Owning and remodeling a house are two very fun things. However, along with all the fun comes the reality of "owning a house". Those of you who own a home know exactly what I am talking about.
Since July 18, (the day we had the keys handled over to us), I have written checks, swiped my American Express, and watched our "home savings" account get lower and lower. All that being said, we obviously saved for this grand occasion and expected it all... but it is still takes some getting used to. Actually on second thought, I will never get used to it! I am an avid saver... so dishing out the green bills to termite guys and sub-floor wood will never be easy for me!
Well, I knew this day would come. I'm been waiting anxiously for our first real homeowners bill. It finally happened:
I had no clue what to expect since the house is 2,000 square feet! The biggest place Nick and I have ever lived in was maybe, just maybe 900 square feet! Granted.. we aren't living at our new home yet, but we sure have spend a lot of time there!
I steadied my hands, and took the plunge, and slowly ripped open the envelope. I was expecting the worst. I knew it was obviously going to be double what we pay now. I had the check book ready to go and give away my life savings. Okay, perhaps I was being slightly dramatic. Can you blame me?!
I quickly peered down at the "PAY NOW" portion of the bill. I swear I heard the hallelujah chorus in the background start playing.
$4.35????!?!?!?! WHAT? I LOVE OWNING A HOUSE!!! MY LIFE ROCKS!
Yes, I realize that the billing period was shorter than usual because of the date that service was transferred into our names. Okay, it was only a measly 7 days long. BUT STILL! The Lord new I needed to be broken in SLOWLY to this homeowner-bill-paying-say-goodbye-to-saving-my-pennies world.
Next, I will anxiously wait to receive my first water bill. That is something that really scares me!! When I flush the toilet at the new house, I often think... oh man... was that flush 10 cents or 25 cents? Gotta go buy that 1.8 gallon per flush toilet!
**Do you have any great tips for saving energy or water and cutting down on those pesky bills?
Our home is also around 2000 sq ft but our monthly utility bills are rather inexpensive. Our average pg&e bill is around $55!! And that's during the summer when we have our AC going! And our water bill averages about $50/mo and that's with sewage costs included. We're very energy efficient with our appliances and we try and conserve energy wherever we can by taking short showers, keeping lights off and running the dishwasher and washing machines at night. I felt the same way as you did when I first started getting my bills too!! Scary but relieving when you realize that you can keep costs down!
ReplyDeleteMy advice to you is keep a "house expenses" savings account because even after you remodel and make things just exactly how you want it, things still pop up that your homeowners insurance won't cover and it has to come out of your pocketbook :-/ not fun but part of being a homeowner!
Btw - love love love the blog! It reminds me of when we first bought our home and what were still going through with loads of remodel projects :) enjoy every minute of it and you'll be so happy with the results I'm sure!
Thanks Meredith! I am having fun keeping a blog :) I know that it will be fun to look back on one day when we are all settled in the house :)
DeleteThanks for advice about bills. Love the idea about a expenses saving account.
Super encouraged hearing about your bills. We don't even have AC at our new house... so that should help!
Are you guys loving your newly remodeled kitchen?!?!
Love my kitchen but literally days after we finished we had a hot water pipe burst in our slab foundation and so now were getting all new floors throughout the house. Yay for the floors and Ugghh for dealing with insurance and mortgage companies 😒. I'll show pics on FB once everything's complete!!!
DeleteThe total bills at my house (and we have a pool, so there's that, as well as five guys taking showers, washing clothes, etc) run anywhere from $150 - $200 a month, based on the amount I have to pay and my four roommates. Not sure how good that is.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephen! I bet the pool takes a lot! But hey, between 5 guys living in one house... it's really not all that bad!
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