Quote:
Originally Posted by MiriamNZ
I was visiting a friend when the solar salesman was there. He used a very different logic to judge value for money that makes sense when you are retiring.
If you have money in the bank earning interest— how much do you get?
If you used that money to install solar, how much money would you save in the same period of time?
Makes sense, if the money is in the bank, especially when interest rates are dropping and unpredictable over the next decade.
Cheers
Miriam
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For many, the short-term payback does not justify a large initial investment. As with the current economy, the vast majority would rather lease or push long-term debt into the far future. For the retired, the concepts of reverse mortgages and annuities illustrate the same line of reasoning. In this case, I would ask the question: "Does the system save more than the extra loan (or annuity) payment?" In most cases, it does, even when a turnkey system is professionally installed.
For the rest, the decision-making process isn't so straightforward. It takes a lot of faith to pay out 5 figures on anything. The whole issue of self-generation has been polarized and propagandized by the power and oil empires, as a matter of self-preservation. Average Americans in general are completely addicted to the electric and gas lines running into their homes. Breaking this lifelong addiction doesn't come easy, especially without some sort of unconditional guarantee.