Let’s start off today with an embarrassing confession:
I’ve sat twiddling my thumbs for years when I could have earned a 30% return on my money. Seriously, the thought of it almost makes me want to hang up my footprints in shame.
What investment am I talking about?
Installing solar panels.
I’ve just had them hooked up to the shearing shed, and the only thing I can keep thinking is … why didn’t I do it earlier?
Well, upon reflection, it turns out that I had the same excuses people give me about not investing in the share market:
First, it was all a bit boring and a bit complicated.
Second, I’d heard stories of cowboys and scammers ripping people off (which always happens when the government throws money at something).
And third, over the past decade we’ve had four kids, so life is busy … you know?
Okay, so all my excuses were not only pathetic – they were also costing me money.
Yet all that changed a few months back when I read this book:*
The Good Solar Guide: 7 Steps to Tiny Bills for Australian Homeowners, by Finn Peacock
* Actually, I just skimmed the book and then handed it to my 11-year-old, who read it cover to cover that weekend. (This is the start of a very long downhill slide of me relying on my children.)
The book does a good job covering the basics of solar, and steps out how to save big bucks.
So here’s what I did:
First, I went to solarquotes.com.au (this is Finn Peacock’s own website – which I fully admit feels a bit ‘suss’ – but the not-for-profit consumer champion CHOICE also uses this site for their recommendations). After typing in my postcode, I was given three quotes for installers in my area.
Second, I stalked those companies’ user reviews on SolarQuotes, ProductReview, Google and Facebook. Two cut the mustard, one didn’t. (Still, that’s a better strike rate than Tinder.)
Finally, they both called me within the week and booked in a site visit. When they arrived I explained that the brains of the outfit was currently at primary school. It didn’t matter: they poked around the place, took some photos, grabbed a copy of my latest electricity bill, and were gone within 30 minutes.
A few days later they emailed through their quotes: they’d both designed basically the same system and came within a few hundred bucks of each other.
Look, the numbers don’t lie: in most cases you’ll get a better return from installing solar than you will from most other investments. Learn from my mistakes, and get your kids onto it! Seriously, it’s child’s play. Hello sunshine!
Tread Your Own Path!