(2006/01) Jan 2006 MTBs

Sysac
Mine is electricity bill is normally $200+ towards $300 end. Not sure why so high also cos we don't on the aircon at night most of the time. But then again the TV and computer is on almost 24 hours when my hb is at home.

SH
I can pick up the stuff for Rena. Will you be at home tomorrow 2+ in the afternoon or around 9 at night? Thinking of dropping by your place to pick up the stuff

SSF
Oh must be very painful. My husband had ankylosing spondylitis and sometimes his sacro joints was so painful that he needed bedrest. Thankfully it went to remission now. Are you on steriod or NSAID? Take care ya.
 


Hi Rachel ... If you are thinking of saving costs, then get the CL to come in on 4th day of CNY and bargain for a good price. For the 1st wk of birth to 2nd, baby is usually sleeping so that should give you ample time to settle down ... just book and just ask if you need her to come in earlier, will she be able to (in case she got back-to-back appointments). btw, a lot of CL don't do during CNY so if u r really looking for 1, don't wait.

I'm coping very well without the maid. Not much routine with homeschooling stuff but it's the school hols and so hack care for now ... both kids are able to entertain themselves while I'm busy n 1 good thing I've learnt is to get them to become my helpers. I just baked with them around which was never possible as my maid had to make sure #2 don't do any hanky-panky stuff

.ky.
 
Krissie - Nope. No new fridge either.

Tracy - Hee hee hee...I didn't even do confinement and hit $200. Only electricity went up. Water & gas went down.

Flo - For me, no one is home except for 7pm to 8am next day. We only switch on the aircon at abt 10pm-2am. PC/TV is the usual usage too. I dun recall any extra use of electricity plus we were away for 5 days. Rather puzzled with the bill.
 
Sysac

It could be that it's due to the estimates? We always get a spike in April. It's the really shocking kind coz of the low Feb consumption (less than 30 days) and thus the low Mar estimate. But when we counter check with last yr's bill, we realise it's the same. You might wanna take a look at last yr's bill if you still have it. We keep all the bills for such things as reference.

My home SP bills can range from $150 to $250. Only my dad switches on the aircon thru the night.
 
rachel
i think u shd try to start dylan earlier. i started JH in Jan which was about 6 months before bb is due. when i spoke to the teachers during meet the parents session, they both mention that it was a good thing that i started earlier instead of like just 2-3 months before bb is due. they have seen cases where the kids can't adjust cos too close to bb's arrival. before i started JH on sch, my hb wanted me to start only in Term 2 which means end Mar but i refused and started in Jan instead. it gives JH more time to settle into the sch routine and hopefulyl it means easier to get him to follow the routine when bb comes

re electricity bill
i thikn the rates have been really high... it just keeps going up!
 
Flo,
Hmm...i won't be in tomorrow. Anyway i din bring the stuff back from office. SY oso din bring Rena's stuff. Maybe next weekend or during weekday? U work near raffles place rite?
 
Mashy
Ok.. I went centerpoint robinson also..but the zojirushi items were like " it's all there" condition and not even a box, the sales assit told me they throw away. No very happy with their service so din buy anyway.
Went Carrefour, and found Tiger only 10% disc but overall price still cheaper than the one simlar to Zojirushi that we are interested in.
we Bought the 2.2 l one.. since last nite we boil the water.. the water are still hot now, at least hot enought for milk.
On the box it promises, up till 10hr can keep water at least 72degree and up till 24 hrs can keep water at least 62 degree ( something like that). I think Zojirushi has the similar perfomance too.

<font color="0000ff">RE: meet for lunch on Tue -17June
HI mummies,
CL and me are meeting for lunch on next Tue, around 1145 onwards, anyone free to join us?
Sorry the timing is a bit odd, cos my lunch hour start from 1140.</font>

Sysac
like Flo say maybe it's due to price hike.. alternatively, you can check the bar graph for past consumption which SP always provide in their billings, you can see if the KWH increase. it is it constance perhaps it's the hike.. if it's actual reading and it's higher could be in the past mths they esti too low.
Mine seems constance but is my water that keep gng up!..aggrrhh
 
SH
No problem, will arrange with you again. Alternatively I may trouble with to pass to SY if I'm meeting her for lunch.

