Money

Photovoltaic Solar Power Journey: Installation

February 6, 2016 by Roland Munyard Leave a Comment

My electricity bill for the past 3 perhaps 4 years has been about $700 a quarter, ( thats $175 dollars each month), a lot of money for warm baths and TV.

We’re a large family of 6 and looking at the website usage estimate $700 seems reasonable for a fridge, swimming pool pump, 5 bedroom home with electric hot water so I had little choice given that ongoing warnings the electricity supply costs are set to increase manually.

Installers measuring up

The system I choose was provided by Tru Value Solar (TVS) they seem to have a good reputation, and each time I called them that had a different Investor on offer, and the longer I left my purchase the cheaper the overall cost. There were incentives and grants which I missed out on (I think) and my system cost me $3999, however on a 36 month installment plan it works out at a few dollars short of $5000 which spread over 36 months is about $64 dollars a fortnight.

So I left the installers at home to do their thing and I must say I was very impressed with the whole installation when they called me to say it was complete.

The Bosch’s BPT-S 4.6 alongside my existing distribution board

Above, my distribution board before installing PV Solar

This is the complete install, I am quite happy with what I got, but its not quite yet complete at this stage, it gets connected on the 9th of February 2016.

So that the first part of my install, I will let you know how it goes in a month or two.

Before I forget here is the type of Panel I’m using with this Solar Panel Setup.

Hanwha Solar HSL60P6-PC-1-260

So where on earth are we going to live? if we bail out the Rat Race.

July 5, 2015 by Chris Leave a Comment

So where on earth are we going to live? if we bail out the rat race.

For most people if we have been slaving away in the rat race we are looking for more, for bigger, or larger, for more space, more everything.
We are most definitely not thinking about smaller, cheaper, or less.
It just doesn’t enter into the equation.

That is the domain of retirees we think.
Of older folk who cant be bothered with house maintenance, up keep of a large gardens, and funding the operating costs of running a large family home.

But this is a very uncomfortable and unconventional thought if you are a middle aged person!
Why?
Because it goes against all the advertising that you have ever heard of in your whole life.

However, If we are thinking about having more free time, it probably means less work, and therefore less money.
Therefore we probably need lower operating expenses, or a very creative income improvement scheme of some sort.

If however you are a younger person, a millennial perhaps, then you just get it.
Skip the lifetime mortgage noose around your neck. Get a tiny home. Move it to the bottom of moms garden.
What is not to like about that?

Some options might be:

Tiny homes
Small cabins, log cabins or Yurts
Barges, Narrow boats, House boats
Renting out your current home ( if you own one), and live in a cheaper one.
Downsizing into smaller more energy efficient homes.
Moving to a country, or a state, with cheaper housing, and lower cost of living.
Recreational Vehicles
Self builds of all types ( now that is real sweat equity)
Repossessed homes (all in various states of disrepair).

It is whatever you fancy really.
It’s up to you to decide.

But all these options require a re-evaluation of the prevailing “bigger, better, faster, more” culture that we all subscribe to if we are currently participating in the rat race.

So, for most people, this is just not an option even worth considering.
Its just too hard, too difficult, too complicated.
It goes against the grain.
It flies in the face of conventional wisdom.
It’s a non starter.
Lets just all go out to dinner instead !!

Remember that in order to know what it is you actually need, rather than what it is you fancy, you must have already worked through your “values list” and set your priorities. ( see post xxx)

So by way of a personal example:

I initially fancied living on the water, on a barge, on the river Brent, just before it enters the Thames river ( in London, UK). Its cheaper than an apartment. It sounded great to me.
Ditch the car, use a bicycle and public transport.
When you get fed up you move up or down the river.
I even bought Canal Boat Magazine ( http://www.canalboat.co.uk) for a while.
I dragged the family off to see the boat fair. ( xxx)
My good wife remained unconvinced.
Apart from the very living area, the child could fall in the river, then what?
A dawning realisation that this option was sliding down the list, and likely to fall off the list completely.
Bang. Shot down. Done.
Next?

Well in the end … It was a combination
We moved countries, twice.
Moved states once.
Downsized.
Bought a repossessed home in a state of chronic disrepair.

What is important is:

That it is an informed, intentional, and considered set of decisions.
The values list has been endlessly discussed and has been agreed.
Noted that swimming against the prevailing culture is not for the faint-hearted.
The vision of what you are aiming for, hoping for, is very clearly written down.
There is prior agreement of all parties concerned.

