25,000 Reasons to Pamper Your Credit

Would you take good care of your credit score if you knew someday it could save you $25,000? What if you wouldn't see the savings immediately, if you had to wait a year or two? How about if you had to wait 10 years — could you keep your credit score healthy if you knew it would pay off big time?

I'm sure you've heard many cautionary tales of families that ruined their credit and couldn't get a loan when they needed it most. How would you like to hear something a little different? Rather than keeping you up at night worrying about all the bad things that can happen financially when you have bad credit, what if I could tell you a story that might get you excited about the opportunities that come from good credit?

Just a few months ago, we were a family whose credit score didn't really make much difference in our daily lives. It had been 10 years since we'd bought a house and eight years since we borrowed money for a car. We hadn't really needed our credit score for its primary purpose — to help us get a loan.

Then suddenly, in two short weeks, our credit score went from relative obscurity to one of the most important numbers in our life. For a variety of reasons, we were looking to buy a house but we couldn't afford all the criteria we were looking for in a new home.

That all changed one Friday afternoon when our realtor called me with some good news and some bad news. We had made an unbelievably low offer on a short sale, for $25,000 less than their already discounted asking price. Good news was that the bank had accepted our offer, but the bad news was we had to close on the new house by the following Friday.

If you've ever applied for a home loan, you know that you can't just go out and borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars in one week's time. The only thing that stood between us and an amazing deal on a house was the bank underwriting process.

Thanks to some skillful maneuvering by our realtor to buy us a little more time and the fast-tracking of our loan by our bank, we ended up closing on the house five hours before the deadline. None of that would have been possible if it weren't for a good credit history and excellent credit score.

Your credit is one of those things that you can ignore for a long time but when the moment comes, you'll wish you hadn't. It's kind of like ignoring a major health condition: You can get by for a while and feel just fine but eventually it will come back to bite you big time.

If we had ignored our credit for the last 10 years, there's no way we would have gotten the deal we just did. Not only that — your credit score impacts your interest rate, which can end up saving or costing you thousands of dollars over the life of a home mortgage.

So, how do you pamper your credit?

Make your payments on time.Keep your balances low.Don't close old accounts.Keep your credit utilization low (used credit vs. available credit).

Taking care of your credit basically means showing future potential lenders that you don't borrow more than you can afford and that you regularly pay back what you owe. Stick to those principles and you might have a chance to save a lot of money in the future. It could be less than $25K, or maybe more. The thing is, you'll never know unless you pamper your credit score!

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Budget Building Blocks

Every financial plan starts with a solid budget. It doesn't matter if you live check to check or make six figures, you need to know where your money is going in order to maintain your financial health positively. People hear budget and see hand cuffs and restraints but in fact a budget can provide real financial freedom and even reduce stress. Knowing how much money you have and where it goes can easily be achieved with establishing a budget and sticking to it.

First, you want to establish where you're currently at, your debt to income ratio. As most of us are paid on a weekly or bi-monthly basis, this is best identified by a monthly breakdown versus an annual assessment. Start with your income.

How much money are you bringing in each month? You want to evaluate the net amount not the gross. The net amount is the amount received after taxes, social security, and any other deductions you may be incurring. An easy way to remember gross versus net: Its -gross- how much gets taken out of your check each pay period. You -net- what you take home, like what you've caught in a net. I like the gross taxes one myself, lol. Now, if you share household expenses with a spouse or roommate, etc you'll want to account for their wages/contributions as well to properly coincide with your expenses.

Once you've established how much money you're bringing in you'll then need to know how much money you're paying out each month. Start a list, beginning with the necessities: mortgage, rent, car note, insurance, medical, and any other bills you're required to pay each month at a standard rate. Then, start accounting for the expenses that are every month, but the amounts vary. These would include things like gasoline, utilities, food, etc. Estimate an average monthly amount on these based on previous months and old statements and receipts. Ok, so you now have accounted for your living expenses that are required to survive. You'll now want to assess what other expenses you incur every month in your day to day dealings.

Are you a smoker? Do you eat fast food? Order out? Shop online? Go to the movies? Get your car washed? Groom the dog? These miscellaneous expenses are usually what put people over the top but can easily be regulated with a solid budget. An easy way to identify what you're spending your money on is to check your previous bank statements and see what you've previously purchased with a debit card or visa transactions.

