Whoever thought it was a good idea to 'pay as you go' for electricity obviously had money coming out of their earholes and didn't know what to do with it. That being said, once upon a time it probably was a cheap and cheerful way of doing it and of course that way at least you know it's one less monthly bill to worry about. Even so, since moving into our house three weeks ago and using this method of payment, we have found it to be FAR too expensive to continue with.

 

Since moving in we have easily trebled what we were paying on a monthly bill at the flat. Even though we are in a house now and know the bills will be slightly more because of that, we know that we are paying a lot more than we should be. I put £20 credit on the electricity on Monday afternoon after work and this morning was halfway thru doing my hair when all of a sudden the power went. TV was off, GHD's were off, lights too and we were in 'debt' on the meter by £2. I'm quite good at making sure electricals get turned off at the socket or unplugged etc, we never have lights on in rooms that aren't being used - including the hall which some people leave on so I know I am not stupid or careless with electricity, yet in two days (that's two WORKING days as well) We have used over £20 in electricity. Baring in mind that I was back late Tuesday evening and went straight for the kitchen to make dinner, no TV or Sky Box was put on and I was late back home last night too as I had a hair cut and again went straight to the kitchen to make dinner. Our monthly bills for electricity were £45 at the flat and at this rate we are looking at that now being our weekly cost! No way!

 

This means only one thing then, I now have the thankless task of shopping around energy companies, trying to find one that is affordable and who isn't gonna stitch us up with prices! Not so easy when you look at the jargon used to describe how they charge for energy. Prices have recently gone up for most energy companies now so at least that means that for now we should be given a monthly tariff that will stay the same for a while (hopefully). Whatever happens, we certainly won't be paying as much as we are paying now. No wonder we have found ourselves a bit more out of pocket lately!

 

I am really not looking forward to searching through comparison websites trying to decipher good deals from bad ones which is why I'm glad my mum is coming over tomorrow night for dinner. I've already told her that she has to help me! Once it is all sorted it will be a lot better for us and at least we won't have to worry. Living with your energy being paid on a top up card makes you feel a bit like you have stepped back in time! Keep having to check there is enough money on the meter to keep your house ticking over when you could just be paying a bill every month seems silly to me. I know there are a lot of people who prefer it - my Dad being one - and maybe those people are on a better deal than us but either way, that top up card is heading for the bin, sooner rather than later!