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Home > Got our Tax Return and a $0 Electric Bill!

Got our Tax Return and a $0 Electric Bill!

March 6th, 2015 at 12:31 am

Our tax return money was deposited into our account and we got a notice about the portion that we decided to take as an Amazon credit. We opted for $200 to be Amazon and they added another $20 to it for taking that option (snowflake!). We'll use the Amazon credit for regular purchases, but the $220 (and the rest of the tax return money) will go to mortgage principal.

It makes the accounting a little weird, but whatever. We use Amazon for most of our purchases (bday gifts, birdseed, dog tooth treats, everything). So I just need to track those purchases as if they showed up on our visa.

Besides our tax return yesterday, we got our February electric bill. And it was ZERO dollars. Actually it was negative $1.32 but they won't cut checks for less than $20, so we need to wait for it to build up. You know what we'll do with the check when we finally get it of course. Mortgage!

Posted in Debt, Frugal Living | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Got our Tax Return and a $0 Electric Bill!”

  1. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    March 6th, 2015 at 01:18 am 1425604688
    1425604688

    What a cool electric bill! Smile

  2. Kiki Says:
    March 6th, 2015 at 06:00 am 1425621626
    1425621626

    Is this from the solar? Can you explain a bit how it works? Leasing? I am interested but have to wait a while. Have other to dos first.

  3. Buendia Says:
    March 6th, 2015 at 03:49 pm 1425656957
    1425656957

    Hi Kiki! Yes, we had solar panels installed. Our use was already pretty low, and we made sure all of our bulbs are LED or CF. We bought the system (so not leased). In our state according to realtors, the system adds value to the house, so you make it up on selling price. There is a 30% federal tax credit and a 10% state tax credit (for our state) so it was 40% off the purchase price. We paid for it outright and are using the tax credits to pay down our mortgage principal, but you can also finance the system with a home equity loan. That would make the payback time longer because you're paying interest...

  4. Kiki Says:
    March 9th, 2015 at 12:49 am 1425862181
    1425862181

    Do you know the average cost to install a solar system?

  5. Buendia Says:
    March 9th, 2015 at 01:33 am 1425864825
    1425864825

    It varies based on your usage... the company you hire to install the system will figure out the size for you. Do you know what you use now KWh monthly?

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