Most Americans will look to spend less once they enter retirement years. It just makes sense. Typically, you’re making less money, so you’ll want to find ways to spend less to maintain your current standard of living. One way to save in retirement is by decreasing your dependency on utility companies for supplying power to your home. By using renewable resources like solar energy, we can dramatically reduce, if not remove altogether, our need for power from the electric company.
USE SOLAR ENERGY TO PREPARE FOR RETIREMENT
It’s been said that “a penny saved is a penny earned”, meaning if you don’t have to spend it, you’ve earned the right to keep it. This can be applied to many aspects of our lives, including the money we spend, or don’t spend, on powering our home. The cost of electricity has gone up consistently for years. According to the Institute for Energy Research (IER), a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets, “electric rates will continue to escalate as EPA imposes more regulations, such as its regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.” The IER also pointed out that between 2005 and 2015, residential electricity costs increased by 34 percent. There’s no reason to believe it will slow down anytime soon.
Preparing for retirement takes a multi-faceted approach. One that includes saving money now and in the future. While some retirees will choose to downsize their homes to save on monthly expenses, adding renewable energy processes, like solar power, may enable others to stay in their current homes well into retirement. Imagine a $250 power bill in 2018 increasing steadily over the next 30 or 40 years. What might that bill run in 2048 or 2058? A retired couple may look at power bills approaching $1,000 a month or more. We don’t know for sure what the future holds. Adding solar solutions now will help reduce some of those unknowns. Prepare for retirement by becoming “energy independent” versus dependent on the utility providers and the unpredictable, skyrocketing costs of power.
Call Renewable Energy NW at 208-577-6537 to schedule your free, in-home solar audit to see how we can help you save money in retirement.
