1 - Our appliances use about 18% of a typical home's total energy bill. The refrigerator is one of the biggest energy hogs. so if you have a second older one, you might consider getting rid of it or upgrading to something newer with an Energy Star rating. According to the Energy Star site, if just one in 10 homes used energy-efficient appliances, it would be equivalent to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.
2 - Save water. The Web site "Water -- Use it Wisely," created by a group of Arizona cities, list 100 simple ways to save water.
3 - Be aware of the thermostat... almost half of our energy cost comes from heating or cooling.
4 - Light your home the energy efficient way... by using Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) you can use 66% less energy than the standard incandescent bulbs. The upfront cost is a little more, but they last 10 times longer.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Frisco, TX. reaches 100,000!
Learn more about Frisco and the surrounding communities...
http://www.ci.frisco.tx.us/
http://www.plano.gov/
http://ci.little-elm.tx.us/ - a new look website for this thriving lake community.
The Green Table
Once we learn that going green not only helps save the planet, but also has a positive impact on our money (the other green); we are finding that more and more people are pulling up to the green table. As the business world becomes more involved in the process, we as consumers will find more doable ways to save both the planet and our money. Maybe we'll see conversion kits, not only for our cars but for our homes; i.e. light bulbs, weather stripping and power meters to measure electrical use of our appliances. All combined in a handy package for our convenience.
As of April 2008, Texas continues to lead the states in terms of both total installed wind power capacity and the amount of new wind power capacity that was installed last year. Texas has the largest wind farm in the world and the Texas Public Utility Commission announced its approval for even more transmission lines. This is all great because using wind turbines to create power is clean. There is no pollution, and no greenhouse gas.
One day Texas may get behind homeowners and help with the initial expense of building a green home, converting an existing home or installing solar power; especially when this lessens the overall load on the power grid. There has to be a financial savings in that for the state and the nation.
As of April 2008, Texas continues to lead the states in terms of both total installed wind power capacity and the amount of new wind power capacity that was installed last year. Texas has the largest wind farm in the world and the Texas Public Utility Commission announced its approval for even more transmission lines. This is all great because using wind turbines to create power is clean. There is no pollution, and no greenhouse gas.
One day Texas may get behind homeowners and help with the initial expense of building a green home, converting an existing home or installing solar power; especially when this lessens the overall load on the power grid. There has to be a financial savings in that for the state and the nation.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
We All Have a Dream
The dream I'm speaking of is the one which commonly takes most of our money and discipline to realize. The dream of owning our own home may be harder to qualify for these days, but it's not impossible; and for some this could be the best time to get in the market. Generally speaking, prices are lower and the choices are great. So, if all of your credit ducks are in a row, it may be time to do your Internet search, make some calls, and plan to drive (considering the price of gas, a 'plan' is a good thing) through your desired area of town.
I live in the sprawling and constantly growing DFW area. I must admit that I was envious a few years ago when we all watched housing prices explode into the stratosphere in California, Arizona and Florida, to mention a few. We heard of the fortunate folks doubling, tripling or simply becoming millionaires selling their homes; buying another and making even more money. Television shows popped up, enticing our greed, telling us how we could buy, fix-up and flip. We did; and some of us made out like bandits.
It was like a bad flu season. It all started in the before mentioned areas and slowly spread to the center of the country. Lucky for those of us who live in this area, you could say we had been inoculated, because we never saw the prices explode. Yes, they went up and in some hotspots of the area, they went up a lot... upwards of 30%-50%.... that's it!
As they say in the financial markets, "high risk, yields high returns" and "low risk, yields low returns". I like to think of it as low risk/low stress. This is your home, not a piece of paper. We all hope to buy low and sell higher, and in most cases home ownership is still a great investment. A great investment which needs to be protected and possibly enhanced to make your home a great deal for the next buyer. We all have a dream.
Today is Earth Day, and next we'll talk about how we can make our homes more green.
I live in the sprawling and constantly growing DFW area. I must admit that I was envious a few years ago when we all watched housing prices explode into the stratosphere in California, Arizona and Florida, to mention a few. We heard of the fortunate folks doubling, tripling or simply becoming millionaires selling their homes; buying another and making even more money. Television shows popped up, enticing our greed, telling us how we could buy, fix-up and flip. We did; and some of us made out like bandits.
It was like a bad flu season. It all started in the before mentioned areas and slowly spread to the center of the country. Lucky for those of us who live in this area, you could say we had been inoculated, because we never saw the prices explode. Yes, they went up and in some hotspots of the area, they went up a lot... upwards of 30%-50%.... that's it!
As they say in the financial markets, "high risk, yields high returns" and "low risk, yields low returns". I like to think of it as low risk/low stress. This is your home, not a piece of paper. We all hope to buy low and sell higher, and in most cases home ownership is still a great investment. A great investment which needs to be protected and possibly enhanced to make your home a great deal for the next buyer. We all have a dream.
Today is Earth Day, and next we'll talk about how we can make our homes more green.
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