Heating oil- how do you pay? payments plans?

[peacefulgirl]

I have always paid COD. Thinking of last year and the rates so high. I am wondering if there is a better way to budget for it, instead of getting slammed with a big payment for the winter months. In the dead of winter, we are gettting 200 gals every month here, running about 390 ish.

How do you pay? Is there a better way that you think works well?

 

[chrismiss56]

We have natural gas and am on a payment plan......which means I build up the credit in the summer and pay through the nose in the winter.

Have a Magical Disney Day!!

 

[jennifer293]

We own a chimney cleaning business and we are finding that more and more people are converting back to the old days and getting wood burning stoves or building their homes with wood burning fireplaces, because of the rise in gas prices.

So needless to say WE LOVE REALLY COLD WINTERS and rising gas prices.

How else could we afford to go to Disney World??..LOL

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I prefer the pay as go method. During the winter I look at as just another bill.
Why should i give them my money before I use the oil?

 

[C.Ann]

I have always paid COD. Thinking of last year and the rates so high. I am wondering if there is a better way to budget for it, instead of getting slammed with a big payment for the winter months. In the dead of winter, we are gettting 200 gals every month here, running about 390 ish.

How do you pay? Is there a better way that you think works well?

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200 gallons every MONTH?? Where the heck do you live? Is your house extremely large? My house was a 2-story, 4 bedroom and after we bought our new furnace, we only used 375 gallons for the entire winter - mid-October to mid-April and we're in upstate New York!

As for payment, I always did COD.. Of course if the price dropped really low during the summer, I would get my first tank full then instead of waiting until fall..

 

[Snoozan]

Here in Mass, I do pre-pay. I've already bought 750 gals for this upcoming winter. That should be more than enough to get me thru the frigid NE winter! I'm paying $1.97/gal -OUCH! About $.60 more than last winter, which was $.20 more than the winter before. I do get a small discount because my BIL works for the company I buy my oil from. Small help, but I'll take anything!

 

[cristbaby]

Call your oil company now and ask what is the best price they can give you and lock it in for the year. (it doesn't look like it is going to go down) We have called other companies and let our oil co. know what the cheapest price there is out there and can they match it. They have come through so far. Then you want to ask for their budget plan. You will pay a certain amount each month according to what they estimate you will use for the year. At the end of the year they either reimburse any overpayment or you pay the difference you owe. This has been the easiest way for us to do it. Good Luck!

 

[PoohBearLovinMama]

We do an automatic payment plan. They charge us each time for our fill up, every 5-6 weeks depending on how cold it is. But since it's automatically paid with our credit card and they come when they think we're low, we get a locked in rate of about $2.00 a gallon. They usually come when we're down to about an 1/8 of a tank.

C.Ann- We also live in upstate NY and our tank holds about 150 or so gallons. We need to fill up every 5-6 weeks because our house is pretty old (built in 1940's) and the insulation just isn't what it should be. When we set it for 72 degrees, the temp in the house is only 67. Drives me crazy!

 

[C.Ann]

C.Ann- We also live in upstate NY and our tank holds about 150 or so gallons. We need to fill up every 5-6 weeks because our house is pretty old (built in 1940's) and the insulation just isn't what it should be. When we set it for 72 degrees, the temp in the house is only 67. Drives me crazy!

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My house was built in 1941.. My son-in-law gutted the inside within the past year (I'm living with him and my DD now) so he could renovate the house and get it ready for me to put on the market soon.. In the downstairs there was NO insulation - upstairs had some.. All of the windows were the originals - and I swear, you could blow dry your hair just standing near one.. We used to go through oil like crazy, but after we got our new furnace the difference was amazing!! Now that everything has been done over, new insulation, new windows & doors, soon-to-be new flooring, new siding, etc., it will cost the new owners next to nothing to heat the place for the winter..

Is your furnace very old?

 

[PoohBearLovinMama]

My house was built in 1941.. My son-in-law gutted the inside within the past year (I'm living with him and my DD now) so he could renovate the house and get it ready for me to put on the market soon.. In the downstairs there was NO insulation - upstairs had some.. All of the windows were the originals - and I swear, you could blow dry your hair just standing near one.. We used to go through oil like crazy, but after we got our new furnace the difference was amazing!! Now that everything has been done over, new insulation, new windows & doors, soon-to-be new flooring, new siding, etc., it will cost the new owners next to nothing to heat the place for the winter..

Boy, I wish we could do this! We did buy new doors this year and it dramatically cut down on the airflow. All we need now is new insulation, windows, and siding. We put up plastic on the windows (all original), but with 2 cats and a very active toddler, it seems like there's always a hole in them. Every little bit helps though, I remember the first winter we lived here it was freezing in the house. I should check into a new furnace. Although it's not the original furnace, it could probably use updating.

Hope your next house is nice and toasty! Gotta love upstate NY winters.

 

[marcyinPA]

We used to pre-pay our oil, but then we never had the cash up front to do it anymore. Last year, we paid the going price when we needed oil, but we shopped around and never used the same company every time. This year, I'm going to try to lock in a rate and go on the auto delivery plan. I don't see the prices going down any, so it seems foolish to wait it out.

We have a 200 gallon tank and get it filled 2-3 times a year. That's for oil heat and hot water. (we have hot water cast iron radiators...hate them! LOL)

 

[peacefulgirl]

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200 gallons every MONTH?? Where the heck do you live? Is your house extremely large? My house was a 2-story, 4 bedroom and after we bought our new furnace, we only used 375 gallons for the entire winter - mid-October to mid-April and we're in upstate New York!

As for payment, I always did COD.. Of course if the price dropped really low during the summer, I would get my first tank full then instead of waiting until fall..

