The price increases have actually been beneficial to me as it made my think about me usage. My electricity bills averaged out at about 20% less per month over the winter compared to previous just by making a few changes, mainly making use of the night tariff and replacing some of the outside lighting with large solar lamps which worked surprisingly well, given how cheap they were (less than £10 each).
My heating bill fell dramatically, the central heating is pellet-fed but pellet prices rose considerably last year, so I made more use of the wood burner (which I prefer anyway). My first winter here I used between 3 and 3.5 tons of pellets (didn't have a wood burner), this year I used .5 tons of pellets and still have enough for next winter, should the prices rise further. Total cost of wood and pellets used this winter has been 740 lev (£316), had I stiil been using only pellets I'd have been looking at somewhere between 1,560 and 1,940 lev (£665 - £827).
I've cut down on petrol usage by making less journeys into town. Instead of doing a weekly shop I now do a fortnight shop and use the local village shops a lot more. I buy most of my meat from the butchers in town, cut and freeze what I won't use in the next couple of days. It's better quality than supermarket meat (also cheaper and locally produced) and I've been eating healthier as I have to put more thought into my meals (more veg, fruit and salads) as well as rediscovering the joys of seasoning food
Paid my water and sewage bill this morning for the last 12 months, 194 lev (£83). Given that I had to completely drain and refill the swimming pool in June, I can't complain. That's cheaper than the previous year, though I've no idea why as I haven't gone out of my way to cut my water usage. I can only guess it's a benefit of Covid, no visitors taking 2 showers a day during the hotter months.
I reckon it'll be closer to just under £2k a year myself but it still sucks balls
