Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jdog2050]

Hey, I'm thoroughly planning ahead for this winter, something I've been failing at for the past 2 years in my crappy apartment.

I am:
Winterizing the windows
Buying door jams and placing styrofoam around the inside frame of the door
Buying comfy wool pajamas and slippers
Possibly buying a small carpet for my den, which is where I spend most of my time.

Last thing I want to do is just flat out pay the gas company around 600,000W as a credit towards my gas bill. My reasoning is like this: My bills have been in the 150-200,000W range in the deep winter. I'd like to just pay out the 600,000 so that my bill isn't a huge, migraine-inducing shock. Also, so that if I start to go over the 600,000, I can either "top it up", or know that I need to cut back even more.

Questions:
1. Has anyone ever paid your winter bills as a credit so that you don't worry about it?

2. If you have money left over, was it easy to get it back if you need it for an emergency?

[schwa]

I dont get it. If you've got the cash to pay ahead, why not just set it aside yourself? Why on earth ask a utility company to manage your money for you?

[jdog2050]

[schwa]

I still think your request might well confound them. Especially if it came down to you asking for cash back. Is it really so hard to just pay a bill when it comes?

[greene]

strange, strange idea

[kona]

How are you winterizing your windows?

[tardisrider]

You could always open a new bank account and link that account to your bills so that the money is automatically deducted. This would solve the problem of hiking to the bank in bad weather or finding time in your schedule. Just make sure that there's always enough in there to cover next month's bills (or longer) and you'll be well sorted.

Just an idea.

[dairyairy]

There's no good reason to run a positive balance on a utility bill. Have you had problems paying bills in the past?

[radcon]

What if its a warm winter? What if you have an emergency back home and must leave? What if you are forced to leave the apartment and move for some reason? What if North Korea invades?

[singerdude]

I don't think it's such a bad idea paying in advance for rent and utilities. If you have extra money now then why not? If something happens with your job at least you don't have to worry about the essentials for a few months. It may give one some peace of mind.

Edit: I think tardisrider has a good solution to your problem.

[ktkates87]

This is how the oil bill works at my mom's place in Canada. She pays around what the cost was the previous year, and then anything that's left over is credited to her, and if she still owes it's not as big of a chunk of change to hand over. I think it's a fairly good system.

Not sure that you can arrange the same system here in Korea though. Here, I do an envelopes system each month to keep track of money and always set aside the max amount for my utilities. Example: I set aside 200,000 every month even though my utilities often run about 130,000. It always leaves me with a bit of extra change after I pay my bill on the last week of the month which is helpful if I'm running low before payday.

[jondepoer]

[schwa]

I can relate to doing business at the bank rather than over the net.

Fogey here. I dont trust internet security.

[jdog2050]

[jdog2050]