Tuesday, January 28, 2014

More oil talk

The basics:  Oil budget is $339 per month for 11 months.  Covers 700 gallons at $3.949/gal, plus service plan which covers the cleaning and any other repairs that may be needed.  Also includes "cap protection" which means we will never pay more than our agreed rate, and if the price per gallon drops for the day we get a delivery, we get the lower price.

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Darn Polar Vortex.  When we did the oil agreement in August, who knew this would be such a cold winter?!!!

We have gotten 3 fill-ups since this plan in August.  November is always a larger fill, since the previous fill was over 5 months before (summer isn't a high oil usage time!).  After that, the goal is to have roughly a half tank to fill monthly after that.

When I looked at our fill-ups, we are using our oil too fast.  The colder the weather, the more the furnace kicks in.  We already have plastic on the windows, an adjustable thermostat that drops the temp when we aren't here and overnight, and we keep the "standard" waking temp between 66-68.

By my calculations....we will run out of our "budget" oil in March.  Which will mean that April and May fill ups will be at that going price for the day.  Our fill up on January 15 had it at $4.099.  That is probably about another $50 total.

It also means that while we usually have a credit left on our plan....we might not this time.  I was hoping to be able to stop paying the oil in the summer (as long as there is a credit and you aren't receiving oil, then you don't have to pay) and put it toward something else.  We will have to see how it goes.

And it also means that I will probably budget for a little more next year (I dropped it by about 50 gal this year).  I am guessing that the rate will be similar to where we are now.  If not higher. 

I hate the oil bill.

30 comments:

  1. Yikes, I've never dealt with oil. I will admit to being afraid to open the natural gas bill yesterday after all this cold weather. Maybe I'll do that today. Or not ...

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  2. Yikes! $339 per month? My budget for electric, water AND gas is under $300 combined!

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    1. My oil is $339. Electric is $120 (on a budget plan). And water is every 6 months, but averages to $41. So all of that is $500!!! Welcome to CT!

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  3. I SO agree with you. Our tank level seems to be dropping by the hour here and the heating has barely shut off in the last 24 hours as it is so damn cold. I am dreading filling up next month I can see a $600+ bill in the horizon.

    The only thing we should be grateful for is that we do have heat.

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    1. It is sad, isn't it? Our fill up was 2 weeks ago, and I haven't looked at the gauge since. But I am sure it is beyond the 3/4 mark, where it should be.

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  4. I'm on the budget plan for gas & electricity - unless we have a heat wave next month, I'm going to owe when May comes around (my true up month). I am now $94 "in the hole" and my guess is that I will get $100-$120 further behind each month for the rest of winter. I may just pay a little extra for the next couple of months so it doesn't hurt so much in May.

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    1. August is our settle up month for oil (it is Feb for electric, but I per the last bill....we should remain about the same).

      We won't have a huge settle up for oil....I will just keep paying the budget amount and hope I can STRETCH it.

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  5. Yikes...I feel your pain. I am dreading getting our gas bill next month.....Our last bill came 3 days after the first polar vortex that we had and was an actual reading, but was still a lot higher than it was the previous month. And it seems like our furnace barely kicks off...doesn't help that it is -22 here today.

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  6. We have propane which is just getting more and note expensive by the day. This cold weather is very expensive. I don't know what people on fixed incomes like Social Security are doing.

    Oil is so expensive. Have you ever looked into converting to natural gas? I don't know if that's an option where you live.

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    1. Years ago, there wasn't a gas line for us to tap into, so it wasn't an option. There is one now. We did look into the convertion, but it will be about 10k. Because of the age of our house, they don't know what other problems they will run in to. This would also be for converting water and heat. We can just convert water for less....but we would then have to go back in and pay more labor to do the 2nd half, plus the cost of the unit.

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  7. Argh! How well I remember oil from our time in the Northeast! We timed our showers, and I washed all clothes in cold water! (Still mostly do.)
    Can you, going forward, ever install a pellet stove? Or would it be cost prohibitive? People up here swear by them in terms of cost savings /comfort.
    Here, we have a heat pump (electric) for hot water, and central heating /a.c. But, we also have a woodstove, which we use for heat when temps. dip to freezing. (About 2 weeks in Dec.) A cord of wood costs about $225 (delivered) and barring a long cold snap, lasts all winter. I can even cook on it! I was amazed when I saw our first heating bill...or lack of it. Even when we run the heat pump, it's low, because my northeast blood cannot bear nighttime sleeping temps. above 55, daytime above 65. When you open a window to regulate the temp. due to a woodstove, you don't see $$$$$ in your mind's eye flying out the window....especially when the wood source is from trees the wind felled on your property! Anyway, if you know anybody with a pellet stove, you should ask about it.

