Taxes & My Patio

What do these things have in common?

1. They caused a lot of stress
2. They were expensive!!
3. They are done :)

The taxes caused an unbeleivable amount of stress. Oh my gosh. And the patio, which could have served as a release, just seemed to make matters worse.

It isn't like it was a surprise that all this money was going to be moving out of the bank account, and yet somehow, parting with it was just a struggle. At the reccomendation of my boss, I have been reading Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. While much of this book does not come as something new to me, I am discovering that I have forgotten to practice these "laws".

In the book, Chopra talks about the flow of money. I think that the pending tax and patio expenses were acting like a dam in our lives. I feel such a release just having them out of the way. Phew!! Time to make some money :)

Solar Panels - Part 2

No sooner did I publish my last post on being green, than low and behold a solution showed up on our front door.

I came home the following evening and found a flyer on my door with an invitation to a local community meeting on solar panels. Last night I learned about the financial benefits available with photovoltaic solar panels.

I came to find out that there are several rebate programs available through the local utility company, plus there is an IRS Tax Credit. Not only that, but if you are energy wise and generate more electricity with your panels than you use, you can actually sell the he excess back to the grid and could see a return on your investment.

I am in love with this solution. The biggest appeal to me is that (1) the solar panels provide benefit all year long, and (2) it is an opportunity to give back to the community. The solar system we have been looking into creates heat. Now this is all fine and dandy on days like today when the high outside is a chilly 25 degrees, but in Denver (beleive it or not) these days are few. Probably 7 out of 12 months we do not use our heater. If the panels create electricity, we can use it all year--and even power the AC with it!

Who says you can't have everything? I still need to set up time for the solar sales guy to come evaluate our home and put together a proposal, so it's not like this is a done deal--in fact E didn't even go to last nights meeting--but I have a good feeling about it.

It's Not Easy Being Green

In the years that my husband and I have been together, he has taught me many things. The two key values he has tried to impress upon me are frugality and concern for the environment.

Now this is not to say that I was completely absent of these values prior to meeting E (well, maybe I didn't even know what frugal meant), but they definitely did not drive my life. Yes, like everyone, I said I thought we should do our part to save the environment...but it's an easy thing to say.

Now that we are proud homeowners, he has organized all of his spare time around fulfilling these two goals: saving money and being "green". He's even started his own blog on the subject.

I, on the other hand, seem to have inadvertently organized myself around resisting his goals. I dread almost every aspect of making our home more economical and green. For me, meeting E's values means this: being cold at home, ugly solar panels, funky thermal curtains and/or blinds, noisy attic fan, and sacrificing cool AC for a less cool swamp cooler.

I'm torn in a dilemma that I know I've faced before: looking good vs. honoring my word. Why does so much of my life boil down to this? I know that the right thing to do (and the thing that will ultimately make me most proud) is to be on E's side about this and support it all. But there's this big part of me that just wants to have the prettiest, coolest, and best house on the block.

So what is there to do?

Just over a year ago, we created a goal of "having it all". I think I will recreate that goal for myself. Why not live for a future where we can have a green home, and be the best house on the block? What can it hurt to try?