It's something we all have to do. At least once a month, we sit down and pay our bills.
So what if you had fewer checks to write?

One couple in Texas is proving you can ditch at least the water and the power bill.
The Ertels of Mountain Home, Texas are living completely off the grid, and they're doing that in a thoroughly modern home.

Their home was custom built to use the surroundings as much as possible.  Solar panels produce all the electricity they need.
And don't worry about cloudy days. They have 32 marine batteries that can store five days worth of power.
An inverter changes the DC power to standard household AC.

The Ertel's water comes from above. They've invested in rainwater harvesting supplies.
The house's design is also green. The windows are made from low-e glass.

They use a modern wood cookstove.  The house has two "silos" that allow heat to rise and vent from the house.
In the winter, south-facing windows take advantage of passive solar heating.

And how's this for insulation?  The home's walls are a foot thick.