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    1. We rarely get a hot shower in the winter....tepid is a treat! And we wash in all cold water too.

      I have no idea about a pellet stove, other than I don't really think we have a place to put one. The house is 100+ years old, with small rooms, and plaster walls. The chimney is in the middle of the house, and it would eat up ALOT of our space, which is limited. We don't have a "functional" basement either.

      Thanks for the idea though.

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  8. Ouch... and I thought having heating go through the electric was bad. I hope it warms up soon and you get to stay within the budgeted amount!

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    1. Our first month when we moved here (to our apartment), we had electric heat, and it was $300!! I almost died! I learned really quick that a sweatshirt is better than a huge bill!

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  9. We're on a payment plan for our propane. Locked into our price for the year but it only went up $.01 from last year. We renew in July so our price was $150/month. Last month the bill informs me our new payment will be $308 to reflect usage and avoid large payment/credit at end of year. I went back and added all our usage from last year and this year and we're no where near over. There excuse was it's computer generated and they'll put it back to $150. I know propane is going up but I thought that was really sneaky of them. New Jersey has been too cold for me this year.

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    1. I just had a bill that was wrong and I heard blah blah blah.....and I know several others around the internet have said they have had bills that are wrong.

      Good for you for looking at the bill and knowing what is right!

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  10. Okay I am never going to complain about my heat bills again, now the water?

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    1. I think no matter where you live...there is always something that is higher than other areas.

      Gas here is about $3.62.....I know there are many areas that are cheaper!

      We rank at the top of the list for gas, property, and state taxes. And we have oil heat. :)

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  11. When our high temp is -1 for the day, it would be hard to have the standard waking temp 66-68. The wind has been killer in SE Wisconsin. Thankfully we have heated blankets that way we can keep the apt temp around 70 right now. Can't wait to see my W.E. Energies bill. blahhhh!

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    1. We will bump ours up for a little while if we have a very windy day. Just to take the chill off the house.

      My BFF is in WI and she gives me the weather daily out there. BRRR!

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  12. Wow!!! My natural gas bill was the highest it has been in years @$176 this past month. I would cry if my bill was as high as yours. My hydro bill is on budget billing at $154 a month.

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    1. Trust me...this is better than it was. In 2008, we were paying $517 a month just for oil, on the budget plan!!! This was when oil prices shot through the roof, and gas was over $4.00 a gallon as well.

      I would welcome a $176 bill...even though your electric is a little lower than ours.

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  13. I like that you updated your debt totals, but I notice that the debt is bigger rather than smaller. : (

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  14. Replies
    1. Why is the credit card balance still so high, and no progress has been made on anything else?

      My reason for not paying down my student loan: pure stupidity and poor planning. Nothing else. I have paid off quite a few other debts recently.

      You probably don't agree with this, but what I would do is refinance my home and roll all of my debts into a new mortgage. I figure if I'm going to be in debt for a mortgage I may as well move my other debt burdens into a lower interest home loan. Yeah, it sucks to go backwards on a mortgage, but it sucks more to have your cash flow suffer as a result of carrying too much debt all over the place.

      I mean, let's face it, it wouldn't be any better or worse than what you're doing now, but it would make things easier.

      Then again, with your credit in the toilet (I'm there myself now), that may not even be an option.

      I know you disagree, and I know you won't do it, but it's what I would do. But I don't plan on ever mortgaging...so take from it what you will.

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    2. This is not a good idea. Should home prices tank again, you will be shackled to your home from now until kingdom come.

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    3. Trust me, I there is no way we would do that. We are just now coming to the surface from being underwater (house value is $5k less than our mortgage....when it tanked last time, our house value was closer to $35k less).

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  15. Everything else is lower, with the exception of the CC, which is explained in Thursday's post. We were at 66k....added 6k....bringing it to 72...and now we are at 68. That is 4k paid off.

    This is the last post of yours that I am publishing. My credit score is 720....we are not broke....we may not be doing it on your tiimeline, but I really don't care. I invite you to read, but will no longer publish your comments.

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