It's not just mortgage payments that are behind anymore....

Americans are not just behind on their mortgages anymore....now we can't pay our car payments or our heating bills, either.

Besides leading the nation in home foreclosures, Nevada has seen a 50% increase in deliquent utility accounts from one year ago. In New York, there has been a 12% increase in deliquent utility bills in the last 90 days. Many of the midwestern states do not allow heat to be shut off during the winter months, so families use the opportunity to let the bill slide for a month or two so they can pay their mortgage and/or car payment.

With Michigan having the highest unemployment rate in the nation, and some of the highest heating costs, families are struggling to keep up with their utility payments.

Though it seems that natural gas is super expensive to heat with, propane and heating oil are even worse! And, because the companies that furnish propane and heating oil are generally smaller and not regulated, they do not offer shut off protection programs.

Last spring, 1.2 million households were without heat after being shut off for nonpayment. Those families were an average of $850 behind on their payments and many were unable to scrape together the balance due before this winter hit and so still do not have heat!

Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, states "We're back at the point of crisis again this winter." Congress is considering adding $1 billion to the existing $2.57 billion funding for heating assistance under the Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Gosh, I can't wait for spring!

'Til next time, it's all good!

Deb