3 On Your Side: Cold Snowy Weather Can Impact Your Bottom Line
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- This latest batch of bad weather caused many schools to close, airlines to cancel flights, and businesses to lose money. But as 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds, the cold snowy weather could be costing us more than we think.
You may not realize it, but cold snowy weather can impact your household's bottom line too. Personal finance expert Vera Gibbons says, "Every season there are certain things that we spend money on and this winter season has been particularly long, particularly drab, particularly boring, dark, so we tend to spend more time inside."
Among the things driving up the cost of your snow days, the ease of ordering things online. Gibbons says, "A lot of us engage in impulse shopping this week as we're sitting around the couch doing nothing, and it's particularly easy to do so when you have all of your credit card information stored on some of your favorite sites. It's become too easy to do so."
The same goes for ordering comfort food. Multiple meal deliveries can eat away at a budget too. Plus being snowbound can also mean a new year's gym membership goes to waste. Consider online workouts at home, until mobilization and motivation get better with warmer temperatures.
Speaking of temperatures, this long stretch of cold weather is likely to impact your heating bill. One way to save, turn down the thermostat 10 to 15 degrees at night, it will help you lower your fuel bill overtime by about 10 percent.