If you live in a particularly cold region of the United States, winter might be a worrying time for you. Like any fossil fuel, heating oil prices can fluctuate considerably from one month to the next — making household budgeting difficult.

Thankfully, reducing the cost of heating your home doesn’t always take a huge effort. If you adopt a few best practices, you’ll be able to minimize the effect a cold snap has on your bank balance.

1. Search for the Best Prices

The best price for heating oil can change from one week to the next. This is because different providers offer their own introductory offers, while others offer special loyalty deals for existing customers. Use a price comparison website to search for the best possible deal based on your location and your usage. Compare all available heating oil prices, as well customer reviews, terms and conditions, and make sure you read the small print.

To get an accurate idea of your future heating oil costs, you’ll first need to calculate your annual usage. Take your time to shop around — the right deal is out there somewhere.

2. Insulate Your Home

The more heat your home retains, the less heating oil you use — it’s as simple as that. Look for cracks and drafts around windows and vents, and seal them immediately. Switch to double-pane windows, and install attic and cavity wall insulation to stop heat from escaping. It’s also important to remember the basics of heat preservation, such as closing windows and doors when the temperature outside drops.

3. Stop Heating an Empty Home

It’s definitely time to switch to smart technology for all your heating needs. It’s never a good idea to allow a home to reach a very low temperature, since the cost of heating a property from scratch every day is often higher than maintaining a comfortable temperature throughout the day. That said, it doesn’t make any sense to heat a home to your usual living temperature when there’s no one in it.

A programmable or smart thermostat allows you to carefully manage your home’s temperature — taking into account the times when you’re not home. For example, you might prefer a temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit when you’re at home. Instead of maintaining that level while you and your family are out, maintain it at something nearer 60. And around an hour before you arrive home, have the thermostat increase the temperature to 73.

4. Maintain Your Boiler and Heating System Regularly

Even a slight performance issue or a single defective part can lead to a situation where you’re burning more heating oil than you need to be. Badly maintained boilers and heating systems are usually inefficient, which means neglecting preventative maintenance measures is often a false economy. Sign up to a program of periodic preventative maintenance. Then, if inefficiencies or faults are affecting your heating system, technicians will correct them before you waste too much money on excess heating oil.

5. Buy in Advance

If you agree to buy your heating oil in advance, you can benefit from a fixed rate. While this won’t always result in definite savings, it does give you peace of mind knowing how much your heating oil bills will be throughout the winter months. And remember: the more oil you buy in advance, the lower the per-liter price becomes.

Now is the time to take control of your heating oil bills and avoid paying more than you have to. Search for the lowest heating oil prices today, and you can minimize the cost of keeping your home warm.