Cookie/CL
I may be able to make it for lunch on Tue...will confirm with you gals again.
 
cookie

yah, no box. But never mind for me lah, coz will throw the box away anyway. So long as there's no dents on the bottle, it's fine with us. Got the 1.55L for abt $43. We figured that we won't need so big, since C is only on 3 feeds a day.

Wah, cheaper in Carrefour? Should have gone there. Anyway, the zojirushi very good leh. Now over 24hrs already and it's still steaming hot.
 
HI Flo
Ok, keep in touch via phone or sms.

Mashy
actually I dun need a box too..but dunno la, probably just unhappy with the service person :p ya for C alone 1.55L should be enough, even with #2 also should be enough. We bought slight bigger cos since #3 coming..keke..

Hmm.. I wouldnt say Carrefour cheaper but I bought a different brand ma- Tiger din see much range on Zojirushi at Carrefour so cannot compare. But we bought the Tiger 2.2L with water level indicator on the outside for 79.00 and theres 10% cash rebate on that day.
Today we went Taka and ISetan, saw the same Tiger, also 79 but no further disc.
So at least we dun bang our head...keke..

Wow thats very good! steaming hot after 24 hrs!
 
Sysac
Oh I remember last yr I went away to GC for 5 days and my Electricity bill din went down either due to that month they use Estimate instead of actual reading. Think after a mth or 2, when they took the actual reading, Elec bill did went down.

Re: High Elec bills
The other day my colleague told me her elec bill is always 400+ and last mth was 500!!! so shocking! her household consist of HB+wife+bb+maid in 5 rm and they only on aircon at nite!
I'm paying less than 200 already feel the pitch :p
What I noted was.. she has central heater at home and they dun switch off when not in use, HB will on aircon in study rm and computer from the time he reach home till next morn - sometimes her hb forgot to switch off air con.
I cannot imagine paying 500 for elec bill monthly..I could do alot more on the kids for the same $$
 
cookie
i wan to join u guys for lunch but think tmr may need to attend external meeting..haiz feeling so sian. a lot of meetings to attend and i feel like working from home...
 
MIA for my scrap-adventure now can finally rest. Rachel, I din have CL for no. 2. It was my blur mum who help me look after Charmaine while never lay a finger on Aden. I did everything by myself and only catered food. Not to say my boss was away and I was standing in for work during confinement too. Ha ha very amazed but tired. The moment I am not breastfeeding Aden, I gotta to quickly entertain Charmaine and not let her feel left out. So quite tiring actually so that is why at the hospital, Aden is seldom in my room, each time after breastfeeding I send him back to nursery, that was my only full rest I go in the hospital. I hardly rested. So my advice if you realli can, though could be expensive, well it is a pay off after carrying the baby for 9 months. Take it as your bonus.
 
Re: High Elect Bill
My MIL's 3-rm flat elect bill is at least $300 per month. They're always grumbling but I tried explaining to them that its to be expected. Cos there's someone home 24/7, the maid hand washes clothes EVERYDAY, the elect hotpot is on 24/7, there are 2 fridge in the house and one is old some more. Then aircon is switched on at night at 18-19deg! My FIL still thinks SP is making a mistake :S

BTW, I used to work in SP so..hehe..I experienced many people calling up to complain about bills. I have unreasonable people calling me 'stupid cow' etc. Dun understand these people. We are also just employees of SP, and trying to help them. Dun have to be so rude to us mah. Tsk..
 
CL,
Haha, same for me when I was in hosp with Duncan. Whenever the nurse push to me to latch, I will try awhile then not successful i quickly call nurse to bring him back to nursery then I can sleep. :p So unlike when I had Meg. Always wanted her in my room in the hospital!
 
