Paying your bills

When you leave home and look for your own place it is not just the rent or mortgage that you need to pay for. You need to make sure you can afford heat, light, water and food. Possibly the largest amount of money you will pay each month will be your Council Tax bill for the property. This could be as high as £100+ a month.

The best way to pay these bills is to set up direct debit accounts with each company. This will pay your bills on time without you having to remember to pay them. By using this automated system the onus is on you to ensure that you are paying for what you are using and not some average usage that previous tenants may have used. The best way of doing this is to take regular meter readings and letting the gas/electric/water companies have those.

Some older properties do not have meters that need reading; instead you simply feed the meter by adding money (usually £1 coins) into it. You will need to have a supply of coins in case you run out in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning.