Over at The New York Times yesterday, we read the best news we’ve heard all week:

“U.S. households in all regions of the country can expect to pay lower heating bills this winter,” Adam Sieminski, administrator of the United States Energy Information Administration, said in a statement, “because temperatures are forecast to be warmer than last winter and that means less demand for heat.”

Music to our ears! And there’s even more good news. In addition to potentially having a warmer winter, prices for heating necessities, like oil and propane, are down from where they were last year. So home owners and renters alike can expect to see a decrease in the cost of their heating bills.

“Homes that rely on heating oil, mostly in the Northeast, can expect to spend 15 percent less this winter because of the recent drop in world oil prices. […] But the biggest savers will be the mostly rural and Midwestern users of propane who are expected to spend 34 percent less this winter, because of 24 percent lower prices and 13 percent lower consumption.”

While this is excellent news, there’s still a lot we can do on our end to make sure our bills stay as low as possible this year as temperatures drop. Here are some of our best tips to help you lower your monthly bills:

7 Ways to Reduce Your Heating Bill This Winter
5 Ways to Save Big on Heating Costs
13 Things That Make Your Monthly Bills More Expensive
7 More Things That Make Your Monthly Bills More Expensive

And read more about this winter’s forecast over at The New York Times’ Home Heating Costs Likely to Be Cheaper.