I agree with Geico, find an EAA chapter and get him involved. Spending money now means you'll just be spending it for the next 3 years while he learns and waits for his 17th birthday.
Start selling anything and everything you can live without on Ebay and Craigslist.
Having all the money upfront is definitely the best way to go about it.
The nest is a learning thermostat and will will your routine without initially setting up a schedule and will continue to adjust based on your patterns
I've looked into them a bit. Pricing seems to be pretty reasonable and they will reimburse fuel up to the price per gallon on the the home field.
I was thinking of going to one of their monthly meeting this spring.