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☕ DrinkCoffeeAndProfit
Smart money moves before breakfast
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Inspiration Quote for the Day
“The most expensive energy is the energy you waste without knowing it.”
— Amory Lovins
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The Morning Ritual
She Ran the AC the Same Hours as Last Summer. The Bill Added $11.
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Kim opened her July electric bill last night. $174. Last July it was $163. Same house. Same thermostat at 74. Same window units off, same ceiling fans on, same family of four not doing anything differently. She checked the usage line. It was actually lower than last year by 12 kilowatt-hours. She used less electricity and paid more. The rate per kilowatt-hour went from 17.5 cents to 18.8 cents. That 1.3-cent increase does not sound like much. On 899 kilowatt-hours, it is $11.
Nobody sent her a letter. Nobody rang the doorbell. The rate just changed on a line of her bill she has never read, and $11 quietly moved from her checking account to the utility company. It will do the same thing next month. And the month after that.
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· · · Partner Message · · ·
The number you’ve been working toward just moved.
In 2020, the retirement target for the middle class was around $600,000.
Today it’s closer to $1.5–2 million.
Same life. Same rules. Different outcome.
That’s not inflation. That’s a structural shift in what “enough” even means.
When your target doubles, effort stops acting like progress. It becomes maintenance.
Most people respond by trying harder. Saving more. Working longer.
But what’s really driving this doesn’t respond to effort.
Most people never stop to ask what’s actually happening to their money or about what’s being created on the other side.
They adjust. They accept. They keep running with the wrong math.
Best,
Garrett Goggin, CFA, CMT
Lead Analyst and Founder, Golden Portfolio
P.S. Effort is not the problem. The math that used to work doesn’t anymore. And there’s still a way to get the outcome you want — if you understand what broke it.
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In One Sip
► The average U.S. residential electricity rate hit 18.83 cents per kWh in August 2026, up 7.4% from last year. That is the highest residential rate on record.
► The average monthly electric bill is now $163, up from $129 in 2022. That is a 26% increase in four years, adding roughly $400 a year to the average household.
► Rates range from 12 cents per kWh in North Dakota to 46 cents in Hawaii. If you live in a deregulated state, you might be paying your utility’s default rate instead of a competitive one. That alone can cost you 15 to 30% more.
► One major driver: data centers. Utilities are spending billions upgrading the grid to power AI infrastructure, and those costs are being passed to residential customers through rate increases.
► Utilities plan to spend up to $1.4 trillion on infrastructure from 2025 to 2030. Every dollar will be recovered from ratepayers. Your bill is subsidizing the AI buildout whether you use AI or not.
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Why It Matters for Your Money
Start with Kim’s bill. Her rate went up 1.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. On her July usage that is $11. Over twelve months, at average consumption, that rate hike costs her $132 a year. She did not sign up for it. She did not approve it. She did not even notice until she compared July to July.
Now look at the four-year trend. In 2022, Kim’s bill averaged $129 a month. Today it averages $163. That is $408 a year more for the same electricity in the same house with the same family. Over those four years, her electric bill has quietly taken an extra $1,600 that she never budgeted for and never consciously spent.
The rate increase does not show up on a receipt. It does not trigger a notification on your phone. It sits on one line of a bill most people autopay without reading. Kim autopays. She has for years. The utility company counts on that.
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· · · Partner Message · · ·
The insiders got rich from SpaceX years before you could touch it.
But just one mile from SpaceX’s launchpad, a tiny company is doing something SpaceX can’t.
Robert Kiyosaki calls it The Shadow SpaceX. The man he calls his “Financial 007” found it first. It still trades under $7. The institutions have not moved in yet. But they will.
This is an advertisement. If you no longer wish to receive promotional emails, please unsubscribe here or write to: 2810 N Church St #507300 Wilmington, Delaware 19802.
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The Wealth Angle
Here is the part your utility company will not volunteer. If you live in a deregulated state — Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut, New York, and about a dozen others — you do not have to pay the default rate. You can shop for an electricity supplier the way you shop for car insurance. Most people do not. The default rate is called the “price to compare,” and in Illinois it just jumped 8% in June. Customers who switched to a competitive supplier before that hike are still paying the old rate.
In regulated states, you cannot switch suppliers, but you can switch tiers. Many utilities offer time-of-use plans where electricity costs half as much at night as it does at 4 PM. Running your dishwasher, laundry, and EV charger after 9 PM instead of after dinner could shave $15 to $30 off your monthly bill without using a single kilowatt less.
Kim did not know her state was deregulated. She did not know her rate had changed. She found both out last night by reading one page of her bill she had been skipping for seven years. The number that mattered was three lines below the total. It said 18.8 cents. Last year it said 17.5. That 1.3-cent difference is $132 a year. It was hiding in plain sight.
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☕ Key Insight:
The average electric rate hit a record 18.83 cents per kWh this month. Rates are up 26% since 2022. That adds $400 a year to the average household bill. The rate sits on one line of a bill most people autopay without reading. Check that line tonight.
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Coffee Break Move
The one-minute check: Pull up your most recent electric bill. Find the line that says “rate” or “price per kWh.” Compare it to your state’s average at electricchoice.com. If yours is higher, you are overpaying. If you live in a deregulated state, you can switch suppliers in minutes and lock a lower rate.
The free adjustment: Raise your thermostat by 2 degrees. The Department of Energy estimates every degree above 72 saves 3% on cooling costs. Going from 74 to 76 saves roughly $9 to $12 a month in August without a noticeable difference in comfort. That is Kim’s $11 back.
Kim looked at one line on one bill last night. It took her less time than making coffee. She found $132 a year hiding below the total. The rate moved. The bill moved. She did not. Tonight, check yours.
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