Utility Cost Forecaster

A rate of 3-5% per year approximates the historical average pace at which US utility rates have risen, though electricity, gas, and water rates each move differently depending on your region's infrastructure investment and fuel costs, so check your utility's recent rate history if you want a more tailored estimate. Entering a higher rate will make every projected figure grow faster and diverge more from today's costs by year five, since the same percentage compounds every year of the projection.

Savings from Reduction is calculated as a flat 10% cut applied to your Current Monthly Total, multiplied out over 12 months and 5 years — it's a fixed hypothetical scenario showing what a modest efficiency improvement could be worth in today's dollars, not a projection that itself compounds at your Annual Increase Rate. If you want to see savings that account for rising rates too, compare Total Over 5 Years at your current spending against the same total run at a 10% lower Current Monthly Total.

Whichever of your five bills has the largest dollar amount contributes the most to Current Monthly Total, and because every bill is simply added together before any rate is applied, all five inputs move the projection proportionally to their own size rather than any one category being weighted more heavily by the formula itself. For most households electric and internet tend to be the largest recurring bills, but the calculator treats every category identically once you've entered your own numbers.

No — this calculator takes the flat monthly figures you enter and compounds them at a constant annual rate, so it assumes your bills stay level month to month aside from that yearly increase, rather than modeling the seasonal swings common with electric and gas heating or cooling costs. If your bills vary significantly by season, consider entering a representative average monthly figure rather than a single month's actual bill to get a more realistic year-round projection.