Everyday living costs are like sneaky little gremlins—each one is small, but together they totally gobble up your paycheck. From water to Wi-Fi, they don’t break the bank alone, but add them up and you might need a new bank!
Where do people shell out the most and least? And how can you keep those costs from eating up all your cash, no matter where you live?
Here are Five Fast Facts about monthly utility costs:
- 🥱 The Average Is - The average American household spends about $429 per month on all of their utility bills. This works out to over $5,100 per year, or roughly 10% of a typical income!
- ⏳ Recent History - Like most things, the cost of utilities has been skyrocketing over the last couple of years. For example, the cost of electricity has gone up by over 18% over the past three years! So yeah, that “phantom” pain in your checkbook is not actually imaginary.
- 🤯 Top Dollar - Alaska has the highest overall utility costs in the nation, with an average monthly bill of just under $570. The next most expensive are Hawaii, Connecticut, West Virginia, and Georgia. Wait, wait, wait…West Virginia?! 😲
- 💰👍 Bottom Dollar - On the flip side, the lowest monthly utility costs can be found in Utah, at around $346 per month. Next up are New Mexico, Idaho, Colorado, and Nevada. Go west, young man (and everyone else, too)!
- 😁 What To Do - No matter where you live, you can save on utilities by using solar panels, ceiling fans, and LED lights, and by being smart about when you water your lawn and run your appliances. It turns out common sense is a great money-saver—who knew?
🔥Bottom line: Whether you own your home or rent, or whether you live in the city or in a rural area, it’s never a bad thing to cut down your utility costs. Even if you don’t move to a cheaper place, it still helps to know what you’re likely to pay so you can plan for it and not let things get out of control. There are enough demands on our Paychecks nowadays, we don’t need another big hole burned through them every month!
How are your utility costs?
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