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This is a question Money-saving tips

I'm broke, you're broke, we're all broke. Even the smug guy on the balcony with the croissant hasn't got two AmEx gold cards to rub together these days. Tell everybody your schemes to save cash.

(, Thu 10 Nov 2011, 18:09)
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Get yourself on a water meter
Unless you use a hose to water your garden and wash the car every week then you'll save money than if you pay the fixed rate.
Even with 5 people in our household it was cheaper
(, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 6:19, 7 replies)
Only in Australia.

(, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 7:29, closed)
And England

(, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 7:30, closed)
Considering your "rainy days" compared to ours.
I think we win on the" how we need to save water" situation.
EDIT: Anywhere in the UK in drought?
(, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 7:53, closed)
Well, just starting into winter here
So AFAIK we're good for the moment; but I'll hunt you out a link with some stats ASAP*.

Checking the site you linked, it certainly looks like you've had a long run of drier than typical weather. Is that why the dam system hasn't actually been close to fully filled since before 2004; or it typical utility gambling, risking meeting your needs for their profit?**

You having designated "watering days" are a new concept to me. Is that a temporary, seasonal, or permanent measure?

* (Edit: www.unitedutilities.com/Keepingthewaterflowing.aspx shows regional storage generally above average, but of course these are not directly comparable. )

** I know they can't be all full all the time, they have to be run down for servicing and so on; but a peak of 54% system capacity seems disturbingly low, given the bottom 17.5% isn't really available. (Edit x2: just checked www.watercorporation.com.au/D/dams_streamflow.cfm - wow, you've been getting drier for decades; now that's disturbing.)
(, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 8:51, closed)
Always, except winter (during the rain) when we have a complete sprinkler ban.

(, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 10:22, closed)
Our water company
wrote to say they were putting a meter in, then they wrote again and said it wasn't worth the bother.
(, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 8:51, closed)
Very much this.
If you don't have a meter, you're charged according to an estimate based on the size of a house. I live alone in a house that could easily take a family of four; and, unsurprisingly, my estimated water bill with a meter is several hundred pounds less than my estimated bill without one.

The meter is getting installed in the next couple of weeks.
(, Tue 15 Nov 2011, 13:57, closed)

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