Is there are reason yours go into the wells? Just curious. We have a well for water but no one ever suggested using it. We have 5 people come out and look and 3 bid on the project.
We have a water well and two separate geothermal wells (actually just bored holes similar to wells that are filled with grout once the geothermal piping is installed). Our lot is mostly treed and we needed 800â total of loops for our system. We werenât interested in taking out trees to dig the trenches for the loop hence they did it in wells.
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There was a small ancient town I believe it was in France that someone decided to do something geothermal - well the show went through the technicalities, but it shifted a lot of soil so homes that were there 300 years have big cracks and shifts. A real nightmare for the community.
We have low electric rates, but they are going up - rate typically moves between 1.5 to 2.5 cents per kWh â however fuel costs went up quite a lot so fuel cost adjustment of 4.612 cents per kWh. That was the start; then 10 cents, and then 11 cents, and 12 cents in August.
I imagine gas will go up in the winter too.
Fortunately our home is very energy efficient. It will be a good selling feature when we do decide to ever move away.
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We are scheduled to get our solar installation in September. That capacity will be sufficient to run the car and cover the rest of our electric bill. House is heated with natural gas, so unless we decide to invest massive amount of $$ to switch to electric heat, that heating system will stay. The main reason for solar is the feel good part. Our break even point is calculated to be around 10 years.
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We have a spot in the yard where we had an above-ground pool that was taken down about 5 yrs ago, and itâs an eyesoreâwe just can decide what to do with it. Someone suggested a solar array since the spot is south-facing. Dear wife has qualms about solar panel on the south-facing roof of the house, as we burn wood and panels would make it tough God forbid we have a chimney fire.
Weâre thinking about a small roofed pavilion-type structure that would shade some patio furniture, with the solar panels on its roof-----maybe???
We have oil heat and would like to maybe charge a battery in lieu of a generatorâwe lose power a few times every winter, fortunately only for a few hours (so far!)
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My mother had solar installed (because she loved my husband and he wanted it so badly) in the house we shared with her about 15 years ago. It paid for itself. The electric bill went from $500 a month to $0. It was great to not worry about energy use. That was in a place that was hot, sunny, and dry and the house was all electric. We now live where it is often grey, wet, and cool and our heat is gas. Our utility bills are under $150 a month and our electricity comes mostly from hydro and wind. My husband would love solar or geothermal but it doesnât seem worth it from a cost point of view. Maybe if we could afford that electric car and change the heat out to electric. But I love that burst of dry hot air that gas heating gives you when itâs wet out.
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Well, we are finding that where you live matters for solar. Talking to a friend last week, who is an engineer. She said the solar guy said, install this on your roof and it will pay your utility bill. Being an engineer, she said which bills and how much. The response was less than accurate. We had a good laugh as these industries are both fairly âwild westâ in the products and services. Itâs no surprise more people havenât done it.
We are looking at solar and see that some products serve the companies and are created to make the people feel better and save a little money. Other products maximize the money/return. Sad thing is, all this takes time to go through. Iâm leaving my solar research for this winter.
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Apologize in advance: I KNOW there were former posts in this thread which suggested some great free online planning tools, but I canât find them. Mind posting again? Iâm looking for planning tools that allow you to play with options (various life expectancy, average investment returns, assumed inflation rates, occasional âbig ticketâ items such as college costs, weddings, vacation homes, etc.). Some of the better ones include âMonteCarloâ analysis (?), and give results in terms of likely success rates. TIA!
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What kind of bonds people buying in their IRAâs that have good rates? I know the I-bonds have an amazing rate right now, but you canât put them in retirement accounts.
Try this one.
https://www.firecalc.com/
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This was an interesting article. However the summary is with people wanting to retire with sun - CA, AZ, FL.
Focusing on average housing prices and where retirees want to beâŠ
Say wha�! 
Financial Samurai who propagated the FIRE movement admits that he has been working all this time? Lol.
What is âretired,â anyway?
A friendâs husband recently retired from a big accounting firm (high paying big shot position where they require you to retire at 60) and is loving his part-time gig at an auto parts store. Sometimes fake retirement is a good thing.
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I think some people equate retirement with zero earned income, but who made up that rule? If something you enjoy doing (and would do without payment) happens to throw off some income, that does not strip you of your retired status or make your retirement fake in any way. For me, retirement means getting to do whatever you want whenever you want while no longer requiring a paycheck. If something you enjoy doing happens to throw off some income but does not tie you down, youâre still retired in my book. DH considers himself retired and describes himself as such when asked, but he has been on retainer by a client since he stepped off the corporate treadmill five years ago. He does not need this work, but itâs of a type he really enjoys (and takes him to Ireland occasionally), and he gets to say when and where he does it. He bills in hours, not days, and those hours have not interfered with anything weâve wanted to do even once. He can go a month or more without billing and, some weeks, heâll bill for several days. Just depends. He doesnât need the money and can walk away anytime. Heâs retired from the yoke of having to work.
I like Pete Adeneyâs response to the Internet Retirement Police.
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I agree with @ChoatieMom
My DH is retired from full time salaried workâŠbut is paid hourly as a consultant by his previous company. The nice thingâŠhe can pick and choose what he wants to doâŠand when. If he is interested in a projectâŠhe says yes. If not, he saysâŠno. Also, he never has to put in for vacationâŠcan take off any time he wants to (doesnât need to worry about whether others on the team are awayâŠthey are employeesâŠ.he is contracted).
Itâs a win win plus, he can do it as long as he wants to.
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I count myself as retired, and I get a âretirementâ pension. I also work for my old employer, but only for up to 200 hours a year) and next year less than that. I can go on when I want and pretty much do whatever I want, as long as itâs helpful. Related payment helps with travel expenses, but doesnât interfere with retirement income streams.
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This is a terrific one:
You can add multiple adjustments at the bottom, of either ongoing, or one time expenses (or income). You can also select several different withdrawal rate options.
Thanks to this thread I got quotes on umbrella insurance! Much appreciated.
Would anyone want to share how much they got? We donât have tons of assets (large percentage is in 401k which in our state is protected from lawsuit I believe)âŠbut a decent amount.
$1 million is only $350 a year!! Definitely getting, but $3 mil is $750. Ins. co also trying to sell me underinsured motorist coverage for $210 a year. Thatâs for my own injuries if they exceed my insurance + driver of car that hit me⊠Wasnât sure if that was good to get too? H thinks this is all unnecessary but I see the $1 mil (at least) as a complete win.
(having this settled will help me breathe easier as planning for next several years/retirement!)
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I think we got $1 million. I think we also have uninsured motorist coverage. I think itâs ânormalâ to get in our state.
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Thanks, 1214mom. That was my inclination - $1 mil + uninsured motorist. The total would be about $570 a year which seems eminently reasonable for what you get!