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tSpec.fromUrl: max=1000000 maxDateCreated=20080517122629 sort=byDateCreated tags=blogId:.eff0c46 status:published
 | May 2008 |
The Official Quicken Online Blog
Utilities Ouch
April 8, 2008 4:25pm | Categories:
personal finance
(pathTags: dateCr:20080408 blogId:.eff0c46 blogCategory:Personal%20Finance status:published)
posted by Quicken Jim
When the economy starts to get a little rough it is pretty normal to start looking at your spending for areas to save. Everyone tends to look at 'discretionary' spending first, dining out, clothing, entertainment etc. You can find good savings in spending that is on autopilot, for me that's utilities.
The easiest way to see where you are with utilities spending is on the 'Track Spending' tab. Click on Utilities on the category in the bottom half of the page. The graph in the upper right shows you the spending over the last 4 months. The 4th month, current month, may not be that useful since if you are in the beginning of the month, you may have no spending. So the previous 3 months are what is really useful.
The first time I saw this graph, it was startling. My PG&E, Cable, Phone, Cell, water and garbage are all on auto pay. I also never add them up and look at them on a monthly basis, well until now. $650 on average per month in utilities, that's a big chunk. PG&E being the largest, and the one that I can make the biggest impact on.
So some experiments for me over the next couple of months to see if I can get my PG&E bill down.
-Change duration on front landscape lighting down to 2 hours after it gets dark, currently set to 6.
-Lower temp of hot tub 3 degrees (roughing it)
-Turn off my Mac Pro when not in use, I have been leaving it on 24/7
-Do a better job of turning off lights and electronic devices when not in use
Basic, I could have been doing them all along, but, I didn't understand the real impact of my utility spending. Now I know, so let's see what I can do about it. I will check back in a few months from now and give an update on what impact if any these changes are making.
-Jim
The easiest way to see where you are with utilities spending is on the 'Track Spending' tab. Click on Utilities on the category in the bottom half of the page. The graph in the upper right shows you the spending over the last 4 months. The 4th month, current month, may not be that useful since if you are in the beginning of the month, you may have no spending. So the previous 3 months are what is really useful.
The first time I saw this graph, it was startling. My PG&E, Cable, Phone, Cell, water and garbage are all on auto pay. I also never add them up and look at them on a monthly basis, well until now. $650 on average per month in utilities, that's a big chunk. PG&E being the largest, and the one that I can make the biggest impact on.
So some experiments for me over the next couple of months to see if I can get my PG&E bill down.
-Change duration on front landscape lighting down to 2 hours after it gets dark, currently set to 6.
-Lower temp of hot tub 3 degrees (roughing it)
-Turn off my Mac Pro when not in use, I have been leaving it on 24/7
-Do a better job of turning off lights and electronic devices when not in use
Basic, I could have been doing them all along, but, I didn't understand the real impact of my utility spending. Now I know, so let's see what I can do about it. I will check back in a few months from now and give an update on what impact if any these changes are making.
-Jim
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