It’s your life.

You can choose.

Do your homework and choose wisely.

What does bailing out the Rat Race actually mean?

July 5, 2015 by Chris Leave a Comment

What does bailing out the rat race actually mean?

It means different things to different people: I think that there is a continuum, with the polar opposites at each end being the crazy “I-have-no-time-to-live-my-life” at one end, and far at the other end, “I-have-all-the-time-in-the-world- life”.

Our “more is better” rather than “better is better” commercial advertising culture keeps most of us firmly towing the rat race line.
Perhaps like a champion horse in a prestigious horse race we have blinkers on, and are ready to race, advertising just keeps us focused firmly on the future, with the prize far in the distance.

For me bailing out of the rate race just means re-adjusting my life and consciously deciding that I would like to move away from the “crazy no time end” and move further towards the “having-more-time end”.
To make it a goal, to make it a mission.

But there are very few people that can just bail out, and live right at the far end in the I have all the time in the world end.
If there are, these are mostly retired folks, or lottery winners.
I fall into neither category.
I just want to move from crazy busy city rat race life to a more tranquil, more intentional, more mindful time filled life.
I still want to participate in life, be engaged in life, touch the rat race now and again.
To have friends firmly in the rat race.
But I would like to try to live on my own terms, at my own pace.
Crazy I know.
Imagine that you could ever decide that perhaps this was even possible for you.

What bailing-out-is NOT:

Its not anti-capitalist.
Its not anti-shopping.
Its not anti-bling.
Its not anti-wealth.
Its not telling anybody else how to live their life.

It’s their life. They get to choose.

It IS:

It is all about creating an intentional life, with more personal time, more free time, and less busy-ness.
It is about making choices for yourself about how you live your own life.
It does have to be sustainable, including financially, which is a process, not an event.

This is not a main stream message.

The main stream press seems to offer a couple of choices.

Win the lottery.
Inherit a fortune.
Work like hell, make a lot of money, and retire early.
Work like hell, save a lot of money, and retire early.

We tried one other approach too.

We worked like hell, saved some money, and took a year and a half off.
Moved to the other side of the world, lived by the beach.
It was wonderful.
It is a glimpse of another life, a time filled life, life on the other side.
But its unsustainable. Its a beautiful gentle planned cash burn.

We don’t regret it for one minute.

We essentially just bought a life, through saving.
Which in itself is a bit odd really. We saved hard and had less life for a while, so that we could have more time for a while in the future.
But this approach has some drawbacks.
Re-entry back into the rat race was somewhat difficult, its a bit like a space rocket returning to earth through the atmosphere, its turbulent, its an uncomfortable ride.
Its a shock, an adjustment, its a huge “there has got to me more to life than this” moment.

So we’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Its a bit all or nothing.

So what if there is another way ?

What if there has always been another way?

What if we are willing just to gradually move ourselves down the continuum, away from the hectic end towards the more tranquil end.
What if we are each able to decide for our own selves, where that point on the continuum is, what it is that works for our own unique situation as individuals, or works as a family or works as a community.
What if you get to choose for yourself.
What we start by accepting that we do actually have a choice.

This is what bailing out the rate race means to me.

Continue Reading the Series about ‘Escaping the Rat Race’.

Less time, no time – The “earn more” or “spend less” dilemma

June 27, 2015 by Chris Leave a Comment

Less time, no time – The “earn more” or “spend less” dilemma

Any small business owner knows that keeping costs low is critical to success.
The same applies to bailing out of the rat race.

It can’t be done unless costs are low, or income is high, of course both would be nice.

However, there are challenges with these approaches.

The problem with the earning more approach is that we have to work so damn hard to actually get more (after deductions and taxes) that we are then inclined to tell ourselves that we are in dire need of an awesome treat, a large present, a product upgrade in order to compensate for all those extra hours of hard work … and correspondingly much less free time.

The old line was “cash rich and time poor”, except that cash rich doesn’t seem to apply as much any more. Perhaps we should just call it “less time , no time, still no cash.”

The problem with the spending less approach is that the media works so very very hard to make one feel personally “worth” less, if you aren’t striving to buy and consume just as much as you possibly can.

We all know this media pressure works very well.
For proof we just look in our cupboards, basement or garage and there are all the products stacked up to the roof that we desperately just had to have at the time.
So ironically, thanks to the media, spending less makes us feel bad about ourselves.

