Utilities bill - is there a better way?

[wheresmymojo]

Sorry, this has probably been asked a million times before but I can't figure out finding a thread that answers this specific question.

Money is extremely tight for us at the moment (as it is for most)...

At current usage and costs we are using approx £100 pcm of gas and electricity.

We just asked British Gas to set up a monthly direct debit so we could get the (small) discount for this.

They've said they forecast our use for 2023 as £200 pcm.

I know prices are going up and could go up a lot next year again but paying +100% on top of the £66 from the Govt until at least April seems more than I was expecting!

Would we be better off not having the direct debit and paying £100 in monthly ourselves and then £50 into savings in case there's a shortfall?

We really will struggle to double our payments...

WWYD?

If you don’t pay by monthly direct debit then your bills will be much more expensive in the winter months as dd payments are averaged out over the year.

Also, I use BG and get my energy payment as a credit in my bank account, £66 each month, so a £200 dd is actually costing you £134. That might make a difference for you

Can't you pay the bill, rather than a set amount, by monthly direct debit?

That's what I do, monthly bill based on readings then settled in full by a direct debit a couple of weeks later.
Still get the direct debit rates.

Obviously that way will be more when you use more.

Mine is fairly static through the year as my heating is oil fired and paid for separately. If not more in the summer as I've got an inflatable hot tub that's in use from May - September.

This is what we do - monthly variable DD is 5% less than the standard tariff with British Gas.

I also read our meters several times a week and calculate the amount as the month moves on, so no surprise when the readings are submitted and the bill is produced.

Thanks all...we'll do that. I didn't realise you could do the actual bill by DD.

We'll definitely be keeping an eye on usage. The electricity is on a smart meter and we'll take fortnightly gas readings I think.

When I tried to change mine (had been a set monthly payment before) I couldn't do it on the app, but had to log onto the full desktop website - that was Shell.
The option just wasn't there on the app and was on the website.