I have a number of bills. Some people may not think I should, but until they decide to pay my bills regularly, they really don’t have any right to complain. However, while I do pay my bills, I of course wouldn’t mind the extra help. Hey, I am never one to say no. Below are the following bills.
Rent
Like everyone who doesn’t own a home, I have rent to pay. Thankfully, my rent is reasonable with Section-8 assistance, but I wouldn’t mind help on that. The one I pay the rent to is Antonio Veneziano for $162.00. Again, Section-8 covers the remainder of the rent.
Electricity
Unlike my former place, I have to pay electricity here. It is not only a requirement for sustainable living in a modern society, but a requirement of Section-8. However, since I use electricity only when needed, and strive to use resources to keep the bills down, my electricity bill usually averages about $30/month.
The things I have constantly running are the following.
- The Refrigerator
- Multi-Function Center (Sleep Mode)
- Wifi-N Router/FiOS modem
DECT Access Point for cordless phone- Set-top box (Sleep Mode)
- TV (Sleep Mode)
- iPod Touch with dock and small speaker
Most of the things that are running nearly constantly are either needed to run, or in sleep mode. In the case of the TV, I will turn music off, and there will be days that I do not have the TV on at all.
T-Mobile
My cellular carrier is T-Mobile. I am currently on a family plan (Andie’s line is on my account), and therefore I have unlimited voice/SMS on both lines. I also have data on my line as well as insurance. In addition, I am making a $25/month payment towards my current phone. All of this together is about $190.00 per month. Andie does give her portion of the bill, but I still pay the majority of it (data/phone payments/insurance).
Once Andie leaves the service, I will either consider keeping the family plan on an emergency phone, or go to an individual account. I will definitely drop to the lowest number of minutes. There are a few reasons why.
- I only use about 250 minutes per month if I use the cell exclusively
- I have a wifi phone that uses GTalk, and my Google Voice number when making a call. Such in the US/CA are free.
So, most likely, there will be no need for unlimited calling on my cell phone which means I can reduce the bill dramatically when Andie leaves my account.
Verizon
I have Internet (25MBPS), Telephone (unlimited US calling), and Television (about 100 channels not counting HD duplicates). I have a set top box which I pay for (although it should be included). All together, I pay about $110 – $120 per month for all of the services. In reality, the only one I personally feel of real value is the Internet, but TV has its use as well.
The Internet is most important, and at 25MBPS, it is the fastest connection I ever had. I am able to download data as I need to, and use my SIP line(s) to make or receive calls – all without skipping a beat. It provides not only services for my PC (such as writing this page), but since it allows for SIP traffic, this will mean that I will eventually be able to cut down on other bills.
Telephone service is not much of value, however to cancel it will mean I will pay more for two services than for three. In such case, I will want to eventually get a fax machine, and from there – use my home phone line as a fax line. However, as for now – I’ve set the phone line to forward to my Google Voice number, and just disconnected the house phone from the line.
Television is over priced, but there are some things I have enjoyed once in a while. What I feel to be unfair is the fact that the set top box that I need to use the service incurs a $10 fee. The box does nothing special. I get access to their On-Demand service which costs money, and can view stations that I am paying for, but there is no DVR feature. However, nonetheless – I have chosen to keep it for now.
If I was to drop all of the services (with exception for Internet), I will expect my bill to be about $65 + taxes. So with the bill at $120, I will be dropping the bill by less than half. Unless I find that I am not using the services enough, I will feel it will make sense to keep them.
Fingerhut
Currently, I have my Notebook PC that I am composing this page on. In addition, I have ordered a treadmill which I will most likely keep. These two items together is expected to be about $65 per month. As the amount owed goes down, so will the required payments. Since I have a $1400 line of credit, my bill will be at most $70 per month. I do try to put that much down even if my bill is lower (remainder goes directly to principal).
Netflix
While I am finding less value in Netflix with them charging $8 to view their very limited streaming library, I still have them. I currently have the 2 DVD only plan. The reason why I chosen 2 DVDs is I typically get mail about 10:30, and the last mail pickup on weekdays are 1:00PM. This gives little time to get the disc back in the system that day as I was able to do when I lived 1 block from the post office. The Netflix bill is about $15 per month.
Toktumi
I have been using their service although not a primary line since I have Google Voice. However, with them currently, I have a fax line, and a voice line. I am considering dropping the fax line, and just invest in a fax machine to save money. I will eventually use the voice line as an IVR, however been too lazy to do anything with it. If I had the fax extension, and the one line only – my bill will be $25 per month.
Dreamhost
This is the company that assures you can read this page. It is also handles all of my email, and other web sites. All of this is under one account, and one host. The host is also one of the cheapest bills I have just at $11/month.