With the start of semester well and truly upon us, it can be easy to feel a little overwhelmed and nervous for the months of study ahead. With new friends to make, maybe a new flat to move into, and a new syllabus to wrap your heads around, there can be a lot to organise and prepare.
If you are settling into a new flat, or starting a new semester in the same one as last year, you may be looking for ways to reduce your bills so that you can put your money towards more exciting things.
We have put together our top 5 tips for reducing your bills as a flat, to make the semester that little bit easier. Learning how to budget, and reduce your bills, is a valuable life skill that will benefit your flat in the short term, and you as an individual in the long run.
As a flat, there will no doubt be several of you needing to use the internet for at-home study. When we get into the habit of comparing our bills, we benefit by being able to make an informed decision about the broadband deals on the market, and find the best deal to suit our household needs. So that no matter whether you have a large social flat, or smaller cosy flat, you can find the deal that will provide each of you with a speedy internet connection no matter how many of you are needing to jump online at once. Compare different fibre and hyperfibre broadband plans to find the deal that offers the most value for money and delivers speeds your flat needs to study effectively with no interruptions. When you compare broadband, you may even get to enjoy joining perks that providers offer, such as discounted months on broadband or even a free year subscription to a streaming service.
What is the difference between fibre and hyperfibre?
The benefits of fast internet for students
Similarly to broadband, you can compare your power bill. Power providers offer a range of different deals depending on your household requirements. It is important to understand what your flat needs and take the time to compare the different plans out there. You can find a better deal that offers more power for less or the same amount of power that you currently use for less.
There is a good chance that everyone in the flat has brought some kind of appliance with them to contribute to the household. Maybe you brought the washing machine, and your flatmate brought their fridge. But, if you are in need of replacing an appliance, make sure you invest in an energy efficient appliance. These appliances will use less energy to perform the same task, which will ensure your power bill doesn’t spike and will save you money. You can use PriceMe to find the best deal on your energy efficient washing machine, fridge, freezer and any other appliance or device.
Why is Energy Efficiency Important?
There are several things that each of your flatmates can do to ensure the power bill remains as low as possible. You can swap air conditioners for fans, hang your laundry outside rather than use the dryer, or run your washing machine on the cold setting, rather than hot. To motivate one another, you could turn it into a game. For example, for every 10 cold washing machine loads you do together, you grab takeaways together or enjoy a movie night.
Easy Ways to Lower your Power Bill
Vampire power, or standby mode, is the tiny amount of power a device or appliance uses to make sure that they are ready for you to turn them on. For example, even though your TV may be turned on, there is still a little bit of power required to power the red LED light and the TV remote receiver in the device, so it’s ready to turn back on when you hit the button on the remote. By turning your devices off at the wall, such as your phone charger, when you are not using them, you can save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.
NZ Compare is THE place to go for comparing your bills, home to multiple comparison websites for all kinds of everyday utility services such as broadband, power, and mobile. The best part? You can compare for free!
Simply, follow these easy steps:
Or, if you’d prefer to speak to a friendly person, then give our customer service team a free call on 0508 22 66 72.
If there are back to uni items that you need, such as a desk, a laptop, or a monitor, don’t pay for more than you need to. Use PriceMe to find the best deal out there for all your uni needs. Save that money for more exciting things!
Further reading:
The Psychology of Money: Why We Make the Decisions that We Do
