How to Budget for Home Heating Costs

The time of year has arrived where the air is getting nippy and there is a definitive chill in the air. As winter rapidly approaches and temperatures drop, you are dreading the inevitability that you’ll turn up the thermostat sooner than later. Home heating costs have soared in recent years and no matter what method of energy you rely upon to heat your home, chances are you’ve seen a significant increase in your heating expenses.

Despite the rising expense of heating your home, there are a few ways you can try to reduce energy costs. Finding ways to budget monies towards heating expenses can help ease that burden. The best ways to budget for your home heating costs is to be proactive in finding methods to reduce you the amount of fuel energy you use and to plan ahead.

REDUCE HEATING COSTS
*Inspect your windows. Windows are a common money pit for wasted heat and it’s a good idea to check your windows to see if there are leaks, drafts or gaps. Drafty windows will cause your thermostat to kick on more frequently. Replacing your old windows with higher efficiency ones is a significant expense upfront, but over the course of time it will be more cost-efficient and reduce the amount of heat that is lost. If window replacements are too much of an expense, explore other ways you can eliminate drafts. Covering your windows with plastic is an inexpensive way to lower heating costs.

*Keep your furnace or heating element clean. Doing annual maintenance with cleanings and new filters reduces the chance of your system from needing any heating system repair work being done. It also ensures you have a clean running system that isn’t running more frequently due to clogged or dirty elements.

*Set your thermostat on a timer. Letting your heat run constantly all day if no one is home massively increases the dollars you will be spending on heating costs. Plan to have your heat kick on at intervals and specified times just prior to your arrival home.

PLANNING AHEAD
*Look into budget plans. Many companies offer plans to help you mitigate costs in a way that works the best for your household budget. Ask your energy provider what kind of payment plans they offer. For instance, if oil is your source of fuel, many oil companies will put a cap on the price per gallon in exchange for a guaranteed contract and a small nominal fee. Another common plan is to purchase the anticipated number of gallons ahead of time at a discounted rate. This is costly upfront, but the good news is you don’t have to worry about coming up with money to pay for fuel over the winter. When I lived in the northeastern U.S. I used to pay mine in October.

*Monthly payment plans. Many energy companies give the option of averaging your annual usage and then put you on a monthly plan. The plus side is that you will have a consistent payment throughout the year, but the downside is if you go over that amount you’ll have to pay more at a specified time of the year to “square up”.

*Tax returns. Every year I would take a portion of my tax return and put it aside to use towards heating costs. If you consciously budget this money in the spring, regardless of which way you choose to pay your heating expense, the money will be put aside. Home heating costs are an expense that is likely to stress us out during the colder months, but by finding ways to reduce energy usage and to plan ahead, it makes budgeting for those chilly days much easier to manage.