Adding up all your monthly expenses totals your monthly debt ratio. Subtract this number from your monthly income amount to see if you have disposable income remaining or if you're in the negative. Being in the negative means youre overextended and some adjustments need to be made to keep a positive debt to income ratio and avoid further financial conflicts down the road.

A certified credit counselor can provide a free budget counseling session and provide a free financial analysis to evaluate your budget and help find ways to cut some expenses and help you get back on track. There are tons of ways to cut costs and save on insurance plans, cell phone plans, etc that a certified credit counselor can advise on and help decrease your monthly expenses.

Call one today at 800.905.1563 or visit our website freedomdm.org to learn more about budget counseling, debt consolidation, and how to improve your credit score. Our non-profit counselors are here to provide free advice and help you start building your financial future.

Credit counselor.

How to Do a Simple Home Budget

Creating a home budget system is a sure fire way to get your money to go further, and it costs nothing. Once you have all your expenses and your income laid out in front of you, it becomes a lot easier to see where your money is disappearing to, which enables you to do something about it.

If you have a computer, creating a home budget system is really easy. (Even if you don't have a computer, it is still a very good idea.) If you don't have a program like Word or Excel on your computer, you can download a lookalike compatible office suite of programs from Openoffice dot org absolutely free, which will do the job perfectly. I use them myself. If you don't know how to use these programs that's also OK; then you just type all your budget items into any wordprocessor or notepad.

OK, to start you need to split the page into 2 columns and put all your income in the one column. List everything so that you know exactly where the money is coming from.

Then, in the other column, list all your expenses, even the tiny ones. If necessary, keep all your slips and receipts from shopping, and enter them into the expenses side. Don't forget to also enter unseen things like debit orders and insurance deductions that the bank automatically takes out of your account each month.

Also list stuff like tips and donations that you may have made.

Once you have all the info entered, then add up the two sides and check if your income is more or less than your expenses. If it's more (Hallelujah!) then try and save the excess (or at least some of it) in a high interest account, or pay off some high interest debt with it.

If the expenses are more than the income, then you need to go through the list of expenses and see what you can remove. What we do is we budget in advance for the month ahead. For example, we budget say $15 for newspapers: we take the $15 in cash, and put it in a little plastic zip lock bag, and we keep it in a cash box until we use it. And we do the same with other stuff like Friends birthday presents, Postage stamps, Petty cash (ie emergency money) and so on. But if it's a bad month, we would leave out certain things. In other words, we prioritize our needs, and do away with things we can live without. So we would leave the Newspapers bag empty, for example, and just get our news off the radio or TV. It's not always pleasant, but at least we stay out of debt.

If you are using a Word processor like Word or Openoffice, you can create a table, and add some formula, and the program will add up the columns for you, so that as you change things, you can see how it's affecting your bottom line. This makes it a lot easier to work things out. Also, each month you just copy the last months budget document, change the date at the top and about half of the figures (a lot stay the same each month, like rent, insurance, etc) and you get the budget done in half an hour less time.

It normally takes about 1-2 hours to do this budget, and it's time well spent.

Duncan Kelly

Visit the WrinklyO Web Node at http://wrinklyo.googlepages.com
Check out the site for moneymaking tips and ideas.

A lot of other items are there that you may just be interested in, so click through all the pages on the site.

Check out the Promotions and Special Offers Page!

May you have a successful day!

Duncan Kelly

Money Management Techniques That Will Help You Towards a Secure Financial Future

Life is hard at the best of times but it is doubly difficult to meet ends meet at the present time. What with the credit crunch, the downturn in the global economies and job cuts in almost all the industries. We all want to live the life of our dreams by having a better house to live in, drive the car of our dreams and pay our bills without having concerns about our bank balance at the end of the month. Most of these things are possible with changing our lifestyle and better money management.

Nowadays every bit of information that we need is at our fingertips because of the internet and this is also true for money management. There are hundreds of sites offering you advice and information on how to become debt free with money saving tips. There are money management sites which cater to your financial planning with lots of advice and information on how to manage your money more efficiently.

