If you live in the Northeast, or any number of areas up north, you know that it can be a very stressful time. Just like the rest of the world, you have to think about Christmas. You need to shop, buy gifts and get ready for that special day. You have the stress of Thanksgiving. Up north however, we also have the stress of knowing that when summer ends, fall is arriving and soon on its heels you have winter. With the holidays and heating season all at the same time, it adds a lot of stress in your life and to your budget. We have an old and poorly outdated home. The outdatedness comes from the insulation in the house. The insulation is nowhere near where it should be. We are slowly beginning to remodel and get new insulation into the house, but this is costly and time consuming when you are doing it yourself. The attic is difficult to get to and we lose a lot of our heating and cooling up there. Since there is not a lot of insulation, we also get a lot of solar heating coming in in the summer. Because of this, I found that it is easier to get a second job. I can afford to get my HVAC system cleaned and maintained, which helps with my energy bills. I also put a bit of money back to add extra insulation in the summer. It makes maintaining the heating during the winter, and keeping the thermostat a bit higher, much easier, knowing there is extra income coming in.