I have no wish to live in the sort of misery endured by my ancestors, thanks.
Already have 150% of the pool's surface area in solar tubing on the roof.
And I have no interest in having wet clothes strung across a verandah eg rather than run the dryer for half an hour.
Why make the assumption that the appliances are not already energy efficient?
Why should you tell me that I should find ways to reduce my usage?Is that not a fair assumption considering the enormous elec/water bill you told us you get ?
5 people in my household and we use energy as we need it and it isnt even half of your bill ....
Doesnt seem to bother you though - perhaps when costs double in the coming years youll find ways to reduce your usage ?.
Why should you tell me that I should find ways to reduce my usage?
Why not assume that I have prioritised what's important to me and one of those priorities is being able to swim all year round?
Perhaps I'd rather pay that $1600 winter power bill which gives me 90 odd days of swimming, than have a single week's holiday somewhere.
In other words, numbercruncher, I don't tell you or anyone else how to manage your finances so kindly mind your own business in terms of how I manage mine.
In other words, numbercruncher, I don't tell you or anyone else how to manage your finances so kindly mind your own business in terms of how I manage mine.
Below is what I said. I suggested the rates here are unreasonably high. I was not, however, whingeing about the cost of the electricity, much as it does irritate me to know that I'm subsidising inefficient 'green schemes' invoked by the government just to accommodate the Greens' demands, and will soon be paying for a carbon tax which makes no sense.Only reason I commented was because it sounded like you were whinging about the cost of your utility bills - labelling them extortion or similar.
Then I suggest you don't comment.Believe me i couldnt care less if you snorted hundred dollar bills up your nose or threw them from rooftops
Simply because I was contradicting Eager's suggestion that cost of living is cheaper in regional areas. Quite obviously it's not.- if you dont want people to comment on your energy use why bother posting it on a forum ?
Agree that the rates are extortion. A cousin living in one of Sydney's nicest areas on a large block with a $2M home pays far less, with access to all that Sydney has to offer.
To be fair about the electricity, I'm running a pool which is what takes up most of it, including both solar and heat pump to heat the pool in winter.
I do water the garden (though I have three 5000 litre water tanks also) and lawns if necessary.
Re finding a better deal, there's no choice. Council sets the rates, I'm not eligible for any discount, and ditto water.
You probably should be comparing apples to apples; not everyone wants to have full year access to a heated pool. How much would it cost to do such a thing in the city?Simply because I was contradicting Eager's suggestion that cost of living is cheaper in regional areas. Quite obviously it's not.
Oh God, why did I ever open my mouth!You probably should be comparing apples to apples; not everyone wants to have full year access to a heated pool. How much would it cost to do such a thing in the city?
Suffice to say that it says an awful lot about the situation we're in that practically any discussion of living expenses in Australia these days quickly turns to the subject of electricity. Hardly anyone would have even mentioned it a few years ago.
Look on the positive side. They've put a nice pretty blonde woman on the front of Warm magazine this year and your huge power bills have helped pay for that. She's on pages 3, 8, 10 and 11 as well as the front.I live with three females. The hydro bill is emailed and directed to spam. The payment is direct debited without me seeing it. Family Harmony.
Agreed. It's your business what you spend your money on and nobody else's.Perhaps we could have a discussion about who spends too much on holidays/cars/petrol/designer clothes/restaurants/gambling/alcohol etc etc?
And that's the one which affects us here. There has just been a whole new Council elected but I won't be holding my breath in expectation of any reduction in rates.So if one's regional paradise is more expensive there is usually a reason - popular location, inept council expenditure, etc.
This must vary by State. Here it's on the unimproved value of the land with a minimum that's unreasonably high for e.g. people in units.Rates comparison is meaningless - depends on your house value. Our $2M house in the country will likely be more than the cheapest city house (and no, it's really $2M...).
Not sure what you mean by 'gutting'? Gutting the yard?As for heated pools...I'd have one in an instant if the yard could take it. But it'd need gutting and/or daily leaf removal. Too much work.
Wish you luck!And that's the one which affects us here. There has just been a whole new Council elected but I won't be holding my breath in expectation of any reduction in rates.
Ours takes into account the value of the improvemnt as well. It's 0.00406 x $"capital inmproved value". SO a 500K house would be $2030 pa + rubbish bins. We had a vacant block of land in another state years ago and the same applied (with a minimum, from memory). Saw similar when we lived overseas but they had one rate for the land value and one rate for the house. Anyway, the country generally has lower land values which pulls down the total value, so your adn pour expereince shows it really is hard to compare rates.This must vary by State. Here it's on the unimproved value of the land with a minimum that's unreasonably high for e.g. people in units.
Our back yard is full of shrubs and trees so it feels quite secluded despite being in the 'burbs. To fit a lap pool (our preference) would mean ripping most of it out because it would look strange right in the middle of what we pretend is lawn and extending into a garden bed itself. And it needs to be enclosed to use it all year. Reminds me of a cartoon of 2 guys standing around a "pool" which was about 1m x 1m and one guy says "it doesn't look much but it's 30 metres deep!".Not sure what you mean by 'gutting'? Gutting the yard?
You can have pools built to any size and shape these days. If I were doing it again I'd have a 2.5 metre wide lap pool rather than a larger area where you're keeping clean and heating about 25,000 litres that you don't actually use if just swimming up and down in a straight line.
Re leaves - modern automatic pool cleaners deal magnificently with cleaning everything on the pool floor, but I've not found anything so far that eliminates that hand scooping of surface leaves. There's a fortune to be made for someone who can devise such a mechanical item.
Reminds me of a cartoon of 2 guys standing around a "pool" which was about 1m x 1m and one guy says "it doesn't look much but it's 30 metres deep!".
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?