• About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Frugal Living
    • Budgeting
    • Cheap Tricks
  • Be Cheap
    • Find Coupons
    • Deals
    • Freebies
  • DIY
    • DIY Projects
    • Handmade Gift Ideas
    • Repurposing
    • Recipes
    • Organization
  • Living Green
    • Greener Cleaners
    • Saving Energy
    • Gardening
    • Nature Crafts
  • Seasonal Savings
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • Winter
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Summer
    • Back-to-School
    • Birthdays
  • Smart Shopping
    • Recommended Products
    • Book Reviews
    • Shopping Tips
    • Shop the Hottest Online Deals

Northern Cheapskate

Frugal. By Nature.

You are here: Home / Living Green / Saving Energy / Oil prices are gouging my budget

Oil prices are gouging my budget

By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

We have a duel fuel system for our hot-water heating system in our home. We use a combination of an oil boiler and an electric boiler to heat our home. The electric boiler is actually controlled by our power company. During peak times, they can shut it off. This causes our back-up system, the oil boiler, to kick in. By operating our heating system this way, we save about $150/month on our heating bill (compared to just running the oil boiler). We keep our home at a constant 68 degrees because we have babies in the house, and to be quite honest, I am just too crabby if I’m cold.

I had the oil tank filled for the first (and hopefully, ONLY) time this winter. YIKES! At $3.51/gallon, I spent $640. The cost of oil is up more than $1/gallon from last year. Fortunately, my oil company gives you a discount if you pay in full within five days of filling, so I did save $9. (whoopee).

I am very grateful that we put in the electric boiler last year. When we had it installed, I estimated it would take about 4 years to pay for itself. With oil prices as high as they are, I know it will pay for itself even sooner. I really sympathize with families who rely solely on oil or gas for heat, because I know what a giant crimp in the budget this year’s oil purchase has been for us. The only thing you can really do is turn down your thermostats, put on a sweater, and make sure your home is weatherized.

Filed Under: Saving Energy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Article Categories

  • Ask Northern Cheapskate
  • Back-to-School
  • Be Cheap
  • Birthdays
  • blog
  • Book Reviews
  • Budgeting
  • Cheap Tricks
  • Christmas
  • Coupons
  • Coupons 101
  • Credit
  • Deals
  • DIY
  • DIY Projects
  • Easter
  • Father's Day
  • Free Music
  • Free Reading
  • Freebies
  • Freebies for Kids
  • Frugal Living
  • Gardening
  • Giveaways
  • Greener Cleaners
  • Halloween
  • Handmade Gift Ideas
  • How I Shop Series
  • Living Green
  • Magazine Deals
  • Making Money
  • Mother's Day
  • Nature Crafts
  • Organization
  • Personal Finance
  • Photo Deals
  • Rebates
  • Recipes
  • Repurposing
  • Saving Energy
  • Seasonal Savings
  • Shopping Tips
  • Smart Shopping
  • Sponsored
  • Summer
  • Thanksgiving
  • Thrift Store Finds
  • Uncategorized
  • Valentine's Day
  • Winners
  • Winter

Copyright © 2023 · Going Green Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in