Just thinking about solar energy

Hi any help anyone can give me would be appreciated.

I am trying to look at long term goals and not paying for energy would be a great thing for my budget to help me put more money in my savings account.

How do I get started? How do I figure out how much energy I am using or wasting and how much I should be trying to replace? Or should I try to generate as much as I can to sell back to PEC? (Pedernales Electric Cooperative).

I'm no where near ready to buy just looking for some best practices for getting started. Thanks in advance.