NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer goods prices have jumped higher than we've seen in 15 years. From groceries to gas, you're going to feel the pinch of higher prices. Here are some ways to insulate yourself from inflation.

In just a few months, you'll be able to take advantage of the Energy Policy Act, which gives tax credits to consumers who conserve energy. And with heating costs anticipated to be 50 percent higher this winter, it couldn't come at a better time.

You can cushion the cost of higher heating by making your home more energy efficient. Install energy-efficient windows, insulation, furnaces or water heaters. Under the Act, consumers will be able to get reimbursed up to $500.

Another powerful energy-saving tool is to keep tabs on your furnace and heat pump -- filters need to be cleaned and replaced regularly. The savings can be huge -- a heat pump can cut electricity use for heating by 30 percent to 40 percent, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.

For over a decade, college costs have been rising faster than inflation. If paying for college has you losing sleep, think about entering into a pre-paid tuition plan if your child is heading to a state school.

When you enter into a pre-paid plan offered by the state, you basically lock in tuition costs and offset inflation rates. For example, if a state school costs $10,000 and you buy $5,000, you are already have half the tuition paid for, regardless of how much tuition rises.

Keep in mind that these programs charge more than current tuition rates when pricing in the contracts.

The cost of heath care is rising at three times the rate of inflation, according to the National Coalition on Healthcare.

If you're concerned about the rising cost of health care, it makes sense for you to open a flexible spending account. The medical flexible spending account allows employees to set aside money to pay for insurance co-pays, over-the-counter drug purchases and uninsured treatments.

Money is taken from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis, so the bite out of your paycheck will be less than the amount you put aside. This means a $100 per-pay-period contribution might reduce your paycheck by only $75 because a smaller amount of taxes are withheld.

Inflation is bad news for stocks, bonds and cash. But there are some investments that are guaranteed to give you returns.

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS, are bonds issued by the government that pay an interest rate of 1.5 percent on top of the rate of inflation. For example, if inflation is 3 percent, you'll wind up getting 4.5 percent on your investment at the end of the year.

"This should definitely be part of your portfolio in this kind of environment," says financial planner Doug Flynn.

For more information, go to TreasuryDirect. TIPS can be purchased directly from the government. TIPS are issued in terms of 5, 10 and 20 years, and are offered in multiples of $1,000. You can also invest in them through a TIPS mutual fund. A number of fund firms provide them, such as Vanguard, Fidelity and Pimco.

Investment vehicles like TIPS are generally not available as an option in retirement plans. But that doesn't mean you can't insulate your 401K from inflationary pressures.

Some sectors of the economy do better than others in times of inflation. Find out how much you're invested in these sectors. Have your financial advisor run your assets into a computer program. If you have a lot of stock in financial companies, you may want to scale that back a bit.

"Financials do poorly when inflationary fears are high," says Flynn.

However, if you don't have enough stock in technology, you may want to invest more in this sector since technology is not as affected in inflationary environments.

Another thing to remember is that the only thing that will beat inflation in the long haul is equities. If you have a very conservative portfolio with a large portion dedicated to bonds, you may want to add more stock.

"After tax and after inflation, your return on bonds will be negative," says Flynn.

Gerri Willis is a personal finance editor for CNN Business News and the host for Open House. E-mail comments to 5tips@cnn.com.