How much is the lifetime cost of basic household bills?

New research from Santander has revealed that UK households will spend an average of almost £138k on household bills throughout their lifetime.

Warren Lewis
15th April 2015
More Cash

The analysis also reveals that the average price increase in the last decade between council tax, TV, phone & broadband, gas, water and electricity is 81% – over twice as fast as the 37% increase in inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) over the same period.

Gas prices are the biggest driver of household bill increases, rising 185% in the last 10 years. Electricity has more than doubled (up 120%) and water bills have risen by 66%. Council tax and TV, home & broadband prices have still risen, but at a slower rate than inflation.

Household bill price rises

Bill type

Increase in prices 2004 - 2014

Gas

185%

Electricity

120%

Water

66%

Council tax

27%

TV, phone and broadband

6%

Average increase

81%

Lifetime household bill spend

Bill type

Estimated lifetime spend

Council tax

£36,875

Gas

£30,555

Electricity

£30,472

Water

£21,819

TV, phone and broadband

£18,226

Total

£137,948

Further research commissioned by Santander to support its 1|2|3 Current Account, which pays cashback on essential household bills, found that one in eight (13%) bill payers have never supplied a meter reading or couldn’t remember the last time they gave one for either their gas and/or electricity. On average, the last time bill payers reviewed their providers for a better offer was more than a year ago (13 months) which means households could potentially be missing out on hundreds of pounds worth of savings as a result of these factors.

Matt Hall, Director of Banking at Santander, said: “By being savvy, people can potentially save a small fortune on household bills over the course of a lifetime as these make up a significant amount of household income.  

Costs can be reduced by regularly reviewing suppliers to make sure bill payers are getting a good deal, and there are also one-off changes that will help to reduce costs.  For instance, many suppliers offer a discount for paperless bills or paying by direct debit and Santander’s 1|2|3 Current Account pays up to 3% cashback on essential household bills. These things combined could create huge savings over time.”

More like this
Latest from Financial Reporter
Latest from Protection Reporter
CLOSE
Subscribe
to our newsletter

Join a community of over 20,000 landlords and property specialists and keep up-to-date with industry news and upcoming events via our newsletter.