What could be wrong next to my furnace? It seems to be running stale and on more than it should...

It seems to be running stale and on more than it should be . And it says its 74 when i lone have it set to 70?
Answers:    It could be cycling on and past its sell-by date because the thermostat is located in a place where on earth there is a draft coming from around an not sufficiently sealed windowpane or door. If that is not the defence then you may call for a new one.
Could in recent times be thermostat try replacing. That's the little box on the wall real natural to replace three or four color coded wires depending on if your furnace is also a Air Conditioner.