It is no surprise that money issues seem to hit the younger generation the hardest. This is probably because the instant culture that affects young people and very poor money management habits. Young adults want to have things that they often fail to realize are out of their budgetary reach. One thing that we can attribute this to is the ease of getting instant credit. Another reason for this is that most young people want to live their life at the level of their parents but they fail to realize that it has taken their parents twenty or thirty years to get where they are.

Money management techniques and money saving tips have become quite popular in the recent months. More and more people begin to realize that to move towards a debt free future, you need to start saving money in all the areas that you possibly can. One place people are turning to achieve this is the internet, where you can find many organizations that provide sound financial advice and practical info on how to start achieving all your financial goals, understand everything from financial planning to getting out of debt, to managing your money wisely, to saving for your future.

If you are some one who finds themselves in a financial predicament then there are many organizations out there waiting to help you. Consumer credit counseling services offer confidential budget, credit, and housing advice in addition to debt management, financial education, and bankruptcy counseling. Money saving tips and money management advice are available online from a number of sources. All you have to do is to reach out and help is at hand that can help you on your way to a better financial future. You will have to make sacrifices on the way but when you look back, you will realize that it was worth all that effort that you put in.

Nim Aulakh is a writer and webmaster. He has already many articles published. For more money management and money saving tips towards a more financially secure future please visit our site, http://www.homebudgetandfinance.com

Multiple Streams of Income

The author of the rags-to-riches real estate bestseller Nothing Down for the '90s presents advice drawn from 20 years of writing and promoting get-rich books through seminars, infomercials, and home-study courses. In Multiple Streams of Income, Robert G. Allen shows you how to create income with little or no investment. Says Allen: "Today, very few families can survive on less than two streams of income. In the volatile future, you will need a portfolio of income streams--not one or two--but many streams from completely different and diversified sources."

Beginning with advice on controlling spending and increasing savings, Allen hits his stride in chapters on stock market and real estate investing. He draws on the investment advice of others, including Peter Lynch, and even suggests that you invest in Berkshire Hathaway and let Warren Buffett manage your money. Allen also shares his real estate strategies for finding motivated sellers, securing creative financing, and buying foreclosures and tax liens. Additional chapters cover multilevel-network marketing, information and product licensing, and marketing on the Internet. Throughout are checklists, work sheets, and testimonials, as well as pointers to more articles and materials on the author's Web site. It's useful to have so much information so concisely and well explained, and many who read this book will find it hard to resist implementing one, if not several, of Allen's recommended income strategies. --Scott Harrison

Price: $39.95

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Ask the Readers: Will This Winter Be More Expensive? (Chance to Win!)

Ask the Readers: Will This Winter Be More Expensive? (Chance to Win!) | Wise Bread AboutContactAdvertise Hot Story 10 Financial Perks of Marriage Personal FinanceBankingCars and TransportationCredit CardsDebt ManagementFinancial NewsInsuranceInvestmentsReal Estate and HousingRetirementTaxesMore in Personal FinanceFrugal LivingBudgetingDIYEntertainmentFood and DrinkGreen LivingHealth and BeautyHomeLifestyleShoppingStyleTravelMore in Frugal LivingCareerCareer BuildingEducation & TrainingEntrepreneurshipExtra IncomeJob HuntingMore in Career & IncomeLife HacksConsumer AffairsFamilyGeneral TipsOrganizationPersonal DevelopmentProductivityTechnologyMore in Life HacksBest DealsDaily DealsGiveawaysSmall BusinessForumsMoreHow-To GuidesTop Financial BlogsWise Bread BookMoney Tips NetworkSubmit a Guest PostContact UsAbout Our Writers Home » Deals and Coupons » Giveaways Ask the Readers: Will This Winter Be More Expensive? (Chance to Win!) by Linsey Knerl on 4 October 2010 (37 comments) Photo: harmonicagoldfish ShareThis Share

It's getting cold in many parts of the country. Tomatoes have fallen off, vines have frozen, and the grass no longer needs mowing. Many people are looking ahead to gas bills, fireplaces, and the rising cost of certain types of energy. But will this year be more expensive than last?

What are you hearing in the "markets?" Do you worry that you won't be able to afford the cost of keeping warm? Is there a chance that you won't be able to pay for what it takes to keep your home comfortable? Or are you positive — knowing that you'll get through it no matter what?

