Leaving home for the first time brings with it a lot of a freedom and excitement. However, the practicalities of organizing and managing a household can be overwhelming, to say the least. From signing up with energy bills to setting up the internet, it can all be a bit much to take in at one time. This guide will help you come to grips with setting up and managing your utilities.
Essentially, utilities cover your most basic living costs, so you can keep the lights on and water running in your house. Utilities are usually paid on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis depending on the service.
Living as a student means working with a tighter budget, so it’s important to always look for the best deals when it comes to service providers for your home. You should make sure to shop around, comparing gas and electricity deals, and look out for student broadband packages.
Gas and Electricity
As soon as you move in, you should figure out who your energy supplier is, as you’ll need to pay for the gas and electricity you use upon arriving. Then you can start comparing energy tariffs in order to find the cheapest deal. While this can take some time, energy prices vary greatly between providers, so it’s definitely worth it to search for the cheapest prices.
One of the easiest ways to save money is by combining your energy bills under a dual fuel tariff through a single supplier. It means that you’ll not only end up paying less, but you will also only have one bill to sort out at the end of the month.
You can also decide between a variable and a fixed energy tariff. Standard variable tariffs fluctuate as energy prices change, while fixed tariffs are a locked in price (per unit of energy consumed). Recently, the trend is for energy prices to rise, so you’ll probably want to opt for a fixed tariff. Keep in mind that both variable and fixed tariffs charge you based on how much energy you use, so you’ll still need to be aware of turning off lights or unplugging phone chargers. Most providers will send you a smart meter, which will make tracking your energy consumption a lot easier.
Water
There’s only one water provider in each region, so you won’t have to choose between providers. You will either be charged a standard tariff—a flat rate for the water you consume—or you will have a water meter and be charged per unit. If you’re living in a big house with lots of people, the water meter could become the more expensive option.
All you have to do when you move in to your house, is contact your region’s water supplier and set up an account.
Broadband
By far one of the most important utilities for a student home, broadband will allow you to access your Instagram and Netflix accounts. Depending on who you live with, you’ll require different connection speeds—a superfast connection means a download speed of 34 Megabits or more per second. Superfast internet also ensures that everyone in the house can use the internet for surfing or streaming at the same time.
Unlike with gas and electricity, some of the bigger broadband providers, like BT and Virgin, offer special term time-only contracts for students. That means you won’t have to pay during your summer holiday. Be wary though, some of these contracts are deceptively expensive and you could end up paying more than you would with a 12-month contract from a different providers.
This is one utility that you should try to set up in advance of moving in because it can take up to two weeks to be installed. And of course remember to put a password on your WiFi so that neighbours and passersby can’t siphon your internet and leave you with slow speeds.
Splitting Bills
It’s usually easiest if one housemate is the designated utilities organizer. They’ll stay on top of the bills and what needs to be paid and everyone else will have this person’s bank details on hand or set up standing orders to ensure that the cost is equally shared, and paid on time.
The best way to make sure you don’t pay your bills late, is to pay via direct debit. But make sure you still know when money is going out of your account so you can keep an up-to-date record.