At the same time we are told to specialize … to know a great deal about an ever narrowing range of topics. So over time we gradually know less and less about everything practical.

All this, of course, is really useful for businesses that are in the “service” industry.
You have no time? … You know jack about doing it yourself? …. Don’t worry … we’ll sort it for you (for a fee).

When we get too busy we have to “outsource” the things that we might otherwise normally do for ourselves, and pay someone else to do it for us.

Our kids go to expensive child care.
We get the cleaning service in tidy our own house.
We get the lawn service in to tidy our own garden.
We drop our clothes off for dry cleaning.
We buy ready-made (often unhealthy) meals, rather than cook ourselves.
We go out to dinner because we forgot to buy the ready-made meal for tonight.
If we are really really busy, we get a nanny or an au pair to look after our kids so we don’t have to, because were just too darn busy.

After the services, we start on the material things that could cause us a delay of any sort.
I can’t have an unreliable car because I’ll be late, therefore I need a new one every three years. Cha-ching the wallet takes a serious hit.

I can’t have an old washing machine in the laundry room, it might break down, that would be inconvenient. So I’ll buy a new one, it should work for three years without breakdown, then I’ll buy another one. Cha-ching the wallet takes another hit.

When we don’t have any time, we just don’t need the extra hassle of something breaking down. So we spend to keep things new.
Kitchen sink is blocked just call the plumber out.
Cha-ching the wallet takes a hit.

You get the idea.

It’s a triple whammy zero sum game.
We don’t actually receive much more cash, even if we do, we don’t keep hold of it.
We have less time.
We end up outsourcing things which actually cost us money.

Bailing out the rat race requires (amongst other things):
Realising the media is definitely not your wallet’s friend.
A change of heart and consumer behaviour – less really is more.
Re-acquiring a broad skill base. Insourcing is in. Outsourcing is out.
Everything you buy, is paid for in life hours, as well as in cash.

Escaping the Rat race …are you in or out ? How to decide where to begin.

June 17, 2015 by Chris Leave a Comment

Escaping the Rat Race … are you in or out ? How to decide where to begin.

So if one bails out of the rat race, then one is no longer living the normal “city type” life style. Obvious really. But whilst you’re in the rat race, it’s not something one thinks about.

There seems to be four broad options … all of which relate to how far away from “city civilisation” one is prepared to live.

In the city / town
In suburbia
In the country
In the middle of nowhere. (In this State? In this Country? or in this Hemisphere?)
(Take your pick.)

By default the decision to abandon the rat race is an internal brawl of epic proportions …

The sensible versus the irrational
The head versus the heart
The ideal versus the reality
It can’t be that hard right?

You make a list , choose the items closest to your heart. Job done!

However, I found this very difficult indeed.

As a personal example, I like nature, the great outdoors, peace and quiet, stillness, tranquility and beauty. But on the other hand, I also like book shops, cappuccinos, delis, concerts, the sidewalk “cafe lifestyle”, the odd fine dining experience … however, few of the latter are likely to be found living out “in the sticks”.

So it boils down to facing up to dilemmas and making choices. Hard choices.

Pencil and Paper: So try the old-school method, with a pencil and page of dead tree. Write a list of your values. This could be quite deep and philosophical. Don’t bother with that. It’s difficult enough already. Just say out loud … “I value …” and whatever comes to mind, write it down. Don’t get stuck, don’t think too hard. Just get it down.

Make two lists

The advantages / disadvantages of “city” type features
The “countryside/lifestyle” type features, or whatever it is that you desire

Then with your spouse or significant other(s), begin the series of endless cyclical discussions, as one tries to “have it all,” until such time as it finally dawns upon everyone, that there is an awful lot of “giving up / letting go / compromising” to be done. (If you’re not the compromising type this is the time to practice.)

Prioritise or rank each item
You want only the most important items at the top of the list
The fewer items the better
Start off broad with everything you want, and narrow it down to the most important things

Letting go of the current life for another life is a process which has to be worked through. Otherwise, the new life just remains a day dream, thought of while staring blankly out of the commuter train window.

Unfortunately for most of us, ideals and dreams are ruthlessly beaten into submission by practicality.

So our ideal list had things like ….

Child should be able to walk to school. Tick.
Child needs friends close by to play with. Tick

Both of the above quickly rule out living out “in the sticks.” Unless, perhaps one is home schooling, which we were not.

So where’s the peace , beauty and tranquillity ideal just gone then? The internal energy sapping smack-down wrestling match has just begun.

