By Angela Martin
Bills, Bills, Bills! If you are renting, buying or you own your own home, one thing that is inevitable is that you will need to pay for consuming all the utilities you use. We have many day-to-day expenses which we engage various service providers to deliver. This can get very overwhelming and stressful, particularly if numerous bills are due around the same time.
At Money Mentor we believe it’s important to firstly be aware of what bills you are paying, how much they are and when they are due, to have a transparent and consolidated understanding of these expenses. Then take some time to see if some of those bills can be reduced by cutting down on your own personal or family household consumption. After these initial steps have been taken then you can start actively seeking better offers in the market.
Utilities services are quite competitive and offer you an incentive to incorporate numerous bills with them, whether that be in a form of a discount or voucher. The next step will be to set aside a few hours to contact these companies to see what current deals they have.
Be aware of bill comparison apps and services in the market that claim to do all this work for you to get you the best offer for your circumstances, as they may be getting an incentive by certain service providers to promote their utilities, so you do not get independent, impartial advice.
Once you have clarity of current bills, made effective changes to household consumption, and achieved savings through research and inquiry into the market deals, then it’s worthwhile setting aside some time in the future to regularly review these bills. This process is not a set and forget exercise, as rates change regularly depending on what is happening economically, socially, and politically in Australia and internationally.
We recommend that you review your expenses every six months or so to ensure you are not paying too much for your services, see if a better deal is available, and/or switch to save money or get more value for the same payment. Keep an eye out for any government incentives that may help you to reduce your overall utilities expenditure.
To ease cost-of-living pressures, the Victorian Government is presently offering a $250 incentive to eligible households to encourage them to compare their energy providers to save money. It is called the $250 Power Saving Bonus and once you apply it details information regarding the most economical electricity offers available in your area. It is now open to Victorian energy consumers. Applications can be made through the website below and only takes a few minutes to complete.
For power saving bonus visit:
compare.energy.vic.gov.au
Visit: moneymentor.org.au
Email: angela@moneymentor.org.au
