Finding funding for many of the changes I want to take going forward remains difficult.
The solar panels are paying for themselves, but we still need to pay the upfront charge which is restricting our ability to expand and add more garden beds, for the time between fruiting and seeding is an obstacle to be addressed (plus there is a desire for more vine based foods).
Then I want to incorporate shading for the chicken run, they would spend more time in the run if it was more shaded – the solution there is simple – add fruit trees around the outside of the run, which will shade it – this will require some fruit trees, so will wait until the panels are paid down.
It also doesn’t help with bills happening all at the same time, and the sheer amount of some of them – i.e. Rego – our car costs exactly $857.60 to merely have registered to place it on the road each year. Then shortly after that, $200 for Third Party Property Damage – a must, there are some expensive cars on the road, and plenty of stupid people driving them. Then shortly after that, $600 for House Insurance – a must for the house is worth many times that.
The debt is building and so much of what I would like to accomplish must wait to save on the painful credit card interest the bank will impose.
I haven’t bothered to mention council rates and water – rates alone cost us $487 every 3 months. I’d hate to see what Sydney siders pay in rates considering the extortionate prices they pay for property. Water is very cheap – too cheap such that it doesn’t give any desire for rain or grey water from a financial point of view.
The true cost of living in a society which values it’s environment is not cheap (the cheap comes from the damage to the surrounding environment, through either cheap labour sourced overseas, or through unsustainable practices).