So … it dawns upon one, therefore, that actually we need a house close to school. Child needs a “good” school we say enthusiastically, good rankings, good teachers, no drugs, no crime. We need a house which doesn’t cost much (the no mortgage or low mortgage ideal).

The logic at this point stumbles, lands face down on the floor, so to speak.

First hurdle: Cheap house close to a “good” school … (inside the school catchment area – if there is such a thing). These two things are not frequently found in the same location.

So in a blink, not only are we now suddenly no longer living in quiet tranquil beauty, we are heading for a town with a good school, where cheaper property is within walking distance. What?

And did I mention we like pretty, beautiful, cute cheap property. And this utopia is to be found on the other side of the world, one that I knew little about. OK … so now we are certifiably delusional. Because in spite of all of this … were still making a list.

Second hurdle: If we want to have more “time” (instead of less time and more money), we should live closer to family…. so we can drive there, instead of taking a couple of trans-Atlantic flights (times three people each time).

But if we are trying to live a simple life, and have less paid working hours (therefore living on less) how on earth are we going to be able to afford to fly halfway around the world to see family? Let alone live!!

Hey guess what? We are moving to the other hemisphere, no really.

Hey guess what? We are leaving the sun, sea, and sand, and going to live in the snow for six months of each year. What?

This quickly all starts to feel a lot like “lack” or “loss” or just “plain ridiculousness”. It becomes difficult to nurture this idea, to keep the dream of a simpler life alive.

I am absolutely convinced that it is way easier just to continue doing the lemming commute everyday. Newspaper, headphones, underground Tube ticket to zone one and just pretend you like it.

Friends sneak strange sideways glances at you. Yep. He’s lost it for sure. I mean nobody in their right mind would even consider such a ridiculous thing. They are now worried that perhaps it is some strange viral illness. They pray that it’s not contagious.

Our short list of four items became …

Maximum one hours drive from family
Good school within walking distance
As beautiful a surrounding as we could possibly find, close to a body of water
Cheap old house with low property tax

In our experience, more than four items became unworkable. The internal wrestling and wrangling was just too great for us to overcome.

It is critical that you keep the list, as whilst you are transitioning and filled with fear and uncertainty, it is useful reminder of what you wanted. And once you have transitioned, it becomes a reality check to see if you got what you wanted.

Bailing out of the Rat Race

May 31, 2015 by Chris Leave a Comment

So about four years ago we bailed out of the rat race.

There were a couple of reasons.

We both worked in the big smoke (in London,UK), both commuted across the city
We didn’t see much of our only child, he went to breakfast-club before school, then to school itself, and then to after-school-care.
We talked on the way home, had a blur of dinner time, bath time and bed time, if we were lucky … there might even be a quick story time.
We were exhausted by the time the weekend rolled around
Saturday I went to business school all day … You know … continuing education to keep with, perhaps, even get ahead in the rate race.
Sunday, collapsed in a heap and tried to regenerate enough energy to do it all over again the following week.

One day we asked … Why?

It was hard to answer. We really couldn’t come up with a good reason, other than chasing money. So what if we gave up chasing money? What if chasing money was no longer the primary reason for our existence ?

Well, it would be difficult. What would we tell our parents, our friends? Our colleagues?
Umm, hey guys, we’ve lost our minds, were now officially certified as sub economic lunatics. That’s going to go down really well.

But money aside, what else would we loose? What would it mean to our own identities?
If I lost my work identity … Who would I be ? At the social barbecue, if the guy opposite that I didn’t know yet says … So what do you do? What would I say? If I lost my daily city commute? If I was no longer defined by my desk by the window, my work computer, my conference call pin number, my office mobile number, my work email address?

What would I say? Hi I am Chris, I am a …. a bum? a drop out? economically inactive? economically challenged? Forging my own way? Swimming upstream? Being an idiot?

It’s very difficult to imagine really. Its life changing.

Gone are the … Expensive coffee at Cafe Nero the fancy sandwich to go from Paul’s Bakery at Waterloo Station. The disgressionary purchases of magazines at Waterstone’s to read on the commute home. Ties from the Tie Rack. Shirts from TM Lewin. Free calls on the office mobile. And all of this … Is before you have actually made it back home … on your last day of paid work in the rat race.

What about the first new day?

Where would we go?
What would we do?
Our child still needs an education.
We still need a roof over our head
We still need food in our stomach.
What about the damn cable tv subscription ?