Hi
Anyone passed through the CTE Braddell gantry at abt 8.30am? I passed at 8.20+am and it didnt read my IU. Not sure if the gantry is spoilt or my IU? coz the board was off. thanks.
 
re: electricity bill
my hb got a habit to record the meter reading everyday to c if SP overbilled us or not. haha... ks right?
our 4 rm flat's utility bill is about $100, we seldom switch on air-con.
 
flo - no lei. i have not taken any medication as yet. is there any side effect on taking those steroids? i read in the net that it may cause some side effect. i am praying that time can heal it. somehow the pain is not that bad now.

re: electricity bill
mine is about $150-$180 per mth for an EA. 2 kids and 3 adults. we on aircon in the night for 1 room but nowsaday, the weather is killing us. my hb tends to on the aircon for the living room in the evening and weekends.

fyi, with CL the last time round..my electricity bills doubled! as we on 2 aircons in the night and also the slow cooker she used to boil throughout the month.

sysac- check your fridge. is it overcrowded? the fridge should be well ventilated to allow cool air to circulate or else it will take more power. better to also submit your readings manually which is at alternate mths. i have since done that for this yr as the PUB only come alternate mths to take your readings. and for those days that they did not take, they will estimate based on your previous readings. i have since take my own readings and it seems more control each mth. i dun get heart attacks. haha.. but then, of cos the utilities hike which must take into consideration too.

tips i live by. hope that helps
happy.gif


1. off lights, tv and fan when not in used
2. wash clothes in heavy load. I used to wash kids clothes separately. Now i mix them with the adults tops only.
3. make sure the fridge is not over crowded
4. keep aircon temp to 26 deg and make sure fan is not on at the same time
5. used only energy saving bulbs
6. ask maid to use broom instead of vacum that often
7. wash the air con filter regularly
8. i used a flask for storing hot water. not the type that is switched on 24/7
 
Krissie
you try robinson

sunny
mine about 150 with aircon. Only when during confinement up to 250 but mil's place less by $100. that is the amount ours gone up so ha ha it is the confinment and my mil's doings haha
 
oh my still reading past postings..pardon me. hee..

rena - enjoy ur maternity leave till delivery! do update us when ur bb is due.

tabbs- wow envy...everyone who i asked abt after touring europe, 4 out of 5 will say Switzerland is the best. me and hb is playing ard the thots of gg europe later tis yr and abandon the kids. ahha.. will see how it goes.

sy - pls let me know when the toothpaste is here. i think i ordered 10. if anyone needs it urgently, can take first as i just opened a brand new one.

re: confinement lady for second bb
my first confinement was done by my mum and second one was done by a CL. i strongly agrees to having one esp for the second bb as it is really different esp when u have no 1 who will be bugging you when you are breastfeeding. the CL also helps me in getting back as much sleep as i can and nurse my body back to health before she goes away during the second mth and for me to fend all alone.
 
Tracy
Talking about hand wash clothes EVERYDAY! my MIL ask my helper to do that, wash everyday of course the load will never be large enough to use the washer.
I believe thats the cause of my rising water usage. When we check with MIL, she deny abt asking helper to wash daily haizzz...
But I know she did, so HB openly told helper to wash clothes 2-3 days in washer and no need to wash daily with hand to save water.
But well behind our back, we dunno what MIL instruct helper again.
 
cookie - my mil is also asking my maid to hand wash the clothes but i said no need. only those clothes that have vomit, will ask maid to wash it before throwing into the washer. my maid is pretty thoughtful, she will always use the water i used to bathe kids to wash the toilet floor or even soak her clothes.
 
