PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Finance experts say the cost of going green at home, at the grocery store and on the road costs lots of money up front, making it unattainable for low-income families during a time when inflation is causing financial stress for a lot of Floridians.
“I saw the gas prices that were rising every day and I said you know, I want to get off the hamster wheel,” said Adam D’Alena, who lives in Lake Worth Beach.
D’Alena told WPTV that earlier this year he crunched the numbers and realized purchasing a Tesla would save him money in the long run.
“My other vehicle, it was a $400 car payment and I was spending between $550 to $600 on fuel, which was before the gas really got to where it is now in pricing,” D’Alena said.
He told WPTV it only costs him roughly a dollar a day to charge the car, according to his Florida Power and Light bill. That breaks down to about $40 to $50 a month.
However, for some, this kind of purchase isn’t attainable, with the average cost of an electric vehicle now at $66,000. That’s up by about $10,000 from this time last year, according to electrek.co.
“There’s literally waiting lists to get electric cars. So, the car companies can get away with charging whatever they want basically,” said Jordan Goodman, finance expert and host of Money Answers Radio Show.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Biden last week, includes a $7,500 tax credit for buyers of certain electric vehicles.
However, some companies, like General Motors and Ford, have now said they plan to increase the price of their electric vehicles by around $8,000. However, the companies said the price increase is not related to the new law, blaming inflation.
“This is the example of how car companies in a very tight money society are charging people,” said Goodman. “So, it’s easy to be green if you’re rich.”
Goodman told WPTV this translates over to the food industry too.
“Usually organic food, it’s more expensive to grow. There are certain restrictions on it and that has to be passed onto the consumer,” Goodman said.
For example, at a local grocery store in West Palm Beach on Thursday, the price of a bag of regular romaine lettuce costed $3.89, while the price of organic romaine cost $6.19.
This leaves customers having to choose between the healthier option and the cheaper option. These type of choices go on every day not only in the grocery store, but at home too.
“Putting solar panels on makes an awful lot of sense. You can earn money having electricity sold back to the utility,” said Goodman. “But you have to be able to afford to put in a solar system and panels, wire your house that way.”
According to Forbes, solar panels cost between $3,500 and $35,000 depending on the type and model.
In May, WPTV spoke with Mark Boos in St. Lucie County, who said solar panels on his home caused his electric bill to drop from $300 a month to around $8 or $9 a month.
“And that’s running our A/C, our pool pump, lighting, televisions and dishwasher,” Boos said.
However, for low-income families, who don’t have the money up front to make these big changes, a green life seems impossible. That’s why Goodman said something has to change.
“They just can’t afford it. So that’s kind of the dilemma here, is that it’s nice to be green but it’s expensive to be green,” he said.
