Hurricane Gustav gave us an eventful few days. New Orleans came out OK for the most part, but other communities which are getting less press suffered greater damage from the storm. Most of the Gulf Coast is doing fine though, and this translates to direct savings for the average consumer. Oil is down almost ten dollars a barrel from pre-Gustav levels. (The marketplace had first priced it up in fear, and now prices are in relief.) The wholesale price of a gallon of gas is $2.70/gallon, a big drop from where they had been recently. The other outstanding news as we enter into fall is that natural gas prices have come down drastically in recent weeks. Around 58% of Americans get winter heat from natural gas, so this will have a big impact for many of you.

Unfortunately, those who heat with home heating oil will have an expensive winter ahead of them. But there are some cheap fixes. If your home isn't airtight, caulk and weather-strip those doors and windows. And you can cut heating costs by about a third with proper attic insulation.