In Los Gatos, the land is rather expensive. The garage our car sits in is more expensive than the car. Solar panels need to be on the roof, and there is not enough roof space to hold the panels we need in order to be able to generate the power we use.
Judy's quilting is very important. She does wonderful work and has some important tools to help her do that. A quilting machine (currently located in the garage) is not as usable as it would be in a quilting room.
When living on distributions from an IRA, being able to take a little less out of the IRA each month has two benefits:
1. Less taxable income. Being in a State with lower taxes means we need to take less out of the IRA each month. Taking less out each month means lower Federal taxes which means we do not need to take as much out each month. The high tax rates of California also increase the Federal taxes we must pay.
2. Taking less from the IRA helps the IRA last longer.
Grass, flowers and trees are living things and living things need water. Increasingly, California does not have enough water. The ideological control over water tends to lead to higher prices, reduced supply and a browner world.
Having the temperature of the house in our comfort zone is a function of the energy efficiency of the building and the cost of energy. Like water, energy is in short supply in Silicon Valley. The push for electric cars so far has not led to a corresponding increase in the supply of electricity required to charge them.
One of David's beliefs is that
knees would feel better if it could be possible to limit the need to craw under a house, or climb on a roof.
Solar panels need to be cleaned regularly, so mounting then on the ground would be very helpful. In Silicon Valley, land is too expensive to put solar panels on the ground.
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