We want to know. Let us know if you think it will cost more to heat your home or office. If you share your prediction (along with any facts for thinking so), you'll be entered to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win one of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards!

We're doing three giveaways — one for random comments, one for random Facebook "Likes", and another one for random tweets.

How to Enter:Post your answer in the comments below,Go to our Facebook page, "Like" us, then "Like" the update mentioning this giveaway (you can comment, as well — but you don't have to for entry.)Tweet your answer. Include both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" in your tweet so we'll see it and count it.

If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.

Giveaway Rules:Contest ends Monday, October 11th at 11:59 pm CST. Winners will be announced after October 11th on the original post and via Twitter. Winners will also be contacted via email and Twitter Direct Message.You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.Only tweets that contain both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" will be entered. (Otherwise, we won't see it.)Only those who have "Liked" both our Facebook page and the contest update will be entered.

Good Luck!

Read More Ask the Readers: Do You Honestly Follow a Budget? (Chance to win $20)Ask the Readers: Can Someone Be "Too" Wealthy? (Chance to win!)Ask the Readers: If You Could Have One Wish (Chance to win $20!)Ask the Readers: What Money Advice are You Sick Of? (Chance to Win $20!)Ask the Readers: How Do You Relieve Stress? (Chance to win $20!) 0 No votes yet Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5 Your rating: None Share (37) add comment ShareThis ADVERTISEMENT Related Topics on Wise BreadAsk the Readers Buxr Giveaway Career Building Deals and Coupons Entrepreneurship Family giveaway Giveaways parenting pregnancy Community Manager Linsey Knerl

Frugal homeschooler, Mom of (soon to be) 5 children, wife, work-at-home writer, hobby farmer, and music lover.

Linsey Knerl's profile Best of Wise Bread 7 Things I'd Love to Change About Meetings How Long Can You Stay in Your Home After You Stop Paying the Mortgage? 15 Awesome Storage Solutions for Under $10 Health Care Reform: Good for People Like Me 10 Ways to Save Time by Spending Time 10 Tips to Save You from an ATM Skimmer comments 37 discussionsAdd New Comment Comment: * CAPTCHAThis tests helps prevent automated spam submissions. Your name: * E-mail: Website: 5 Oct. 2010 | 2:41 AM beck middleton #1

We have just bought our first home(a renovation project) and have built a fireplace. Hopefully the fire will keep the whole house warm, and we will try to collect all free wood that we can to save money! I'll certainly be spending less than last year as I used an electric heater which was very expensive to run.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 3:12 AM david/moneycrashers #2

I've heard the price of natural gas has dropped considerably. Which is great!

It was a hot summer here in Atlanta, but already cooler than normal.

Who knows?

I say break out the thermal underwear adn keep the thermostat low

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 6:11 AM Patricia #3

Well, of course! The summer proved to be more expensive with the rising cost of everything! So I'm saying the winter will be no different! I just can't make ends meet!!

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 6:19 AM gt0163c #4

I'm not worried, especially about keeping warm this winter. I live in North Texas and, despite the "North" in the name of the region, it doesn't really get that cold here. I'll turn the heat on at some point, but probably not before Thanksgiving. And it will, most likely be off before Ground Hog Day. The bigger issue, for me at least, is keeping cool in the summer.
Even if I did have a gas bill as big as my summer electricity bill, I'd still make it through. Living well below my means and having a big emergency fund means that I'm not worried about the winter (or even the summer or spring or fall) months.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 7:43 AM Tim #5

My local Propane supplier tells me it's gonna be a cold winter and to expect propane prices to rise steadily over the coming months. Of course they are selling me (but I had already pre bought anyway)...but based on mild winter last year I think we are due for a freezer in VT.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 7:55 AM Debbie #6

If the fall is any indication, probably colder and colder equals more expensive.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 7:57 AM Raquel #7

As much as I wish it won't be so; it will! This winter is going to be one of the coldest my family has seen in awhile. It will be so because of the high cost of gas heating (which we could barely afford the last time we had it) and because the house we rent isn't properly insulated, has old windows and there is daylight coming through around the doors and through the mortor spots in the basement. But we will make it through...we have sweaters, longjohns, wooly socks, housecoats and blankets to-boot to help keep us warm in the house (bet we don't have to layer so much once we step outside though).

