With summer just around the corner, it’s a good idea to start planning your heating oil budget for this upcoming winter! This past winter was definitely an intense one, so hopefully this next one isn’t as bad! But, I imagine with the warm weather we’ve been having and the nice weather on the horizon, heating oil is the last thing on your mind!
Plus, with high prices at the time of writing, creating a budget plan will help you be prepared! Prices are currently ranging from around 4.50 to 4.79 per gallon in Danbury! They’ve been erratic since the start of the war with Iran. But now’s a good time as any for you to start budgeting because of the high prices!
Your Annual Usage
If you’ve been following FuelSnap for a while, you’ll know I’ve covered this topic before. To keep it short, your annual usage is determined by two major factors. These factors are the size of your house and daily usage. The bigger your house is, the more you’re going to be burning. But if your daily usage is low or non-existent, then you might find yourself burning much less annually! Your home’s insulation also plays a major role in this as well! Well-insulated homes will tend to hold heat better than homes that aren’t, which tends to result in low usage. But, if your boiler is heating oil based, then it’s best to be aware that you might see yourself burning upwards of at least 100 gallons extra a year.
Keeping that all in mind, the average home will burn roughly at least 900 gallons of oil a year. But, if your home is bigger and/or older, then your annual usage will be different. What your usage will be daily, weekly, monthly and annually is important to know. Which is why getting a Smart Oil Gauge is incredibly useful. Using a Smart Oil Gauge will help you keep track of your usage and oil level! Otherwise, you can keep track of your deliveries and use that to calculate your usage in-between fill-ups.
Budgeting by Price
Heating Oil Prices have had a lot of fluctuation over the past couple of years. Especially in 2022 when Russia Invaded Ukraine, and now with the war with Iran, prices are all over the place! This has caused oil prices to not have stable prices or consistency. While before the war with Iran, prices wouldn’t normally get above $4, that’s not the case anymore. Average prices right now are around $4.50 a gallon! Some dealers are even charging upwards of around $5 per gallon or more! If you fill your standard 275 gallon oil tank, a complete fill-up might cost you over $1200!
Due to these high prices, it might be a better idea not to do as many fill-ups. With the current prices, ordering less oil would be the best thing to do when you budget. When the tank gets to around half a tank of oil, ordering 100 gallons could help you save money and ensure that you have oil on the way. It’s currently spring, so you might not need to order as frequently or as much as you would in the winter. But at over $4 a gallon, ordering 100 gallons at around half a tank will help you save on costs. On a standard 275 gallon tank, ordering 100 gallons will only cost you $450. This is much cheaper than a complete fill.
Making a Savings Plan
If you’re not burning oil now, then it’s the perfect time to order oil and save some money. If you’ve filled up your tank before this spring season, then you won’t need to worry about ordering oil to top off your tank! However, coming up with a savings plan for the winter is something that you should consider! Putting a set amount of money aside with each paycheck will be very helpful for you long-term! Doing this will help give you a set of funds that’s only used for heating oil! I tend to do this when planning a vacation or major event. It’s a great way to budget and prepare yourself!
You can determine how much you’ll need by comparing your last seasons usage data. If you burned a lot of oil last season, then you might need to put more aside than you initially thought. For example, if you get paid biweekly, setting aside $100 a paycheck over the course of spring or summer will mean that you’ll have $1200-$1400 saved by the time heating oil season starts in early to late October. If prices are back to normal by then, you should be able to get a couple deliveries out of that much money.
Conclusion
How you budget for heating oil season is completley up to you. However, it’s always a good idea to start saving money for heating oil season. I would strongly suggest starting to put money aside for the next heating oil season. Having this extra money aside strictly for heating oil, will be very beneficial.
However, with the current prices of heating oil on the rise, ordering less oil for now is a smart idea. While typically we recommend ordering at a quarter tank, with how prices are now, ordering at half a tank is a better decision financially.
Happy Heating!
Hunter
