A MARTIN Lewis fan has made a saving of £360 a year by using a meter to pay his water bills.
Switching to the water meter meant Derek, who wrote into Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert team, only had to pay for what he used rather than a fixed rate.
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The switch meant he managed to more than halve his monthly bill, and save hundreds of pounds a year.
He told the money saving team: “We had a water meter installed a few months ago and our monthly direct debit went from £56 to £26.”
Derek’s saving was announced in this week’s MoneySavingExpert newsletter which reveals the best savings tips of the past seven days, including how Brits have managed to slash their own bills or save pennies anyway they can.
Households across the country are facing steeper bills currently as energy prices rocket and the cost of living soars too.
So many are looking for any way they can run down the day to day costs in the home.
If you’re not on a meter then your bills are estimated, so you pay a fixed amount depending on your home’s size.
That means you could use more or less water than the estimate, but still be paying a set price every month that doesn’t reflect what you’ve used.
Of course, if you’re using more then you’ll be quids-in, but if it’s less you could be paying hundreds of pounds more than you need to for the amount of water you’re actually using.
It’s not the same as your energy bills though, which you can weigh up against other tariffs and pick a cheaper one to switch to if need be.
You’ll only be allocated one provider for your area so you can’t choose who you use yourself.
But deciding exactly how you’re billed can help you bring costs down in a similar way.
How will I know how much I can save?
Martin Lewis‘ hottest tip was to count how many bedrooms are in your home before you make any decisions to get a water meter.
His advice was: “If there are more bedrooms in your home than people, or the same number, check out getting a meter.”
It’s because a fixed rate will rely on information like this to work out how much you should be paying
You can use online calculator tools to help you work out how much water is going to cost supplied to your home.
Martin Lewis recommends the Consumer Council for Water which has a free water meter calculator.
You’ll be able to calculate how much you’d end up spending based on things like how many people are in your household and the number of times you flush the toilet or take a shower, or use the dishwasher in a week.
It’s worth swapping if what it calculates based on that info works out to be cheaper than what you’re currently spending.
Others had been met with similar success in reducing their bill too and also wrote in to the money saving team to share their own savings.
Another fan had said: “We’ve water-metered. Monthly direct debit is down from £80 to £25.”
While one said: “Switched to a water meter a few years back and now pay £45 a month less. Plus it makes me more conscious of what I use – I fixed a dripping tap!”
There are different rules for how you pay for your water in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Martin Lewis explains why you need to take a screenshot of your energy bill NOW
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