This is a common path, high energy bills spur those to look into options to reduce costs.
The most efficient use of money is to first work on the demand side of the equation, it is always lower cost to do the following than build a energy generation system ( doesn't matter the type, IE: solar , hydro, wind ect )
#1 Home insulation. By leaps and bounds this has the best payback. Most homes built lack adequate insulation, adding insulation from builder standard ( or less ) typically would cost 1-3 thousand. Pay someone to do this nasty work and at least around me, it is cheaper to pay a company to blown in the insulation than you purchase the materials and rent the machine yourself.
Typical energy savings can be 25-40%
#2 Energy audit. Find where the energy is going. This doesn't required any tools, look at the ratings for your AC/Heat pumps, pool pumps, refrigeration and water heating, the most energy is used in a typical home usage. If you wish, they
have devices that you can measure actual demand to help find where energy is going.
Heat pumps have SEER ratings, the higher the better. Just replacing an older AC, heat pump could lower electric demand 25% or more. There are newer technology's, called variable speed heat pumps that can be in the mid 20's for SEER, vs. older units that depending on age maybe as low as SEER 4-8. I would recommend you take a look at the
ducted mini-split systems. SEER's in the 20's, 1/3 the cost of purchase and while it may take some effort, just hire a company to use the equipment you purchased.
You mentioned a pool, that is a perfect DYI job to go with a
variable speed pump for the filtration system, one could expect 50% or more lower electrical usage ( pool part of demand ) without any impact on water quality.
# Home appliances. How old are the major appliances. Refrigerator's, large screen TV's even old computers all have improved in efficiency. See what you have and compare to what is available.
Once all the above has been address is when it may makes sense to invest in Solar if the goal is reduce grid energy purchases further.