Trees are great, but it's about your mindset. My wife works in an air conditioned building all day, so she gets pissed when the thermostat is over 76°. I don't even notice because I work out in 100° weather. I use Home Assistant to automatically turn it down to 77° about a half hour before she gets home. Then it goes up to 80° when we go to bed.

We open the windows and turn on fans at night to circulate cooler air. My house was 71° this morning and the air conditioner wasn't even on.

I also use solar to lower my cost per kwh.