When considering your housing options, don’t forget to factor in apartment utilities. Finding an apartment with utilities included can relieve a lot of hassles, but usually has a higher rent. Apartment utilities include electricity, water, natural gas, trash, phone, cable and Internet, some of which can be included in the monthly rent.

Electricity is usually not included in the rent and the monthly cost depends on electricity rates, size of the apartment, number of occupants and the number of appliances. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average price per kilowatt is over .20 cents in Connecticut, but under .08 cents in Missouri. So the price of electricity varies greatly across the country, with the U.S. average around 11 cents.

Water, on the other hand, is often included in the monthly rent. When the tenant is required to pay for water it can be priced per building and based on occupancy, which makes it a utility cost that fluctuates some month-to-month. However, water is not generally an expensive utility each month.

Natural gas, like electricity, is usually paid for by the tenant. It also is a utility cost that depends on how many appliances in the apartment use natural gas, if any. Also like electricity, gas rates can fluctuate throughout the year. Trash removal is often included in the monthly rent, although recycling may be limited or cost extra.

More and more people rely on cell phones and opt out of land lines, but the cost of your phone should be included in your monthly utility budget. Cable and Internet are non-essential utilities, but can be bundled with the phone service to offer savings on all three services.

There are a number of ways to save money on your monthly utility bills. It is possible if you conserve electricity, only use a cell a phone, don’t get cable and depend on free Wi-Fi around town for Internet access you could have minimal utility bills each month.

But there are less austere ways to save money on utilities, like bundling services through one provider, getting a roommate to split costs and taking advantage of locking in rates on electricity and gas. You can find information online for apartment utilities or all utilities apartments. You can even sign up for services and pay your bills online.