If you own your home like we do and more than half of the Villagers you've eliminated that expense. We don't have that many other expenses, the biggest expense we have is our Directv, and that's because I like watching sports and having every movie channel and every other channel available.
With the home, if you have SECO Electric like we do and everyone in Sumter County, it's the cheapest. We have not had a bill over $90 month in six years we've lived here full time. We have a 2 BR 2BA masonry courtyard villa (CYV). In Maryland that was our biggest expensive, electric ran $250 to $400 a month. Amenity Fee was $135 a month, I just noticed it's now $147. That comes once a month on a bill with drinking water and irrigation water and garbage and recycling. The last bill was our highest ever and that was $240 with all those things included. Other than in November when you get one bill for property taxes, bond and maintenance, that's about it for us.
Around town, I paid 2.33 a gallon yesterday for gas. Groceries we get about 75% at Walmart and the more day to day stuff at Publix or Winn Dixie. They are nice stores and have higher prices in general but between the two you can find sales. It's the day to day stuff anyway, like if I need bananas and have to pay $69 cents a pound at Publix, I'm not going to wait a few days just to save 10 cents a pound at Walmart. Plus a new Walmart Grocery store is under construction right now in Colony area, that at CR 466 just off Moyer Loop.
The only thing I noticed that was higher here than in Maryland was my car insurance. I'm with USAA for veterans, so it's the cheapest. I had two cars insured in Maryland for $900 a year. Here it costs just over $800 for one car. My homeowners insurance started at $503 a year when we bought new in 2011, the last two years it has been $711 a year. Property Taxes in Sumter County are also cheaper than in Lake County.
If I was moving here now, I would buy a resale home in Sumter County. A central location between Brownwood and Lake Sumter near Buena Vista Blvd, that makes for easy travel in your golf cart. I would look in Villages Gilchrist, Pinellas and Collier and then spread out from there.
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