Life can feel pretty expensive these days. So much so, that when you see a sky-high utility bill, you may just think it’s just a sign of the times.

That's what happened to Brooke Patterson. She took to TikTok to explain how she realized that she had apparently been paying for her entire apartment building’s utility bills — for two years.

So, how did this happen?

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Patterson lives in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, yet her monthly utility bill would sometimes come to $400, according to a follow-up video. But Patterson lives in San Diego, California, a notoriously expensive city, so she thought she might just be paying the standard rate. She claims to have contacted San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to inquire about it.

“They were like, ‘That’s just how much it is,’” she said.

It was only when SDG&E turned off the power to Patterson’s unit one night that she discovered why her bill was so high.

Despite consistently paying for the 10-unit building’s utilities, it turns out her unit had a separate account under her ex-boyfriend's name that hadn't been paid in two years. It wasn't until she got on the phone with SDG&E to explain she had been making payments the entire time that the company realized the error.

“Is anybody paying attention to anything?” she said in another follow-up video.

There are steps you can take to help ensure the same mistake doesn't happen to you. Here's some advice from Patterson herself.

Read more: Here's how much the average 60-year-old American holds in retirement savings — how does your nest egg compare?

Talk to your neighbors

In a Buzzfeed article about the fiasco, Patterson told the publication that she would advise talking to your neighbors to avoid getting into this situation.

If she had gone and spoken to any of her neighbors and asked them about the cost of their utilities, she would have realize that $400 is not a normal amount for a unit in her building.

However, chatting to your neighbors is not as common as it used to be. A Pew Center study shows that fewer young Americans are familiar with their neighbors. Among adults under age 30, about a quarter (23%) claim to not know any of their neighbors, compared with 4% of those aged 65 and up.

But the key here is to say howdy and get chatting — it could end up saving you a lot of money.

Have everyone on the bills

Another piece of advice from Patterson is that everyone in your household should be listed on the bills.

One of the reasons her utility bill got mixed up is because there was already an account in place for her unit under her ex-boyfriend’s name. He moved out in 2021 but never canceled the account. So, when Patterson opened a new utility account, SDG&E accidentally linked it with the master meter for the whole building rather than her individual apartment.

Financial transparency in relationships is key to ensuring no money is wasted. Having everyone's name linked to an account can members of any party clear things up in case there's a break up or someone moves out.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.