The electricity bill came

When I went to Vinnies a few weeks back to get help with the last one, they recommended that we set it up where the electricity company takes an amount out of my pension each fortnight and credits it directly to the bill. It's turned out to be a stroke of brilliance for people like us on very limited income. Although it seems a lot at $60 a fortnight, I guess that would include the amounts in winter as well where our usage pretty much doubles. It's an old property where we are with high ceilings and takes a bit of heating just to get the lounge warm.

 We've bought a smaller heater this year with a low setting on it. The one we used to used was very efficient but blasted out full blast all the time, with no low setting.

So the bill arrives in the email for the last quarter and you feel that horrible sinking feeling of dread. Honestly some of our winter bills have been disgustingly high, nearly $600 some of them even with a pensioner discount. Having a bill like that come is like a torpedo through everything. And what are you supposed to do? If you don't pay it you revert back to the dark days before electricity, the internet, mobile phones, just about everything except the landline home phone, and you can't use the wireless ones as they plug into the wall and need electricity themselves. I can't imagine such a thing. I'd say the mere depression of living like that would be something in itself.

But this new way from Vinnies is just the bees knees. I opened the email and all that was owing on this three monthly bill was $30. Which will come out of my next $60 payment. There wasn't even a pay by date. Just a thing saying how much we pay a fortnight and a thank you. Marvelous. Should have done this bloody years ago.