Yes, Bellingham, your monthly bills are high. This data proves it
This article originally appeared on The Bellingham Herald
Monthly bills for Whatcom County residents are the second highest in Washington state and the average person may incur hundreds of dollars in costs on top of those bills each year, according to two new reports.
Whatcom residents pay about $1,030 every month for routine bills – 6.1% higher than the national monthly average of $971, according to data from Seattle bill payment company Doxo. On top of that, the average U.S. household may be paying about $577 in hidden costs a year, according to a new report.
Yakima County ranked as the area with the highest average bill costs at $1,058, while the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area trailed Whatcom in third place with $968.
The higher costs for Whatcom residents most notably emerged in auto loan, health insurance and dental insurance bills, according to the data.
Auto loan bills in the Whatcom averaged $489 a month compared to $393 nationally. Meanwhile, health insurance bills averaged $155 a month, $59 more than the national average of $96. Dental insurance bills at $43 exceeded the national average of $25 a month.
However, Whatcom residents did have cheaper car insurance bills with a $141 monthly charge compared to $183 nationally, according to the data.
The data did not include housing costs or childcare costs. Doxo instead chose to focus on bill data compiled from aggregate payment statistics from over 4 million paying users and more than 65,000 confirmed household bill pay providers, said Jim Kreyenhagen, Doxo vice president of marketing and consumer services, in an emailed statement.
Commenting on the data, Opportunity Council executive director Greg Winters said the residents his non-profit often help struggle with housing and childcare costs the most.
Winter added health insurance is a serious concern during the COVID-19 pandemic because many people are losing their employer-based health insurance.
The Opportunity Council also found about 80% of the low-income households they surveyed do not have savings for unexpected expenses and about 49% had debt from medical and dental expenses, Winters said.
“Piling on any added necessary cost to a household budget is just going to exacerbate those conditions,” Winter said.
The new Doxo report found several hidden fees amounting to $577 that the average person may incur each year. They included costs associated with late fees, overdraft fees, identify theft and added credit costs.
The average household may pay about $132 in late fees a year, or costs resulting from missing a bill payment deadline, the report read. These fees occur at least once a year for about 54% of households, resulting in over $17 billion total expenses a year, according to the report.
Likewise, overdraft fees can cost the average household $177 a year. Such fees are usually over $30 per incident and most often caused by bill payments, resulting in over $15 billion total overdraft fees a year.
Payment account fraud and identity theft costs can also sneak up on consumers. Although most of this cost is covered by card issuers and merchants, the average household can still end up paying about $27 a year, according to the report. Such costs amount to $3.5 billion a year.
Additionally, the report found lower credit scores can cost households hundreds of dollars in interest expenses. The average household can save about $301 per year by staying ahead of payments and improving their credit score by 35 points.
Doxo created these reports to share how people across the country pay their bills and help consumers make informed decisions about their monthly expenses, Kreyenhagen said.