PMB Step 7 - Utilities/Bills MP4 S2 17-18

Objective: Students will begin to enter data on their budget sheets. ALL ENTRIES ARE TO GO IN THE "ACTUAL" COSTS COLUMN OF THE BUDGET! Students should spend time today entering their Actual Costs for rent, transportation (train/bus pass), shopping costs and any other items on their budget sheets. Students should also add the MONTHLY INCOME to the INCOME BOX to initialize the sheet. Finally, students should research the cost of utilities in their new city and estimate the costs on their budget sheets. See directions below for figuring out your monthly utilities.

Steps:
1. Enter your Monthly Income in the Income Box on the Budget Sheet
2. Enter your Actual Cost for your RENT
3. Enter your Actual Cost for the SHOPPING you did to move in.
4a. Complete Journal Entry (Weebly) Listed Below
4b. Use the tools below to determine your Average Utility Costs for the Month:
          Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Sewer, Trash Pickup, Phone, Cable, Internet
5. Enter those costs on the Actual Cost Column of your Budget

UTILITY COST ESTIMATE TOOLS 

Here is an article with a good idea of how much you should estimate based on your income for your budget: 

http://www.zillow.com/blog/rules-of-thumb-for-estimating-apartment-utility-costs-100024/comment-page-1/ 

Today you will be examining how much your local utilities cost. You are at your new apartment and you need to estimate your monthly utility expenses. There are many websites you can use, but to make sure you are estimating correctly you will need to read the following article first:

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/how-to-estimate-cost-of-utilities.htm

Once you have read the article, please open your Weebly.com Journal and write a few sentences about which utility companies you use in your new city and how much you are estimating for the costs for your new apartment.

Here are some additional websites to help you estimate your costs:

http://www.allconnect.com/shopping/sc-phone/phone.html#selectedTab_tv

http://www.whitefenceindex.com/

http://hes.lbl.gov/consumer/


You can also use Google (or another search engine) to find sources for estimates of costs in your city.  Once you have estimated your costs, enter the amounts in your budget under the ACTUAL COSTS COLUMN.

WATER/SEWER:  The average household US water bill varies widely from state to state and municipality to municipality. Small town household water rates fall somewhere between $1.00 and $2.00 per 748 gallons of water or HCF (hundred cubic feet). Large city household water rates are from $2.00 to $3.00 per 748 gallons of water.   Many water bills are billed on a bi-monthly basis.

Many large cities have tiered water rate structures, whereby customers pay much higher rates for the water they consume beyond a certain predetermined amount.

The average US resident uses around 150 gallons of water per day. This number varies widely. Let’s look at a household of 4’s water consumption for one month or over a billing cycle:

Average daily water consumption: 600 gallons of water
Average monthly water consumption: 18,000 gallons of water
How many HCF is this? -> 18,000 divided by 748 = 24
Average cost per HCF? -> $1.50
Average monthly water bill? -> $1.50 x 24 = 36
Average bi-monthly water bill? -> $72

(Bear in mind that this number is for the small municipality only)
* We of course need to add to this number the sewage rate/cost plus any additional fees. To be safe, let’s just call it an $15 per month.

New average US household water bill? -> $51

Now, let’s acknowledge that this is only a number to which there’s no need to hold fast to. It merely gives us an idea of the expensiveness of water, and just how quickly a water bill can go through the roof due to a running or leaking toilet, say, a phenomenon to which 90% of all high water bills are due.

TELEPHONE, CABLE, and INTERNET:  Make sure you find your local providers and compare pricing. If you are using a Cell Phone, you must also add that to your Budget Sheet.

Keep up the Great Work on this project! The school year is almost over!

- Mr. S