It’s month two of 2022. Whizzed past? Plodded along? All a blur? Not sure. What’s for sure is come rain, sun or fuzzy days, a new month means bills – utility, credit cards and maintenance charges. And, the start of a new year usually heralds an assortment of other bills – insurance, council rates and taxes. It’s bills galore. All of which must be paid. In one lump sum or in instalments.

Like clockwork, they arrive. E-bills, mostly. Posted to my email, usually in the last week of the previous month. There are also quarterly, bi-annual and annual bills and reminders via e-messages and traditional post. The latter is generally used by local councils and government departments. That said, there appears to be a gradual shift to online bills from the powers that be.

And like clockwork, I pay my bills. Admittedly, I am one of those people who pay on time. Sometimes, ahead of time. I even look out for bills to pay. My personal cut-off date is the 6^th of the month. An arbitrary date to settle anything that’s outstanding. Yes, I know. It seems a little sad to be so exact but they are compulsory bills. They won’t go away if I delay it. They won’t go away if I ignore it. Better to pay and get it out of the way. I also make timely payments because I don’t like owing money. But more importantly, they are for services that I subscribe to, and hope and look forward to enjoying without disruption.

The have-to-pay utility bills are for electricity from Tenaga Nasional Bhd, water from Air Selangor and sewerage service from Indah Water Consortium. Having power means my husband and I get to watch Netflix (that’s another bill – entertainment) in an air-conditioned ambience whenever we want (that’s another bill – service and maintenance).

It’s the same with water. Its readily available when we turn on the taps and shower. Granted, the water in our condominium building is not sparkling clean, despite the filters in place in our unit. And, the recent installation of new water tanks. Still, it’s so conveniently accessible, it’s taken for granted. I only give water a second thought when there is a supply disruption. Its then I think of storing and saving water so that I have enough not to be inconvenienced. That said, I don’t waste water. I don’t let the water run when I’m brushing my teeth, soaping my hands or shampooing my hair.  I’ve watched enough documentaries to understand how precious water is.

It’s no different with sewerage bills. I pay the operator because all I have to do is flush after use.  Waste matter disappears. Clean water appears. I only worry when the flush doesn’t work properly or something clogs up the toilet. I don’t really know the process that is involved in getting rid of waste matter and other not-nice discharges from my toilet. Although, I’m sure it encompasses a complex system of pipes, drains, disposal and treatment facilities.

Living in a condominium means another no-choice monthly outgoing in the form of service charge and sinking fund. The contribution goes towards the general management and maintenance of the building, which is necessary in a communal living environment. This is a long-term additional expense that must be factored in when buying a condominium unit. Added to that is the annual fire insurance for the building.

There are also credit card bills to be settled. I’ve two cards. A supplementary and a primary card that I use for online and in-store purchases. I’m not an ideal customer for credit card issuers and banks as I pay the entire amount owing to avoid interest. Despite being meticulous about paying bills, I misread the minimum payment rule for my primary card, and ended up paying interest over a period of three months. Hmm…

For our entertainment fix, we pay Netflix and Astro. To communicate, we pay our landline and mobile phone bills. To get from A to B in our own private vehicles, we pay for car and motorbike insurances, and road-taxes. To keep the vehicles running properly, we pay for service maintenance and petrol.  Downsizing is on the cards as we are both chalking up less mileage now. There’s fire insurance for our individual condominium unit and medical insurance for both of us. There’s also an annual property parcel tax and a bi-annual assessment rate that have to be remitted to local authorities. Plus, my favourite, personal tax, that is due in April/May. I’m not done yet. All of the above do not include food, clothes, holiday, donation and intermittent medicine bills. 

Instalments, mortgages and bills have been, and continue to be a constant feature in my life. Strangely, listing the number of bills and calculating the outgoings made me appreciate even more the cost of living.