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 8:08 AM Rhonda #8

I hope this winter is better than last winter. We spent as much to stay warm in Tennessee as we usually did in Pennsylvania. I did not envy our friends up North last winter.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 8:15 AM Norman #9

As the dollar gets weaker because of our ballooning national debt, it will cause commodity prices to increase. So, yes, I believe we will be paying more for fuel this coming winter and for many years to come.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 8:40 AM Terry D #10

I think it will cost me about the same for heat as last winter. Natural gas prices are stable or maybe a little lower than last year. I use a space heater, programmable thermostat, and electric blanket in addition to the furnace.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 9:41 AM Stace #11

I'm afraid it will be a more expensive winter. Costs are already heating up as it gets colder in the deep south. We need cheaper fuel sources!

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 10:04 AM Eric #12

Luckily, Seattle is pretty temperate, so it rarely gets super-cold here. So I don't think there'll be a huge price difference for heating.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 10:21 AM Kristy #13

I have a hard time believing it will even get cold enough to use the heater this winter here in Dallas. Only in the past week has it even gotten "somewhat less than hot" outside.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 10:28 AM echomyst #14

Yes, it'll be more expensive this winter... not because of rises in fuel costs or anything like that, but we now have a baby! While previously we were content to put on extra sweaters (and even coats) at home, it seems unfair to our baby to have to wear layers of clothes when we could set the temperature a little higher.

Also, farmers' almanac says this will be a colder winter than before. I don't doubt it...

We'll try our best to continue keeping costs low with our fireplace (free firewood from father-in-law's property!), extra sweaters, hot beverages, lots of snuggling, etc.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 10:33 AM cwaltz #15

I'm expecting the cost to be similar. Last year was an extremely cold winter for the region. However, even if the winter is milder we still received a rate increase for electricity(it's a no win proposition because even when people don't use electricity we end up getting increases to cover the fact that it was mild weather-I kid you not).

Christine
dazed1821@aol.com

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 10:34 AM Sweta #16

Yes it will probably be more expensive this winter but I plan on turning the heat on as less as possible and cover up with blankets.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 10:36 AM victoria #17

We are expecting a very cold winter here in New Hampshire after a very hot summer! Seems the weather is getting weirder every year...

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 11:13 AM Aaron #18

I think it will be - but not much more than last year. I also think folks are more aware of conservation techniques to save energy etc - so this will help too

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 11:13 AM Mariel #19

Of course it will be, mostly because we do not have enough cash, and very likely we will use credit cards, which generates interest and because of that, the final payment is always higher...

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 11:22 AM Tim #20

I think it'll be a more expensive winter..time to break out the snuggie..

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 11:39 AM Emily #21

I plan to wear warmer clothing and use more blankets, so I'm hoping this winter will be less expensive. Fingers crossed!

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 11:43 AM Stacey07 #22

We're hoping to have the same or lower costs - we just installed new doors and windows, and "topped off" our attic insulation to improve our house's heating efficiency. We also filled our heating tanks (500 gallons total) so that we won't have to purchase again when the price goes up in winter.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 11:44 AM Diane #23

It depends on whether we have a cold winter like we did last year (for the south). Energy costs are up, so it could be bad. Summer has been bad with the extreme heat & increased energy costs. I'm prepared for the worst and hoping for the best!

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 12:48 PM Carmen #24

I'm worried that we're going to have an early and exceptionally cold winter this year. We'll have a newborn in the house this year, so we'll have to keep the thermostat up a bit from our normal temps. Also, with only one of us working, finances could be tight if we end up with a high gas bill all winter long. Again, we're beginning to wish we'd installed a wood-burning fireplace for supplemental heat instead of a gas one.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 2:01 PM Tamie Pichette #25

This winter my husband and I are going to be trying out hardest to cut back on alot of our expenses. IE: date night might be a skidoo ride instead of dinner and a movie. We will be reusing winter suits for our kids and turning down the heat when we leave the house and at night and shutting of lights when we leave a room :) :) :) :)

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 2:21 PM KelR1 #26

No, this winter won't be any more expensive. I'm in MN, and most winters are equally cold and equally expensive. Plus, I'm a naturally warm person and it's so much easier to keep warm than it is to keep cool. Throw on a sweatshirt and snuggle under a blanket!

