Are you buying oil right now for winter? Prices going up or down?

[kpgclark]

Our oil company is offering two scenarios this year:

1. We buy the oil at a guaranteed $1.55/gallon. That's the price for the whole winter.

2. We buy the oil at $1.65. If the price goes up we only pay $1.65 but if it goes down we pay the lower price.

What do you think will happen with oil this year? Which scenario would you pick?

 

[kpgclark]

 

[nealymouse]

I do this plan every year and so far it was worked well. I lock in July when the prices are low (if you can call prices low LOL) I am at $1.49 tops. Pay lower price if it goes lower

I pay my oil bill for 10 months a year (Aug- May). They figure what I use for the year and set up a monthy plan where it comes right out of my checking account.

At the end of May I either owe for using more then we figured or get a credit back.

I like knowing up front what my oil will cost. No huge oil bills threw the winter

 

[winniedapooh]

I dunno we are in a similar predicament. I like scenario number two better. We have been offered a fixed price of 1.59 or 1.55, can't remember. We usually get our contract in July and this year it came last week. Even the oil man has no idea what to do or how much to charge. I think even DH would say go for number 2. It will never go higher but will go down if the price goes down. Sounds good to me.

 

[Beanie]

We just bought oil in August at $1.41 a gallon. Our oil man said the price would only go up from there, so we bought it now and have enough for winter. Very expensive this year.

 

[Mskanga]

Our propane company does not do lock in anymore , so now we pay as we go , get the first fill up in August, then another one in October and usually a couple more during the winter but I will suplement heat with wood this year , so that should help not to use so much propane.

 

[Mamu]

We also lock in at a set price. If the price lowers we pay the lower price. Althought I was not overjoyed with this years cap (.29 more a gallon) Hoping prices stay under the cap.

 

[bjgrazi]

I haven't thought about buying oil in years, now the house we're moving to has an oil tank. I guess I have to start thinking about it.

Last time I brought oil it was .96 a gallon

 

[Dan Murphy]

Last year (just finishing this month), we were able to lock a flat natural gas monthly cost, fixed for 12 months. Regardless of our usage, or price per therm, my month cost would be exactly the same for each of the 12 months. I liked it and renewed for another year, about 8% higher than last, which looks acceptable to me, based on futures predictions.

 

[meeshi]

We went with the capped rate (1.33) instead of the fixed rate (1.28). We did this last year also. I have no idea what oil prices are going to do, but it's nice to get it paid for ahead of time.

 

[Mskanga]

Ok , now you are making me call other companies....

 

[Lisa F]

Unfortunately we have NO clue what our oil usage will be. The previous owner of this house was a cheap ******* who claims that he barely used a full tank the entire 15 years he lived in the house (he had a wood stove that was not to code in the dining room that he removed before putting the house on the market) so we can't even make a guess. For one year we are likely going to have to go with the "price cap" plan since we can't even take a stab at how much we will need for the season. Hopefully this season will give us some idea. I would have liked to go on the budget plan for electric and gas as well but his bill was $30/month and I KNOW that there was no way we'd use that little especially in the summer since we have a/c units and he did not.

 

[chris1gill]

I prefer some of your prices Our oil company is offering a lock in rate of 1.69 & when we filled up three weeks ago (without the lock in) that's the price we paid... they said the oil will only go up this year from there... I'm very very upset about it, I've never had to lock in at anything higher than 1.29.... Let's just say upset isn't even the word I want to use

 

[KristaTX]

You can tell I'm from the southern part of the U.S. Most heaters here are part of the house's central air conditioning system and run on either electricity or natural gas. I'm just curious - What kind of heaters run on oil that you buy and store in a tank ?

 

[Chattyaholic]

We use propane, and can fill our house fuel tank at the same time they fill our corn dryer tanks so we get a pretty good price then. We still have 40% in the tank from when it was last filled, so probably won't need to have it filled until near the end of the corn drying season (October/early November) then hopefully will just have to have it "topped off" a couple more times.

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

I locked in at a fixed rate of $1.54/gallon. I was also told that prices would only go up from there . . .

Last year I locked in at $1.19/gallon . . .

 

[disneyatl]

Originally posted by KristaTX
You can tell I'm from the southern part of the U.S. Most heaters here are part of the house's central air conditioning system and run on either electricity or natural gas. I'm just curious - What kind of heaters run on oil that you buy and store in a tank ?

I was thinking the same thing

 

[BedKnobbery2]

Krista, a furnace or "boiler" (as they are sometimes called) burns oil (or gas) for heat. To try and heat a home in the north with electricity during the winter is prohibitively expensive.

I don't know what I did right, but I got locked in at a rate of $1.28 this year. I'm happy with that.

 

[mudnuri]

I'm locked in at "sweat equity"......we dont burn oil in the winter and have to worry about locking in. Back in May I filled up our 275 gallon tank and that will last us again, till May. I use oil only in the fall and spring, to take the morning chill out.

Once its cold days and nights, the wood fired furnace is started. We usuall burn about 8 cords of wood, and our wood is free. All of my DBIL's have acreage, and we have to cut it and bring it home. Everyone in DH's family burns so we spend 4-5 weekends doing wood, and delivering it to everyones house.

My furnace, being wood fired, works like a typical oil fired forced hot air furnace. When the woodbox reaches a certain temp, a blower kicks on, and blows the hot air through the vents. Even without the blower, the living floor of my house, is about 78-82 in the winter. Theres no way to lower it, without using oil...the furnace set up is huge! Big enough for a 3 story, 3K sq feet house, and mines 1 story, 1K sq feet LOL

my mom, did do a prebuy- it was 1.55 a gallon- and she bought 1,000 gallons. this should last her till about March

Brandy