It’s a good thing government figures strip away food and energy prices from the CPI. We all know they have very little to do with households making ends meet. ;-(
FWIW, NOAA is forecasting a 33%-50% chance of a warmer than *normal* winter across most of the USA from September to March.
OTOH, propane, even with a buy-in to a capped price, is already 15% higher in my area than it was last year. A winter’s worth of firewood is still only slightly less than a full tank of propane.
And, on the third hand, gasoline in my area is down 15 cents from Labor Day, likely due to no hurricanes that actually impeded production. We know people who still used their motor boats this summer, at astronomical costs for a weekend’s fuel.
Everyone appears to be working and people appear to be spending, as usual.
The DBM, of course, is hoping for a rough winter and lots of economic pain for the middle class.
Bring it on, Baby!
I live in cold, snowy southern Wisconsin. Over the past few years we’ve added new windows, extra insulation, add plastic wraps to older windows and patio doors and keep it a toasty 68 degrees during the day and 58 at night. We had a CREDIT on our natural gas bill all through the heating season last year and didn’t pay dime-one until April of ‘07.
I won’t turn on the furnace until well into October, and as of today we have a ($25.00) credit balance on that bill. And this is an old farmhouse from 1906! What are people with more energy-efficient homes whining about?
A little pre-planning goes a long way in any budget area. :)
I sure wish global warming would hurry up and get here.
bump
NAtural gas up 5.5% - I should be so lucky. In Anchorage (AK) the gas rates have gone up 45% over the last two years. The gas company is owned by furiners.....
Taxes all year: HIGH and rising
Heating oil appears to be as high as it ever was.
Natural gas is way down at $6.
NYMEX crude index oil is 84.
RBOB gasoline is 2.13, somewhat down from its alltime high.
Wood is 200 a cord depending. Coal, headed up. House heating except natural gas, will be expensive.
my cat is going to be wearing a snowsuit in the house this winter