SSF, cookie
my maid handwash clothes everyday. it is something that we have always been doing. i think my water usage is quite alright. really depends on the maid. this maid seems to waste less water but with her, our electricy usage went up. not sure is it cos she has been turning on aircon frequently for JH in the afternoons. but my bill is 200 every month. quite scary. we have been trying to keep it under 200 but not successful. i dun have airport at home, on aircon at 26-27 degrees. but still...
 
SY - do u use the instant heater? it saves more money than the pre heated type. actually the main energy consuming one are fridge, washing machine, air con and iron. it takes up more electricity than anything else. check with your maid on ironing. my maid used to take like 3 hrs to iron clothes but it is very neat and straight. then i showed her the newspaper that electricity bills is sky rocket and told her to iron faster and no need so straight la. hahaa...lastly u may want to manually submit your electricity readings. since i done that, my electrcity bills never reach more than 200 bucks!
 
SSF
yes i use the instant heater. but my heater is powered by gas, not electricity.

my maid irons twice a week. we only use washing machine for spin dry. i think the main thing is aircon. cos it's on from abt 8+pm to 7+am the next morning. i think the meter reading thing is locked up outside my place. i cannot read it...

do u pay for gas separately? mine is together with the utilities bill. so 200 include gas.
 
SY - yes my utility bills include gas, water and electricity. u mean ur reading meter is locked? hmm..then how does the PUB come and take reading? i don;t think its locked..maybe can u ask hb to check? my air con is on from 10pm to 8am. i think my electricity bills may rise this mth as hb keeps turning on the air con in the living hall. when u say spin dry do u mean dryer? cos i rarely use my dryer unless it rains and only if its for the kids' clothes. oh one more tips...if you wash ur clothes at night...wash it after 11pm. Tariff is cheaper for use of electricity after 11pm to i think 6am or something like tat
happy.gif
 
SSF
i think i have no access to the meter. let me go and check again. nope we use washing machine to spin. it doesn't really dry completely but it will not be dropping wet. we don't have a dryer. i think the main reason for my high electricty is really the aircon. and my maid turns it on quite often in the afternoon for my boy. plus hb has been sleeping later nowadays and when he's awake, he turns on like all the lights. he doesn't have a habit to switch off lights.
 
sy - then switch to energy saving bulbs if ya not already using them. my fil's house is a 4 rm flat and only 2 adults.but fil has a habit of turning on all the lights and always keep the toilet lights on. their electricity bill is $200+. but i think they use alot of water too as my mil mops the floor everyday and wash the kitchen floor everyday. likewise when they come over, they on the toilet light and never switch it off. then i return home, i can see all my living hall lights ON...all 5 different modes all ON. then i will go ard and switch all off when i head home.now i train my maid to off it when she turn on too many. haha..
 
SSF
i think our bulbs shd be those energy saving ones liao. i think old habits die hard...he will say i will spoil the light by turning it on and off. and that is worse..so hard to argue over it. so sometimes i just switch it off.

realy hope can bring down utilities. it's scary.

we also mop everyday and wash kitchen everyday....but this maid doesn't use as much water as the previous one. but really jsut the electricity lor.
 
Tracy - Oh dear...so rude. I won't scold SP pple lah...will just ask them abt the bill. Haha...Want to verify that's all.

SSF - Mine is EA too but this is the highest amount I've paid in 6 yrs. Even when my mum was staying with me during my ML, it never got so high. She cooked, wash, etc everyday.

My fridge is not overcrowded. I buy groceries by the week. I use magic clean &amp; mop so no vacuum cleaner. Use aircon in 1 room only for abt 4-5 hrs a nite. No one's in except at 7pm-8am.

I am just puzzled with the hike cos water &amp; gas went down but electricity went up so much,
 
Wow. All the talk on electricity bills.

Sysac
It had happened once that my mom got a very high water bill for her 3-room flat. Turned out that it was due to a faulty, leaky tap for the toilet bowl. It could possibly lead to the sudden surge in electricity bills.

