Basic cash flow question - what is your preferecne?

[Nir]

Hi All,

What is your preference - equal monthly payments arranged with Union Gas and other utility providers or changing monthly amount based on the actual bill?

On one hand equal payment helps plan and predict cash flow more accurately, on the other hand I think some organizations charge a fee or an initial deposit for that plus will only start the "program" in the summer when actual bill is much lower than the average bill amount they use.

Thanks,
Neil

 

[markl]

I do not like to provide interest free loans to corporations. I would rather be on monthly billing.

Regards,

 

[donksky]

I just bought a duplex with the 1st "averaged" bill at $300! I almost had a heart attack -this was way off my budget-- the utilities company said winter bills were as high as $500 a month the previous year. But knowing the vendor evicted tenants upstairs & was going thru a divorce & didn`t maintain the place, I thought this wasn`t going to be fair to me & my pocketbook. So I reversed things immediately & just play it month-to-month by ear - my bill went down to $30-50. This isn`t even electric baseboard but water rad. The other poster was right - why lend interest free? this kind of billing isn`t going to "smooth" out my expenses or help my life any - it`s biased based on a some bad users in the past as well.

 

[Jack]

QUOTE I do not like to provide interest free loans to corporations. I would rather be on monthly billing.

Yeah, because I`m sure they`re just going to generate massive returns on the months of the year where the average will exceed the actual and you`ll save about $10...

I`d go with the average, for sure. At the end of the day, predictability of cash inflows & outflows is a lot more valuable. Set it, and forget it.