The Best Ways To Budget For This Winter's Home Heating Costs

We are well into the season of fall and the mornings are starting to get a little bit colder. When this happens, we are aware of the fact that winter is right around the corner. During this time of year, some people start budgeting for their home heating costs for the upcoming winter. Balancing a bank account for something that seems so unpredictable can be tricky. The best way to start is to know the cost of the fuel, such as heating oil, that your heating system uses. In the following article by CBS Boston, they discuss the expected costs of heating oil for this coming winter:

Home Heating Oil Prices Could Be Lowest In Decade, Analyst Says

Staying warm is expected to cost a lot less this winter for home heating oil customers.

Energy analyst Tom Kloza tells WBZ NewsRadio 1030 that because of a historic drop in the price of crude oil over the past year, this will be the cheapest winter for heating oil since 2004.

Just last year, the average price for heating oil was about $4.24 per gallon, Kloza said. The current average is $2.43, and customers should be able to find prices close to $2 if they shop around, he said.

“That’s real money that people are going to be saving this year,” Kloza said. “This is going to be a cheap winter by any means.”

To see the full "CBS Boston" article, click here.

Consumers of home heating oil will be paying a lot less this year than they have been paying in previous years. This means that they will have to budget less than they have had to in previous years as well. So why the drop in prices? In the following article titled, Americans to See Lowest Heating Bills in Years Due to Fuel Glut, by Daily Finance, they discuss some of the reasons your home heating oil prices are at an all-time low:

Americans to See Lowest Heating Bills in Years Due to Fuel Glut

One of the main reasons for the reprieve is America's years-long drilling boom, which has topped up domestic supplies and helped tip energy markets into a price nose-dive.

The rise of fracking technology, which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well to extract oil or gas, has helped lift U.S. production of natural gas by 35 percent since 2005 and oil by 45 percent since 2010.

It seems that the supply and production of heating oil has increased, and therefore, consumers are reaping the benefits by seeing a drop in price. Not only is heating oil pricing the lowest it has been in years but, according to forecasters, the winter is expected to be milder than those from previous years. This means that you will not have to use as much fuel in order to heat your house and keep your home at a comfortable temperature. In the following article by U.S. News, they discuss how the warmer weather will affect your home heating costs for this winter:

US projects lower heating bills this winter, forecasts drop in energy prices, warmer weather

Some U.S. households can expect to save hundreds of dollars this winter with a drop in heating bills, thanks to a combination of lower energy prices and warmer weather across most of the country, the U.S. Energy Department predicted Tuesday.

The outlook is based on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that calls for warmer weather across all regions except the West, which is expected to be slightly cooler.

If winter temperatures come in as expected by U.S. government weather forecasters, U.S. consumers will pay less to stay warm this winter no matter what heating fuel they use," said Adam Sieminski, administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Read the full article here: http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/10/06/us-forecast-calls-for-lower-heating-bills-this-winter

It seems that people will be able to enjoy lower home heating costs due to a milder winter and lowered heating oil fuel prices. Knowing the price that you pay for your home heating oil and being knowledgeable of the winter weather predictions will make it significantly easier to budget for your home heating costs during the cold season.