Peakster's House Efficiency

[Peakster]

December's housing costs:

Natural Gas - $95.81
Electricity - $109.17
Water - $50.79

Other expenses:

Cable/WiFi - $48.95
Telephone - $46.28
Insurance - $24.50
Condo Fees - $150.00
Property Tax - $109.26
Debt Interest - $377.69

Total December '10 Housing Costs: $1,012.45

Rent collection from roommates: $1,670.00

Monthly Surplus: $657.55
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Very cold temperatures and short daylight hours means high utility bills Oh well, at least it should go down from here. Still running a surplus so that's always good.

[Peakster]

January's housing costs:

Natural Gas - $42.20
Electricity - $25.83
Water - $38.80

Other expenses:

Cable/WiFi - $49.45
Telephone - $44.01
Insurance - $24.50
Water Heater Rental - $110.00
Condo Fees - $150.00
Property Tax - $109.26
Debt Interest - $376.68

Total January '10 Housing Costs: $1,010.73

Rent collection from roommates: $1,695.00

Monthly Surplus: $684.27
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Electricity and natural gas meters were actually read this time by the supplier, so it turns out I was using less than what was approximated. In other news, the 2nd bathroom is now complete after a lengthy construction period. Finally we don't have to plead with a neighbour to use theirs when someone is busy with the upstairs toilet!

[Peakster]

February's housing costs:

Natural Gas - $79.15
Electricity - $85.13
Water - $51.45

Other expenses:

Cable/WiFi - $49.45
Telephone - $40.78
Insurance - $24.50
Condo Fees - $150.00
Property Tax - $109.26
Debt Interest - $376.04

Total February '10 Housing Costs: $965.76

Rent collection from roommates: $1,695.00

Monthly Surplus: $729.24
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First time profits exceeded $700. New housemate moved in, but the market has been holding steady so no rent increase this time. Warmer temperatures should keep heating bills down and the extra daylight means less use of indoor lights too. Time to increase my mortgage payments to pay down the principle with this extra cash

[Daox]

Great to see things looking good for ya Peakster. Do you have any more renovations planned?

[Peakster]

Yes Daox. Now with the bathroom done, I need to cut out an egress window for in the basement wall to make the bedroom down there legal. I'm thinking it will be a $1-3K job.

After that, just frame and finish the rest of the basement (which should be a heck of a lot easier/cheaper that putting in a bathroom - drainage pipes and all) and then I'm done! I just need to replace all the carpets before I sell again.

[Peakster]

March's housing costs:

Natural Gas - $76.97
Electricity - $77.44
Water - $51.45

Other expenses:

Cable/WiFi - $83.18
Dryer repair - $136.38
Telephone - $55.91
Insurance - $24.50
Condo Fees - $150.00
Property Tax - $109.26
Mortgage P+I - $673.51

Total February '10 Housing Costs: $1,438.60

Rent collection from housemates: $1,738.10

Monthly Surplus: $299.50
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I changed the mortgage to principle plus interest again because not including the principle made me feel richer than I actually was . New housemate moved into the master bedroom and is paying $10/week more than the previous person.

Winter is almost gone so the furnace is running less and less. Dryer broke down and needed repair. The 8 month promotion for internet/cable expired so we're back down to 36 channels and 1.5 Mbps starting next month. So many things going on!

[raydias]

Have you considered doing Netflix streaming instead of cable. From what I have seen from various friends they pay way too much for cable tv and get a bunch of reruns. With 1 Netflix account you can stream to up to 5 devices (computer, Roku box etc). i pay about $11 a month and haven't seen a commercial in over 4 months. They add new content all the time and so far my family hasn't missed anything. I have never had cable etc so the Netflix was a step up.

Ray

[Daox]

I do the same as Ray and am quite happy with netflix on demand.

[Peakster]

I've thought about Netflix before as one of my friend's subscribes. I like the idea that it's only $8/month but the selection is rather poor in Canada - so many things that I want to watch only to have them listed as "Unavailable".

Definitely something to look into though because I do have an Xbox360 and I hear that's a device that's compatible. Cable and Internet in Canada is super pricey - If I keep the current 103 Channels and the 5 Mbps, it's like $130/month with tax!

Edit - I just gave them a call and found out I need to subscribe to Xbox Live for this to work. Looks like I'll be getting a used Wii :P

[Daox]

There is also a netflix box of some sort that you can buy specifically to get netflix on your TV. I think it runs ~$100. I'm not sure what a used Wii goes for, but just throwing out options.