I have another post for you today about the budgeting tips that I use in order to save money. See my other posts here and here.
Today I wanted to talk about ways in which you can save money on your water bill. This is UK specific for any non local readers.
You may, or may not, be aware that your water bill is both unmetered and is also tied to your postcode. I was aware of the first, but not the second.
What that means is that no matter the size of your house and how much water you use, you are paying an amount tied to the area you live.
I help my mother out with her finances, making sure money is moved to her savings accounts, trying to lower bills where I can etc. A couple of months ago I was shocked to see a direct debit come out of her account for £86.00. That is £1,032.00 per year. Bearing in mind that she lives in a small bungalow, on her own. My own water bill is over £20.00 less per month.
On doing some investigating I came to understand that your water bill is tied to where you live, not what you use. So I decided to do a test online with her water supplier to see how much less she could be paying if she had a water meter.
After asking her all the relevant questions such as how many showers/baths per week, how much times she used the washing machine etc, the test results came back that she could be paying around £35.00 per month. Over £50.00 less than she is paying now.
We had been told by a neighbour of hers before that they had tried to get a water meter and were unable to do so. As it turns out, my mother was not able to get one fitted either.
But here is the thing (which I found out from a friend myself). If the water company cannot fit a water meter to your home, they are obliged to reduce your bill in accordance to what it would have been had you moved to metered water. This is a very little known fact, but one which is available if you know to look.
So today, my mother got an email through confirming that despite being unable to fit a water meter for her, her bill was now being reduced to £34.00 per month. Giving her a saving of £52.00 per month, or £624.00 per year.
So if you are looking at ways to reduce your bills (aren't we all!), this is one way to do it that does not take much effort and can save you a lot of money every year.
