Lower Heating Bills this winter

[Tiny]

finance.yahoo.com/news/us-forecast-calls-lower-heating-135635755.html

People using natural gas and electricity for heat also will see a savings this winter. Heating bills for homes using electricity should drop about 3 percent and natural gas about 10 percent, the Energy Department said.

Woo hoo!  I'll save about $50 over the course of the heating season - if I sock that away into my Retirement savings:

According to my Phil Script, a lump sum investment of $50.00 bearing an annual return of 11% could grow to $239.23 in 15 years!

I'm gonna be RICH!!     

(Actually, I'm glad the prices are low-ish.  Thanks to the continuing low-ish prices on natural gas - purchasing a middle of the road efficient furnace 8 years ago is still looking like a good decision, I've got a warm, comfy house at an affordable price AND I kept 3-4K invested... )

For the other sources of 'heat':

The Energy Department's annual prediction calls for lower heating bills across the board but with the biggest savings for those who use propane or oil to heat their homes. The government predicts a 25 percent drop ($459 on average) for homes using heating oil and a 18 percent drop (about $322 on average) for homes using propane, compared to last winter.

The outlook is based on a forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for warmer weather across all regions except for the West, which is projected to be slightly cooler.

In the Northeast, where homes are more reliant on heating oil, the forecast is especially good news. Heating oil prices were at a 10-year low in the most recent survey by the state of Maine

[Deleted]

I'm saving a lot more than that.  I prebuy my LP and it was only $0.95/gallon to fill the tank for Fall and $1.15/gallon prebuy price for the 700 gallons I got to take me the rest of the way.  So, about $300 less than last year and last year I only prebought 600 gallons. 

I might have been better off without the prebuy with the way prices are dropping but I didn't want to risk paying $4/gallon in January.  

[The Captain]

I use the budget plan.  We have gas heat, water, and our dryer is gas.  Our monthly gas bill averages to about $40.  So for us that will be about $50 of savings.

No complaints about our gas bill.  Our water/sewer/garbage runs about $60 a month.  Electricity is what kills me - that's about $125 a month for three people. 

Cable, Local and Long Distance, and High Speed internet run about $150 a month.  Cell phones are another $120 a month for three with data usage.

So utilities run about $500 a month.  Over half of that is entertainment/telecommunications.  I feel like it's high but based on what some others have posted I guess it could be worse.