Financially speaking the typical definition of retirement or financial independence is having enough income being produced by your investments to support your cost of living. Whether your investments consist of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, etc… You could be considered financially independent if the income from your assets covers your cost of living.
It is a fair assumption to believe energy costs make up a sizable portion of your cost of living. The average American family spends a sizable portion of their household income on energy consumption and the cost will only go up from here. It is extremely important to realize you have options when it comes to your energy costs and consumption.
Preparing for your financial future is about goal setting, taking control of your spending, saving more money and investing. When you choose to not do anything about changing your fossil fuel based energy sources you are committing to a path of uncertainty, constantly rising prices and guaranteed negative environmental side effects.
Predicting the cost of your energy in 10, 15 or 20+ years is like trying to predict the future value of a stock over the same time span. As many experienced investors know even the best projections are wrong a large percentage of the time. There is a word for this type of investing behavior. It’s called speculating.
Speculating on such a large portion of your future living costs is not necessary. Renewable energy sources like solar water heaters, solar PV, wind and geothermal help to hedge against this highly uncertain area of your financial future. Simply put, you are fixing the price of your energy for the lifespan of the nuts and bolts of your investment. With the typical lifespan of technologies like solar water heaters being 25 years or more you are stabilizing your energy expenses today and well into the future.
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
Can solar be installed on an older house? My house was built in 1910 and I’m worried that it wouldn’t work with solar panels.
Solar can be installed on older homes. Have you completed any electrical or plumbing upgrades?
Thank you Allen.
I’m glad I stumbled upon your site. I will be back to do more reading.
For tips on saving energy (and thus reducing energy costs) and reducing climate change check out: http://buildakinderearth.com/energy/stay-cool-this-summer-and-help-the-environment/