High school lessons in business and personal finance

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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SPEAKER_2 (0:30)

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Nancy Marshall-Ginzer (1:01)

Winter is coming and heating oil will not be cheap.

From Marketplace, I'm Nancy Marshall-Ginzer in for Kimberly Adams. Cold weather is around the corner. High oil prices are expected to push up winter heating costs. There is federal help to pay heating bills. It's called the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Each state gets some funding and many start accepting applications in the fall. But as Marketplace's Caitlin Tan reports, that pool of money might be stretched thin this year.

Caitlin Tan (1:33)

More Americans are worried about paying their energy bills this winter. Tina Packard oversees Wyoming's Low Income Energy Assistance Program.

SPEAKER_1 (1:42)

I know that people are in need.

Stephanie Hughes (1:44)

I know that the economy is crazy right now.

Caitlin Tan (1:47)

Applications are flowing into programs all over the country. That's according to Mark Wolf. He's with a nonprofit that helps states secure federal money.

Mark Wolf (1:55)

It's not just low-income families. For the first time, states have been hearing from families who are over income.

Caitlin Tan (2:00)

As in, they make just a little too much to qualify. But Wolf says that doesn't mean they can afford the utility bill.

Mark Wolf (2:07)

I just checked. In Massachusetts, for example, heating oil right now is 70% more than last year.

Caitlin Tan (2:13)

The federal program is set at about $4 billion, similar to the last couple years. Wolf says states will have to choose.

Mark Wolf (2:20)

Either you cut the benefit level so you can reach the same number of people.

Caitlin Tan (2:24)

Or deny some low-income households, which University of Pennsylvania's Sonya Carley says could lead to disconnections or dangerous home heating.

Sonya Carley (2:32)

You might flare a gas stove in your house for space heat, or you might run a dryer and disconnect the dryer vent and put somebody behind it so that their body warms up.

Caitlin Tan (2:42)

About one in six households are behind on their energy bills, according to a February 2026 report. That was before the Iran War.

I'm Caitlin Tan for Marketplace.

SPEAKER_1 (3:10)

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From CRM, accounting, inventory, e-commerce, and more. And the best part, Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. This is why over thousands of businesses have made the switch. So why not you?

Try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's odoo.com.

SPEAKER_2 (3:39)

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Nancy Marshall-Ginzer (4:41)

One new course that's making its debut this year, AP Business with Personal Finance. It comes from the College Board, which is also behind the SAT, and it's being taught in thousands of classrooms across the country. Marketplace's Stephanie Hughes went to visit one.