(First time advice-giver here, so correct me if I go astray, please.)
Let me qualify the following by saying I live in an apartment, but $165/month for water & electricity seems a little excessive, no? My electric bill rarely ever tops $25. Water/sewage/trash is included in my rent
Maybe try some of the following:
a) Flex those badassity muscles and stop using the heat/air so much
b) Start taking showers instead of baths (or don't stay in there so long!)
c) Take fewer showers. I shower once every evening before bed. Don't see the point of doing it again in the morning since I went to bed clean.
d) Turn the lights off when you leave a room. leave NOTHING on when you leave.
e) Change your light bulbs to more energy efficient ones like MMM suggests, even if that means replacing the free ones that came w/the apartment. Put them in a safe place and swap them out again before you move. (My apartment's bathroom had 4 ridiculous old school big bulbs spanning the top length of the mirror. I took them all out and replaced them with 2 energy efficient bulbs that are just as bright.)
f) Adjust the timers and frequency on your yard watering stuff
g) Unplug crap you're not using. Even if its off, it still saps power. I plug keurig & toaster in just long enough to use them, then unplug 'em again when I'm done.
h) DOWNSIZE if possible. It'll help you unload crap you don't need/use to put towards debt repayment and reduce your monthly rent. MMM says something to the effect of "let Craigslist borrow it."
Here's my own two cents that I haven't seen much of since lurking on the forums:
Pick up a second part-time job somewhere and use those paychecks to go directly towards debt or into an investment account. I worked a full-time salaried position 40+ hours a week and on evenings and weekends I went and delivered pizzas to pay off my '06 Scion Xa much, much faster. I'm a sucker for tips. I like the immediate reward at the end of the night that I can go deposit into an ATM. (Then I sold my car, moved cross country and financed another one. Very dumb move on my part, but I digress.)
Here's what I like about this idea:
1. It makes you more badass. It shows just how hard you're willing to work to get ahead in life.
2. A second job keeps you busier.
3. If you're busy, you're not buying crap.
4. If you don't have as much free time, you're much more mindful of how and with whom you spend it.
5. If you're not home, you're not running up the utilities
6. That's your punishment for being in debt in the first place. You get more free time back when you get out of debt. It really translates into freedom and it defines a clear ending point.
7. *Because no one wants to work two jobs, it makes you even more mindful of what you're doing with your regular paycheck (unless you're silly enough to think extra income = extra spending).
Possible 2nd job options that are better than minimum wage
--> Pizza delivery person
--> Uber/Lyft Driver
--> Bartender (personal favorite)
--> Personal trainer (requires certification it has a higher barrier to entry)
--> Server/waiter: Depending on the state you're in. CA is great. $10 minimum wage plus tips. TN wasn't when I lived there. Less than $3/hr plus tips. A slow shift and you're boned.
--> I teach tennis lessons & string rackets despite being debt free and having a six figure income. I do it because I love teaching and I'm a nerd for tennis equipment. It also gives me more safety margin in case anything ever goes awry.
Bonus: If you like sports and are free after school hours, you can apply to be a high school or middle school [assistant] coach. For a few hours a night you get to give back to the community and be a mentor all while coaching students. Usually you get a paid stipend at the end of the season that has ranged --for me at least-- from $500 to $3,000. If your students go post-season, there's even an extra bump in the stipend. I managed to 'assistant coach' my high school team while I was in college all four years.
Double bonus: There are several really easy jobs you could take in the evening too. They may only be minimum wage gigs, but they just require attendance and minimal thought.
> Front desk at a gym
> Front desk at a hotel (overnight especially)
> Night janitor: This could be difficult if the job entails stripping & waxing floors, but most other janitor duties are pretty easy. Vacuum, sweep, trash, clean windows.
They can offer potential additional perks like free gym membership, discounted hotels, and new cleaning skills. (aside: You can learn how to strip and wax floors, then buy your own equipment and run your own business. I can't go anywhere now with tile floors without criticizing or admiring how well the tile floors are waxed and buffed. Next time you're in Target or Wal-Mart or anywhere with tile, just look for transitions in the wax from dirty to glossy or where the floors look glossy vs dull.)
Ideally, you'll have some skills from your day job or life experience that'll let you log some additional work hours for much better than minimum wage or wear and tear on your car, but it is what it is. Plus, let's face it. Those 2014 vehicles you've got there have depreciated below what you paid for them so why not try and make some cash out of them? **By the time you wear them into the ground with the extra miles from Uber/Pizza you'll be debt free and able to afford a nice, fuel efficient used car that you can pay for in CASH! Woot! Plus, who doesn't like a car that smells like pizza inside?
*Gross generalization here
**Every mile you drive drops the value of your vehicle & every day/month/year older it gets also drops the value up to a certain point where the prices more or less bottom out/even out.