I'm also feeling the pinch for the sudden spike in our electricity bill that came in recently. $200 over but still less than $250.... coz last month had been crazily hot like oven-baking hot. So we turn on the air-con in the living room as well almost every evening. Usually the norm is between $160 - $180...but still high as we switch on the air-con everynight.

Ideally, to save on electricity bills especially for air-con users, it's best to switch on from 11pm onwards and switch off by 7am. But my dear hb can't be bothered with that guideline....oh well, he's the one paying!!!
 
SSF

You have sacroillitis? Actually the initial management is just painkillers like brufen. If it gets bad then you need the steroids. I see most people don't need the steroids. It is usually due to an inherited gene HLAB27 that predisposes to the ankylosing spondylitis (AS) which causes a stiff back and neck, if the sacroilitis is related to AS, then you may also be at risk of inflammation in the eye. This is my specialty... i see a lot of patients with AS. Hope your sacroilitis gets better.

I agree about switzerland.. i find it very child friendly, most people speak english, everything is within walking distance to a very efficient train station, if you like mountains, and museusm, they have this.. if you like to do some shopping, they also have some modern stores.. even got Mango, esprit.. and BATA!!! Plus, not in euros yet.. so exchange rate is 1.35 only for swiss francs so not too bad...

only swiss food is soso.. alot of potatoes, cheese and sausages...
 
sysac

one of the newspapers had an article on the huge electricity bill this month. hahaha, did you complain to the papers? The SP pp explained that it's due to the hot weather in May and maybe pp switched on the aircon/fan for longer hrs?

SY
Sure can access the water meter. Maybe u should ask your hb abt it. Even if it's locked up in a little meter room outside your flat, you'll have keys to it. In order to save electricity, everyone in the family has to chip in. If anyone is reluctant to help, can forget abt it.

My father has the habit of leaving the lights on in the living room even when he's not at home. He says like that the burglars will think twice before coming in. So u c, it doesn't matter whether anyone is physically in the hse or not, also use up electricity.

Air con, fridge, old electrical appliances play a huge part in energy usage. Try getting inverter series. Can save more.

Maybe also switch off the broadband when it's not in use?

Sometimes it's also gotta do with the wiring in the hse. Like my FIL's flat, his electricity bills really crawl like a snail. Even when they switch on air con every day and night. His flat is rather old already, so maybe some of the wires 'short circuited'. Hahaha. I would wanna buy over his hse next time if he wanna sell. Can really save alot on the electricity bills. Hahaha.
 
Hello mummies,

Heehee... all the talk about utilities bill.
Mine averages $90 a month for 5-rm for 3 person. And I thought it's high already when the last 2 months, it hit more than $100! And some of you are paying $200-$300... wow!

My energy saving methods:

1. Use a hot flask to store hot water (not 24/7 electric flsk)
2. Wash clothes once a week (7kg washing machine fully loaded), handwashing / pre-soaking only when absolutely necessary.
3. Limit to aircon only when absolutely necessary
4. Set PC and monitor to hibernate mode after 15 mins of inactivity
5. All room lights are off except the one in use
6. Bath water collected in a pail (rather than coming direct from shower head)... this one not by choice cos I use gas heater and the stupid heater takes a while to warm up, and the only way to warm up the heater is to let the water run for a while. SO in order not to waste water, we collect in a pail and use whatever collected to bathe. I guess it helps to limit the water used for bathing.

My gas, water and electricity usage is quite below the national average, but electricity is the highest among the three. I'm trying to see how I can cut the electricity usage further, but short of switching off all the mains every night before bed (I find it quite a hassle, I usually leave the TV, broadband, DVD and PC main socket on), I can't see how I can cut my electricity usage further.
 
Everyone is on the topic of electrical bill. Mine is also quite high ard 270. I have been baking almost everyday for the last month so I would expect more this month. I think the real culprit is airconditioner. SOme months when I dun use the air-con at all, the bill can go down by as much as 100bucks and of course when I have no maids the bill can go down even lower.