I live in NE too and its COLD in the winter for sure!

My house was built in 1980. When I put in 200 gals its not even full! The original owners built on a lot of rooms and they built in length. So we have 3 thermastats. The newer additions have newer windows, but the original house has old one... They so need to be replaced!

There is 2 bedrooms and 1 full bath upstairs, but there is only electric heat up here and no one "lives" up here so we don't use it. I refuse to turn on electric heaters. My computer room is upstairs and I just grab a blanket when I am up here.

We have two fireplaces, one has a woodstove we put in. But, we are never home long enough to fire it up ! We wouldn't leave it going with no one home. Just our deal I guess.

I don't think my oil Co has payment plans, not sure why I think that. I guess I will call around.

Thanks for the info all!

 

[mudnuri]

A few things to point out

1st, if your paying cash on delivery- chances are high that your paying more than your neighbor who pre-bought or budget. Last year, cash price here, reached 2.76 a gallon.

2nd if your not using the same company regularly- your may have a problem if you have a problem with your furnance, unless you have a furnace man whose independent near you. Most oil/heating companies will not offer you 24 hour emergency service if your not an oil company...just a FYI

the difference between a budget and a pre-buy at least here, is as follows

You call and tell them you will need X gallons per winter, we'll use me and my company as an example, you can see the difference in the end. (these are last years figures, as not many companies here are doing a budget with a guarantee'd rate)

budget plan
500 gallons, x 2.24 per gallon $1120.00
Budget / 8 months $ 140.00 per month

Pre-buy plan
500 gallons x 2.08 per gallon $1040.00

Difference- $80.00

Another difference, budget at this company payments start oct 1st, pre-buy is due paid in full by august 31st. That might be a factor for some people...

In my case, its not "that much" of a savings, but for some of these houses that use upwards of 1,000's of gallons of oil- my mom for instance in her house- used 1500 gallons during a winter- EASILY.. and that was set at 70. Old house, no insulation, old furnace etc.

I was going to go with budget, but they can't lock me in a price, so I'm going to go with pre-buy, it messes up my finances for a few weeks, but in the end, I'll be ahead...

Brandy

 

[disneysnowflake]

We pay as we go. We use oil heat and have 2 fuel tanks. We just filled both tanks at the cost of $1.96 per gallon. My husband says this should last us through the Winter.. we hope. You never know what the Winter will bring.

Our neighbor has a budget plan. She pays a set amount each month and locks in a price of $2.01 per gallon. She is not happy at all, but she signed a contract for keep this budget plan until June.

 

[wanna-b-Tink]

A few things to point out

1st, if your paying cash on delivery- chances are high that your paying more than your neighbor who pre-bought or budget. Last year, cash price here, reached 2.76 a gallon.

2nd if your not using the same company regularly- your may have a problem if you have a problem with your furnance, unless you have a furnace man whose independent near you. Most oil/heating companies will not offer you 24 hour emergency service if your not an oil company...just a FYI


Brandy

I was going to mention those two things. On buying wherever its cheaper... The company I work for also owns a propane company. I can tell you that if it is really cold, and you aren't a regular customer of ours, you are going to be at the bottom of our fill list, AND you are going to pay more per gallon. Could be a couple of days before we get to you. We take care of our "keep full" customers first, our "will call" customers next, and the "every now and then" customers last.

The price lock is the best deal if you can afford it. Lock in that price when it is at its lowest.

Now I am personally on natural gas, which I loathe. Don't have to worry about running out, as it just flows right through that pipeline, but boy is it expensive. And all of our appliances run on it.

 

[gothmommie]

We prepay. This year our prepayment price was 1.999 and we ordered 1000 gallons. Considering that if I were to order 151 gallons NOW I would pay 1.97, I knew that this was the right thing for us to do (again).

As for finding out who offers prepayment plans, you're spot on - call around and ask. That's what I did. To make it easier for next year when I was calling around for prices I listed all the companies and their telephone numbers. You'll want to ask if they have a prepayment plan OR a price cap. plan (you will market value but never more than predetermined, contracted cap). The time to do this is now as most companies started or closed their prepayment/cap plans at the end of Juneh.

Good luck!

 

[peacefulgirl]

Thanks for the info, I will call tomorrow. ICK not how I want to start my week

but it's a must!

 

[peacefulgirl]

For last winter I got 200 gals in:

Sept Nov Jan Feb Mar May total was $2058 price average $343 month over the 6 months.

But we know the prices are eben higher now YIKES!!!!!!!!!!

calling now ........

 

[C.Ann]

For last winter I got 200 gals in:

Sept Nov Jan Feb Mar May total was $2058 price average $343 month over the 6 months.

But we know the prices are eben higher now YIKES!!!!!!!!!!

calling now ........

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If I were you, I would seriously consider budgeting in a new energy efficient furnace/boiler at the very least.. You're throwing away TONS of money that you don't need to.. Ask me - I know.. I did it for years.. With just the new furnace alone (and no other weather tight improvements) I almost fainted when I saw how much money we saved - and how much money we COULD have saved had we done it sooner..

 

[peacefulgirl]

--------------------------------

If I were you, I would seriously consider budgeting in a new energy efficient furnace/boiler at the very least.. You're throwing away TONS of money that you don't need to.. Ask me - I know.. I did it for years.. With just the new furnace alone (and no other weather tight improvements) I almost fainted when I saw how much money we saved - and how much money we COULD have saved had we done it sooner..

I am going to ask DH how old the furnace is, but I believe it isn't the original. We have it cleaned every year. We have a seperate service guy than our oil, our oil guy is COD oil only, no service. Hmmmm