We got our electric bill yesterday, and it’s our highest yet - $200! Considering we were gone for over a week of June, and had the a/c off that whole time, we were a little surprised. Granted, the house is large, and 2 stories, and has 2 a/c units, but it’s also brand new, and tight as a drum. We also had our builder put on some sort of tec-shield under our shingles, that reflects heat out. We upgraded our insulation too. I guess in some ways, we’ve got a semi green home.

So how can you “go green” in your home? As the link above points out, there are things you can do that don’t require upgrading your insulation or any changes in the building process. One suggestion is to turn off the a/c or heat and open up the windows. We do that a lot, but we can’t now. It’s July, and it’s hot AND humid out. The a/c is a must! But, when I’m downstairs for most of the day, I bump up the a/c upstairs so it doesn’t work to cool an area we’re not using. I *think* we’re already using energy efficient light bulbs too - I don’t think they’re the CFL’s, but they are supposed to last longer and use less energy. That’s good, right? It’s a step in the right direction, at least.

The same blogger who wrote about going green also has articles on the future of real estate and real estate investing - two of my favorite subjects! He’s right about how the internet has changed real estate. When we were house shopping for the first time, we didn’t have the internet to help us, and we spent HOURS driving around looking at homes from a list our agent printed out for us. The 2nd time, we picked out what we wanted to see online! In fact, the house we bought is one that my husband saw online. And the third time, when we built our home, I was able to preview the builder’s websites and see floor plans online, so we only drove to see what I liked.

As for the 3rd article, on real estate investing, there are 7 tips to help you along. It’s something I’d like to do, but with the market being what it is here in Florida right now, it’s not a good time for me to test the waters.

This is a sponsored review.