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Old 04-13-2009, 06:07 PM
 
Location: 40 Miles West of Corpus Christi, TX
35 posts, read 129,709 times
Reputation: 24

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My husband submitted an application to the Larimar Sherrif's Office for the Dispatch position a few weeks back. We recived a response from them. So, he is now going to persue the tests they require, in order to be seriously considered.

I have been doing a lot of research on the city, schools, apartments, churches, etc.

I have done many cost of living comparisons, etc.

But I need some actual numbers, amounts...on how much Families of 3-5 are paying for each of the following utilities and in what of dwelling (900 sq. ft. apt/2,000 sq. ft. house/Etc)

Electricity

Gas (although we don't plan to use gas-if the apt/house is right we might)

Water

Sewer

Trash

Thanks!
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Old 04-13-2009, 10:12 PM
 
3,555 posts, read 7,835,595 times
Reputation: 2346
Wow, that would be a nice catch with Larimer Sherrif's office. Our numbers are NOT going to be typical because (a) there's only 2 of us in the house and (b) I'm kind of a "crank" on not wasting utilities. We live in a 2500 +/- square foot house split 50/50 up and down. We really only live in the top (ground) floor, underneath is a "daylight" basement-no doors to the outside. However we can't shut off the heat to the downstairs other than just closing vents in a room because the ducting is not "zoned".

We live in Loveland so your numbers may vary. We can recycle EVERYTHING, cardboard, glass, aluminum, plastic, even the 1/2 gallon orange juice/milk containers that are kind of plasticized cardboard. Toilet paper rolls, all paper, the plastic thingies that meat comes packaged on. We actually have the big (125?) gallon roll around bin for recycling. We fill it every two weeks.

For trash you can get 3 sizes of roll around for trash, or you can just "bag and tag", we use the heavy contractor grade trash bags and put them out every 3rd or 4th week (50# maximum), I think the tags just went up to $1.75.

Our water and electric comined is usually about $60/month, but we only ran out A/C about a week last August and we only use 1,000 gallons/month of water. A typical family in the US uses about 80 gallons per person per day!

Our gas bill is usually less than $15 in the summer, but as high as $200 in January, the one we just received (March) was for $75.

BTW, in TX we were paying about $30/$35 a month for trash, $80-$100 for water, $150-$200 for electricity (last house was all electric).

Hope this helps and good luck on the tests.

golfgod
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Old 04-13-2009, 11:50 PM
 
169 posts, read 671,376 times
Reputation: 68
Quote:
Originally Posted by BusyMammaOf3 View Post
My husband submitted an application to the Larimar Sherrif's Office for the Dispatch position a few weeks back. We recived a response from them. So, he is now going to persue the tests they require, in order to be seriously considered.

I have been doing a lot of research on the city, schools, apartments, churches, etc.

I have done many cost of living comparisons, etc.

But I need some actual numbers, amounts...on how much Families of 3-5 are paying for each of the following utilities and in what of dwelling (900 sq. ft. apt/2,000 sq. ft. house/Etc)

Electricity

Gas (although we don't plan to use gas-if the apt/house is right we might)

Water

Sewer

Trash

Thanks!
No family here, just 2 married people in their 30s. I am also conserve a bit and try not to be wasteful (and recycle like golfgod). However, I can give you rough stats based 900 sqft apt and 1200 sqft house (with 1100 sqft finished basement = ~2300 sqft) - since I have lived in both here in CO. Realize that a lot of this depends on your usage habits and the energy efficiency of your home/apt.

Electricity: If you conserve a bit, probably $40 a month for a home. A bit less in an apt. I pay about $20 a month, but I have switched out all my bulbs for CFLs and turn lights out when not in use. In the summer this will go up if you opt to use A/C - at least double.

Gas (although we don't plan to use gas-if the apt/house is right we might): I don't see how you will do this. Gas is almost exclusively used for heating in CO. In the winter if you conserve a bit and keep temp at about 60-65 probably about $100-130 or so a month for a home. In my current apt I avg about $75 or so a month in the winter - granted residents share the bill on this so my conservation doesn't help me here

Water: Depends on if you will be watering a lawn/garden. Expect a big bill here if you do (in most cases). Normal usage for a home, I would put it at about $30 or so a month - double or triple if you have to maintain greenery. In my apt water is included in the rent so not an issue for me. Water is handled/billed by the city of FC and is tiered. The less you use the less you pay per gallon.

Sewer: Handled thru the city and is a standard charge I think around $20 or so. Again not an issue for my apt.

Trash: In an apt not an issue, for a home expect $15 or so per month for residential service with recycle.

I hope this helps.
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Old 04-19-2009, 10:31 PM
 
23 posts, read 80,708 times
Reputation: 22
Smile Easy way to figure utility costs.........

Hello! What I did to figure utility cost for myself that I thought would be most accurate was to find out the actual cost per kilowatt for electric and per therm for natural gas and then looking at my usage on the utility bills where I live in MN now and seeing what my bills would be there. The kilowatt cost in Loveland is .05795 plus a base charge of $5 I believe. The therm is .07923 for natural gas, plus a $10 service charge. Using these figures I was able to tell that my utilities here in MN are twice the "per unit" cost of Loveland, and looking at my utility bills and seeing what we use, I was able to determine what my bills would be there. Adjusting for house size and temperature differences also of course. I hope this made sense to you, I just thought it was a more accurate way to figure it rather than going off of what another family uses since we're all so different.
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Old 04-22-2009, 12:41 AM
 
Location: Windsor, Co
59 posts, read 193,748 times
Reputation: 33
Hi busy mama -

There are a few things you need to know when you rent a place...some of the landlords pay trash. If not, it'll cost you approximately $15 per month. Some places near LCSO are hot water heat or electric baseboard heat. I have a few rentals and the average utilities (not including electric) are approximately $85 per month and then you can add $40 per month for electric. I would add $130 - $150 or so a month for utilities for a 2 bedroom place. (Not including cable/internet). There are always rental units available in Fort Collins. Some of the places near CSU are rented more quickly and most people want a year lease starting in July/August. It's more difficult to find 6 mo. lease because it is easy to get a year lease with all of the students. Just something to think about. Good luck in your search. [mod cut]

Last edited by Mike from back east; 04-22-2009 at 09:20 AM.. Reason: Not permitted, per TOS.
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