Cost for basic monthly expenses (eggs, bread, utilites, gas, etc) (Loa: sales, 2014)

[soccerscotty21]

Wondering how much people are paying on average right now for basic monthly needs such as:

Internet/TV
Loaf of bread
Dozen eggs
Utilities (for average 2500 sq ft house) - what do you pay in summer vs. winter?
Gas per gallon

Just trying to get an idea of cost of living differences between where I live now and different parts of Utah. Thanks in advance!

[sbartek1974]

Originally Posted by soccerscotty21

Wondering how much people are paying on average right now for basic monthly needs such as:

Internet/TV
Loaf of bread
Dozen eggs
Utilities (for average 2500 sq ft house) - what do you pay in summer vs. winter?
Gas per gallon

Just trying to get an idea of cost of living differences between where I live now and different parts of Utah. Thanks in advance!

I don't live in Utah yet but I've found websites like GasBuddy.com resourceful for gas prices all across Utah. I've also visited sites like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, etc and pulled up their sales ads from the website to get prices. I've also searched their grocery stores, because they differ from what's here in Houston, Texas, and pulled their sales ads from the websites as well. And basically, the sales ads from the stores are pretty the same here as they are there.

[Geo-Aggie]

Internet = $30-70
Internet + TV = $80-150
Bread = $1.50-$3
Eggs = $2 for normal, $3.50 for free range
A gallon of milk is like $1.50
Chicken is about $3.50 a lb.
Utilities can vary a lot, but with an evaporative cooler (they work well here) and a gas furnace I pay about $35 electric all year and $30/100 gas summer/winter. Water (for drinking and sprinklers) is typically the inverse of gas. Uhm, my recycle/trash/sewer bill is like $15. It should be noted that I live in a city with rather inexpensive utilities.
Gas is like $2.50 for unleaded and $2.80 for premium.
A bus ticket is $2.50
A meal with drinks at Chili's is $35+Tip
A latte is $4
A Jazz ticket is $20 for upper bowl and maybe $60 for lower bowl (on StubHub, from the box office they're like 72 million dollars each)
Oh and general sales tax is 6.85% in Salt Lake County and Weber Counties, 6.75% in Utah County and 6.5% in Davis County. State income tax is 5%. No municipal income taxes exist.

[onecrazyfoo4u]

Good info Geo-Aggie. But what city is that for? And what size of house? What do you keep the thermostat set to? This will help baseline for comparison. Thanks!

[Geo-Aggie]

I'm in WVC with just over 2000 sq.ft. and 0.20 acres. Furnace set to about 68 in the winter and the evaporation cooler runs most of the evening (we're gone during the afternoon) and keeps the house at about 70-74 in the summer, but on very humid days I may see upper 70s.

Looking at my cost for water, I overestimated that by a lot. the most I've ever paid for water is about $85, last July, and more typically $20 in the winter and $40-60 for the rest of the year. My yard is unfortunately about 80% grass, but I'm too lazy to fix that. I keep it green...ish... all year, but it definitely yellows a bit in the summer. What? We live in a desert.

[sbartek1974]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

Utilities can vary a lot, but with an evaporative cooler (they work well here) and a gas furnace I pay about $35 electric all year and $30/100 gas summer/winter. Water (for drinking and sprinklers) is typically the inverse of gas. Uhm, my recycle/trash/sewer bill is like $15. It should be noted that I live in a city with rather inexpensive utilities.

It's amazing how you folks in Utah have electric bills between $30 - $100 a month. Am I reading this right. I currently live in a small town(27,000 population)just an hour south of Houston, Texas and my monthly electric bill is between $200 - $300 a month. My house is 3 bedroom/2 bath with 1600 square feet. I keep my AC at 70 - 72 during the summer. My water/sewer/trash bill has been between $120 - $150 per month. There's six of us here so there is a lot of baths/showers, dish washing, and laundry go on.

[NYtoVT]

Cost of Living 2014 Annual Average.

Electric costs are low due to two main factors.
1) Rocky Mountain Power uses (for the time being) coal to fire it's plants.
2) Due to the dry climate, many people use evaporative coolers in place of AC.

[Coffeequeen]

It ain't Houston though, it really doesn't get all out hot for long and 24/7 AC is an indulgence. Temps drop at night, fans and evaporative work well.