In Japan, there are two types of gases used in general households: city gas and LP gas (liquefied petroleum gas). Basically, city gas is cheaper, but the areas where it can be used are limited. The ratio of city gas to LP gas is about 1:1 as of today.
The 1:1 ratio of city gas to LP gas tends to be more expensive than electricity and water, so I will explain how you can reduce your gas bill as much as possible. For more information about saving money on electricity and water, please see the following article.
Change your company
With regards to electricity, it is possible to change your gas company. However, this is only possible for city gas, and it is more difficult for LP gas. First of all, city gas is being supplied using gas pipes which are part of the public infrastructure, while LP gas is not supplied through gas pipes; cylinders filled with LP gas are delivered to each household by the gas utility. This is a very bad custom. As a result, there is no free competition and the price of LP gas is high. City gas can be used in the same way as electricity, please refer to the article (URL) I attached beforehand. If you have city gas services and you are using LP gas, consider changing to city gas immediately.
Saving money in the kitchen
Basically, it is used for cooking. If you don’t do much cooking, you don’t need to be so conscious.
- Use a pressure cooker to shorten the cooking time.
- Use electric kettle to boil water. – Use less high heat.
- Use the microwave oven effectively.
- Try to cook in one pot at a time.
- Use an electric kettle to boil water. – Clean the gas burner regularly (dirty gas burner reduces heat efficiency).
- Avoid “boiling” and “frying” cooking as much as possible. (This is quite difficult)
If you are aware of these things when you are in the kitchen, then you can save money. Also, utilizing electricity instead of gas will also have the effect of lowering costs, although it might cost more depending on the usage.
Saving money in the bathroom
The best way to save money is to take a bath less often. However, that compromises one’s hygiene, so here are some ways to save money. (Japanese people basically have the habit of taking a bath every day.)
- Reduce the amount of time you spend in the shower.
- Lower the temperature setting of the water heater.
- Close the lid of the bathtub frequently.
- Use convenient products such as thermal sheets.
As with the water bills, the best way to save money is to conserve water, take showers instead of baths, and make sure to avoid leakage.
Save money with payment methods
Most companies accept credit card payments for gas bills. If you pay by credit card, you can get 1% or more cash back depending on the card. I use a credit card that gives me 3% cash back, and since my gas bill is about 6,000 yen a month, I could save about 180 yen.
Comments