Most of us have a good idea of our regular monthly costs – things like rent, insurance payments and loan repayments are pretty fixed. But energy bills like gas and electricity typically come out each quarter and can be unpredictable depending on your energy usage and the time of year, putting a different demand on your budget.
So, we thought: why not give bill shock the flick? That's why we decided to offer bill smoothing as a RentPay feature to make it easier to manage your budget – it also helps to cancel bill stress!
As the cost of living goes up and we face escalating energy prices, choosing bill smoothing through RentPay is a smart move for renters.
Bill smoothing also provides an automated way to manage your energy bills, providing set and forget convenience.
Before we show you how to set it up, let's take a look at the bill smoothing basics.
Like most people, you probably flirt with the heating in late autumn and crank it in winter before your air conditioner works double-time in the summer heat.
Bill smoothing is a feature that lets you make your bill payments weekly, fortnightly or monthly rather than all in one, big lump sum.
Effectively, bill smoothing removes the peaks and troughs that come with seasonal use, so you can make consistent payments towards your bills across the year. It works by spreading or 'smoothing' out your estimated annual cost throughout the year with regular instalments, as shown in this handy graphic.
Imagine your annual electricity bill totals $1,560. On a regular cycle, you'd pay quarterly bills in various amounts. But, with bill smoothing in place, you'd pay $30 weekly – no bill shock in sight.
Some energy providers let you set it up directly with them, however, many don't offer this option.
So if your energy bills are currently sparking way more anxiety than they should, RentPay lets you bundle bill smoothing with your rent payments – that's one less thing to worry about!
100%. Bill smoothing is a great way to put one of your major household expenses on autopilot, which works in your favour in several ways.
Making these smaller payments ahead of time means you can avoid getting a heart attack whenever a big energy bill comes in. Not only does it make your energy costs more predictable, but it also helps lower the financial impact of any scary seasonal power usage.
Smaller amounts, paid more frequently, mean less hit to your budget during high usage times. The reason? Your bills will be covered by credit you've built up when your usage has been lower.
Armed with the knowledge of what you can expect you'll pay for energy from one billing period to the next (assuming your actual usage remains in line with your estimated usage), you can avoid budget blowouts. Win-win!
Setting up bill smoothing is a breeze. And once it's all set up, you don't need to worry too much about receiving big energy bills anymore and bill smoothing payments to your energy provide will be done automatically for you.
How bill smoothing with RentPay works:
Want to know more about RentPay's bill smoothing feature? Our team is available Monday to Friday on 1300 797 933. Otherwise, why not check out RentPay's bill smoothing FAQs?
Choosing bill smoothing is a great way to manage your energy costs efficiently and remove potential bill shock after seasonal peaks.
Why not take control of your energy bills with RentPay?
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