It is frightening to hear that electricity bills are expected to rise by 30-50% in the next 12 months – that’s up to $1,450 for my family of three children under 14 whom I support on my own. Our bill in the July–to-October winter quarter last year was about $800; this year it was $964. If electricity bills rise by 30% next October, I can expect a bill of about $1,250. If they rise by 50%, it will be more like $1,450.
Three hundred dollars extra over three months may not seem like a big deal to some people, but to us it’s a scary prospect. It’s more than I spend on groceries each week.
The total anticipated bill of $1,250-$1,450 is more than two weeks’ rent. It’s about what I spend on transport and on medication for the year; and what I will pay in school fees next year for a “free education”, mainly on school uniforms for three children in January – this is based upon what these items cost now of course. We know that all these prices are going to go up.
My electricity bill for the same time last year was $165 cheaper. Because we try to save energy, our usage fell by over 4kWh for the same period.
We live in Hobart. I am a sole parent to three daughters. We don’t have electric blankets. We don’t have heating/cooling in each of the bedrooms – we don’t use cooling at all. I don’t leave the hall light on during the night even though my youngest would like that. I do our washing in the evening when electricity is cheaper, all done in cold water. We don’t have a clothes dryer. I turn anything I can off at the power point. I don’t turn all the lights on when it gets dark, only what we need, then turn them all off when the kids are in bed. We time our showers.
I think a lot about what I cook. I like to use the oven when it’s going to be extra cold so I can use the extra warmth to help heat the house, which is also a reason I like to cook bread on cold days. I close the curtains early. We put extra layers on. I go to bed early so not to use extra electricity.
My budget works in two ways: category 1 is bills where amounts are locked in, such as rent, medications for the kids (my medications go in the next category), day-to-day costs of three kids at school, our transport costs.
Then there is everything else in category 2, which is extras we need but aren’t essential. I juggle things around to cover things like shoes, clothes, underwear, kids’ birthdays, Christmas, anything else really. Two of my children have birthdays in November. I pay a bit more on the electricity during September and October so I can halt those payments to redirect the funds to their birthdays during November.
For the first time in two years, I was thrilled to get my electricity bill this month – I was $55 in credit. This is such an achievement for me.
On Tuesday night that achievement was made redundant. As I was listening to Jim Chalmers deliver the budget, my thoughts were, “well, my wage isn’t going up by 50% next year. Will we make it through to this time next year? Can I possibly work two jobs? Am I sure there in nothing else I can cut out of our budget? What else can I give up?”
As a renter, I can’t put solar on my roof. I can’t update my windows/doors for better insulation. I can’t better insulate my home. I’m not allowed to fill the gaps between the windows, doors and floors. I have done all I can to save energy and bring down our electricity bills. I am at a loss at what to do next. By this time next year, I will be working over 40 hours a quarter just to cover our electricity bill and I know I am one electricity bill away from dropping all I am juggling.
How can I secure a safe financial future for us when I can barely keep up with the cost of existing?
• Angela Finch is a Hobart mum and advocate who has had to give up tertiary studies to keep up with the rising cost of living
