Ok, its been awhile sense my last post. But I hope to get back in the groove of things. I hope everyone is doing well in the group.
There has been a lot of changes in the world lately, a recession, interest rates, student loans were forgiven, now they might not be… and the hosing marking has slowed in most markets.
This has lead a lot of people to slow spending and look for cost savings measures. This is a good strategy for times like this but there is only so much you can do to cut cost.
My Mom used to say that life is like a bath tub with holes in it and money is the water, you can plug some or most of the holes or you can turn up the water or you can do both but no matter what, if you don’t have any water going into the tub that isn’t good.
So as far as cost cutting goes I think doing the basics like lowering your fixed cost and keeping to the budget you made awhile ago but haven’t look at it might be a good idea.
An out of the box thing I have been thinking about is cutting your fix power cost. My power bill has been a high as $258 for one month so you can imagine why I am thinking about it.
Going solar… is it worth it. I have done a fair amount of research on the industry and I have been thinking more and more about it. If you have a high power bill like most people in FL or CA then I think it makes a lot of sense and especially if you have an electric car. With the recent hurricane in the south solar isn’t looking like a bad option.
Plus I have heard of a new product coming out that would let you use the power from your electric car during peak times when power costs the most and then it charges the car when power is the cheapest.
So if you are thinking about going solar I have some thoughts.
First, get a few quotes. There are a lot of sneaky sales people out there and some of them will tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to buy from them. 0% down, free battery etc.
Second, make sure you understand your home owners insurance policy and make sure the panels are covered or that they don’t void your current home insurance.
Thrid, don’t sign a PPA. This is the worst way to get solar. It basically switches your utility company over to a solar company. You don’t own the panels and the cost might even be more than if you stayed with your current traditional utility company. DON’T DO IT.
So what you I recommend? Look at your power bill and if you’d like to save some money consider going solar. If I had to recommend a place to start, you can get a free quote from Solarly. They are a new type of business model in the solar space. They don’t have sale people and they don’t get paid on commission. Their website is getsolarly .com (I purposefully put a space by the .com so you know for sure its not an affiliate link.)
Get a quote and see if you can save money.
Good luck right now and please let me know if there are other ways you have thought about cutting fixed costs?
Mark
