So hydronic heat. I vastly prefer hydronic over forced hot air, with the exception that you don't have built in air conditioning.

Spend half as much on the car with half the interest rate.

Both but KBB is slow to react to market changes and this has been a very hot sellers market. Call Carvana/CarMax/whatever is in your area and see if anybody wants it.

Just because KBB says $15k doesn't mean that's what you can actually get. Look around and see what a comparable car would cost.

$350/mo insurance.

My mind boggles...

What do you have now? They make geothermal that will work with hydronic heat. It'll run more because it doesn't get as hot but AFAIK it's the only downside. We're considering it for the house we live in now. High upfront cost but low cost of ownership.

I'm debating geothermal for the farmhouse we're renovating.

Interestingly I've talked to a lot of heating guys who don't want to touch it. I think that air source heat pumps are so easy they're just going there.

The oil heat keeps ours about 62 all the time. If I want it warmer I can run the wood stove. Being home I've plowed through a lot of wood in the last 2 months, while it's mild I'm backed off the stove. I'll fire it up when it gets cold again.

So you don't have any facts?

If you have facts to the contrary then present them.

Aaaand there is exactly 1 natural gas pipeline into New England. Not into Maine into the whole region...

Which is still lower than most of New England. Ask yourself "What is it about Maine that would make our electricity cheaper?"

The answer is "Nothing."

This rate rise is not "CMP doubling our electric bills" CMP does not set the price of power.

This has been discussed to death on this very forum. I suggest you educate yourself on the subject of energy prices.

We're on the same grid as the elementary school which is also a shelter so we lose power infrequently and for short periods.

Still it pays to be prepared.

I mean, it really ought to be the story of living everywhere.

I lived in Maine during the 1998 ice storm. We were without power for 69 hours which wasn't that long compared to some folks. My parents have a coal burning stove and a gas range. We couldn't bake anything but otherwise life was good.

I was in Mass during the 2008 ice storm, we didn't have power for 72 hours but we've got the wood stove and the Coleman stove and I put an inverter on the car battery to give some lights and internet.

These days we're probably good for a week or more and at that point the only thing we'd really be down is fresh veg and milk.

Cutting back trees has been a battle for CMP even before they got bought and their service went to crap.

Underground wires are also not a panacea. Stringing lines in the air gives you clearance and cooling. You get neither of those underground. That's a bigger problem for the very high voltage trunk lines but it affects all of them. The work involved to keep big trunk lines operating underground is staggering.

We have an electric range but I've got a butane camp stove for coffee. Or the wood stove, or the Coleman whitegas stove.

Gotta have a backup for your backup.

Have you done an energy audit? It can be hard to know where your heat is going without one. The basic one seals your door, pumps air into the house and sees where it leaks out. Most utilities have a program where you can get a basic audit for free. This will help you find out what can be done to tighten up the house.

Take a look at your furnace, the last time it was serviced they'll have put a tag on it, see what it's efficiency is. If it's under 80% it's quite likely a new furnace will pay for itself in a relatively short time. We're actually due for that at my house.

Finally you mention new windows. Sadly I see a lot of windows installed poorly. Feel around the edge of your windows and make sure there aren't air leaks. A good installer will have insulated around the windows, either by packing in fiberglass or with spray foam. Otherwise your windows have vents that just suck your warm air out. This is where the energy audit really helps.

To be fair I was probably in middle school when that news came out.

We didn't go to Cole Farms a lot but I remember liking it...

Is it good? I'm always on the lookout for good fried chicken

When I was a kid Cole Farms was run by a molester...

I bought a generator in 2008, I think it's only run maybe 3 times in all those years.

I've got an old car battery with an inverter, it'll run a light, the cable modem and the wifi. To cook I've got a camp stove and heat from the woodstove. The power is rarely out for more than an hour or two at my house ever. Like once a decade ever.

If you live out at the end of the road a generator might be a good idea but most people don't need one.

A lot of the mud tires on big trucks are terrible in the snow.

My last pickup had snow rated tires, they were fantastic. The new one will get them when the current tires need replacing.

I've always said that too but now I wonder, does the first really slick storm scare the people who shouldn't be out anyway and keep them home?

You'll never understand the value of proper snow tires until you've actually had them. Sure you can drive with all season tires but the ability of snow tires, even cheap ones, in bad conditions is totally worth it.

I used to drive a rear wheel drive diesel Mercedes, perfect snow car, skinny tires, heavy car, low power, manual transmission. I went places in the snow that 4wd trucks couldn't follow. As long as I didn't high center we could get there.

Your brakes work the same, it's your TIRES that can't get enough friction against the icy road.