I never used heating oil, but where I live, you can do a budget payment plan for gas. I pay $70 a month spread out over the year. Nice set amount with no surprises. I think that’s cheap.
Our heating assistance programs have been telling clients for months bot to expect much help this year. Too many people looking for help and not enough resources to go around. Maybe she should have planned ahead. I wonder how many people like her spend their checks on bingo or the lottery, then don’t have enough money for the heating bill.
I have a plan like that for electric usage. Last year it was $60 per month. This year, with no changes whatsoever in my usage, they raised it to $90 and tacked on a 10% "administrative fee" as well. But it is still more affordable than heating oil. We spend most of the winter in one room of the house and the plumbing gets the benefit of the electric heat. The hundred gallons or so of oil in the tank, I won't even remember it by February.
You do what you have to do, as the lady in the article said. We bundle up, in a room with southern light, and make sure it's as well insulated as possible. For me the biggest problem is not staying warm, it's staying awake nights worrying about the pipes breaking or the heaters malfunctioning or the wiring frying or the power going out or some critter getting into the basement and knocking a heater over.
I worried before we were poor, too -- just about different stuff! :)