But a full tank for any car should be between $80 - $120. We live in Chch and we barely get by a full tank to last us 10 days or 3 times fill a month. Then there's car maintenance like oil & oil filter changes ($100), WOF x 2 a year?, fluids, new tires, etc. A car break down can be costly.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    18

    Default

    Thanks everyone for your comments. I have also budgeted a few hundred for savings and once I get a job we will have a bit more spare cash. Also my husband has a company 4x4 with personal use so my car will just be for local journeys.

    Thanks again

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    .
    Posts
    301

    Default

    TV $88?

    Get a Roku and subscribe to an online channel, e.g., Netflix!
    $99 would be able to get you unlimited broadband internet.

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