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 2:42 PM Bill #27

Temperatures will be more erratic, with cold spells and even hotter days. It'll cost more more for most people to heat their homes.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 4:56 PM Lynda #28

yes because a lot of necessities have gone up in price so it will seem more costly.

REPLY 5 Oct. 2010 | 4:57 PM Jessica #29

We are lucky to live in an apartment where heat is included, so I'm not too worried about staying warm at home. However, my office is FREEZING year-round (too much A/C in the summer and not enough heat in the winter). Everyone on my floor spends the winter wearing their coats and hats. I am a person who is naturally cold anyway, so the worst part of work every day is never getting warm enough. Last year was my first winter on the job and so I was under the delusion that if enough people complained they would turn up the heat. However, this has apparently been going on for several years, so this winter I will be spending more money to keep myself warm. I have invested in thermal underwear and convertible mittens/fingerless gloves, and will probably bring in a space heater and maybe a Snuggie if I'm brave enough. To me, it is worth the investment not to freeze 40 hours a week.

REPLY 6 Oct. 2010 | 4:48 AM Gemma #30

I predict a cold winter and prices of fuels will be on the increase, thereby making it an more expensive heating season. We have an outdoor woodstove, oil furnace and a woodstove in the basement.

REPLY 6 Oct. 2010 | 9:36 AM Heather B #31

I tweeted this giveaway!
@railroadmommy

REPLY 6 Oct. 2010 | 9:39 AM Heather B #32

I have a new baby so my heating bill will definitely be higher. I normally leave the thermostat at 65 but am setting it a few degrees higher so she will be warm. I also heard we are expecting a super cold winter in the PNW. Bundle up!

REPLY 6 Oct. 2010 | 10:46 AM Karlie #33

I don't think it will be by very much, maybe $5 more per month at most.

REPLY 6 Oct. 2010 | 11:16 AM Tasha #34

I think it will be more expensive to heat my home this year, although not because of rising prices.

I live in a basement apartment in Virginia with central air and three above-ground walls. The upside of this is that I don't have to turn on my air conditioner once in the summer, even with multiple 100 degree days. It's always a pleasant 70 degrees.

In the winter, the temperature without heat drops to the 50s. The central air access panel is in front of the front door, which includes multiple windows and is drafty. No matter if I set-it-and-forget it at 70, 65 or 60 or turn it way down at night/when I'm not home and then turn it up to 65 or so, my bill costs $90 to $150 a month. Last year, I bought a space heater that I placed next to my desk, where I spend most of my time after work, in conjunction with central air on at a low level. That cut the bill down quite a bit, but I stopped wanting to shower because the bathroom was so, so cold no matter how many towels I wrapped myself in. The colder I am, the less likely I am to exercise or do anything but watch TV and eat.

This is my last year in this place. I've decided to buy some really warm pajamas that I can slip into once I come home. I'm going to run the space heater in the bathroom while I shower so showering isn't so miserable. I don't have any pipes that can freeze, so I'm only going to run the central air when I have guests or at a low level if it's completely unbearable. My cats have fur coats, so they'll be OK. And if I am too lazy to exercise, I'm going to shovel some snow or go walk around the mall.

REPLY 6 Oct. 2010 | 1:49 PM Susan #35

It is going to be more expensive for us this year. Due to overhead costs, my husband moved his cabinetry shop back to our home. We need to add more insulation to the garage and figure out the best way to heat it. But with the cost of everything rising, it will be more expensive. For the first time, I am considering the LEAP program from the county to help us out.

I just hope the farmer's almanac is correct this year with predicting warmer temps.

REPLY 7 Oct. 2010 | 7:44 AM Priya #36

I just found out from my roommate that we have free heat for our apartment in New York which is positive. I know though that my parents who live in Boston understand that heat costs a lot for their home so they tend to split between having many blankets around the house for the days that it gets cold and keeping the heat on in certain parts of the home occasionally rather than all the time.

REPLY 7 Oct. 2010 | 1:42 PM GuestLaura D #37

It will definitely be more expensive for us, b/c we're moving to a house that doesn't have a wood stove. In our area, it's more economical to heat with wood, so we'll see!

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