HI SY,
There is a way to open the door to the water meter without calling the guards. Call me and I let u know.

Hi Tabbs,
Switzerland! was there 8 yrs back. Lucerne is simply beautiful! Other than chocolates, cheese, the victorninox knife are also veri cheap.
Is AS veri common in singapore? I always thought that it is uncommon in Asian population. In fact I know a fren who has AS and he was suppose to be part of the clinical trial for new drugs.
 
My bill is usually ard $150 but this month over $200!!! Mine is a four room. I use washing machine 3 times a week. On air con at night only and I guess we used PC ard 3hrs a day and there's only 2 adults and 1 kid. Crazy right? I realised that the electric flask consumes alot of electric, so now pour out to thermal flash and switch it off after boiling instead of 24/7 like usual.
 
Electric bill
ever since the maid come in..electric bill shoot up at least $50..the way she turn on the tap water..duno how to educate her..already told her so many times..give up.
I think for my house is not not, we are around $250 with 3 aircons on every night and the fan is on aleast 10 hrs per day...
 
Mashy - No lah...I will not complain to the papers
happy.gif


Queen - I paid $90+ in Jan 08. Since then. my bills have gone up an additional $10-20 a month. That's why hit almost $200 this month.

Looks like I started this monster ball rolling.
 
tabb-thks for the advise. dr said i have slight inflammation. so far my eyesight is ok but will monitor. thks! wow you are really making me gian to visit switzerland. hee..

queen - wow...90 bucks for 5 rm. amazing. that was the price i paid for 2 adults in a 4 rm flat last time round.

re:electricity bills
oh btw if you are using the top load washing machine, it will generally use up more electricity and water as compared to front load machine.
 
Yesterday finally collected my car. Looks brand new with all new paint. Today started driving it and can't get used to it after not driving it for a while. In fact, it looked so unfamiliar, i kept asking my hb were our seats black? Hahahah. Couldn't remember. But started having leg pain and neck pain while driving. Think it's psychological. Hope it'll go away soon.
 
Megan is starting to exhibit signs of insecurity with Duncan around. She doesn't allow hubby to carry Duncan, she is starting her 'crying tantrum' before bedtime. And this morning hubby said she cried very badly at MIL's when he wanted to leave for work. He said he has never seen her cry so badly.

So I told hubby he really needs to give her his full attention please. I can give her the attention but its not mine that she wants. Every night we come home from MIL's, hubby will play his PSP then go to sleep at 11pm leaving me to put BOTH kids to sleep! I really wanna throw his PSP away liao. I've already told him directly that he is spending way too much time on his PSP that I myself can't chat with him. The only time I can chat with him is in the car while he is driving. Any other chance he has he will be playing PSP.

What's worse is he may be going Spain for work on 5th July for a week and I gotta leave Meg at MIL's while I look after Duncan at home. I wanted to bring Meg home for the night but I cannot drive both of them in the car. Meg will at times wanna sit in the booster seat in the front, sometimes halfway thru the journey she wanna sit in the carseat behind. Now she also knows how to unbuckle herself from the carseat. She refuses to let Duncan sit in her carseat so now he's in an infant carrier. If i'm alone driving them, she may also be hitting Duncan behind and I can't stop her (she has tried before). So no choice but to leave her at MIL's. I gonna hv a problem adjusting her back when we bring her home later. This happened when she was at MIL's after I delivered Duncan in hospital.

If only MIL's place is bigger and I can stayover with both kids.
 


tracy,
I can understand what you mean.. Ger also doesnt like mei mei to use his stuff.. they are all "HIS".. aiyo.. For your case, no choice lah, no joke handling both. Perhaps, you can leave Meg at MIL's place, but stay there longer, so tt she gets more time with you. Tell u a sad news, since I had mei mei, Ger's fav parent became my hb.. So, he only needs hb now.. no matter how hard I try.. v sad hor.. it used to affect me v much last time, now used to it already.
 
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