Delay the Climate Apocalypse AND Save Cash!

Inflation Reduction Act tips for frugal patriots

Sen. Lorax (D - Dystopia)

Do you love debt and environmental destruction? Then this post about the Inflation Reduction Act (sponsor seen above) is NOT for you! But if you’re some kind of long-haired, shoeless, hacky sack-playing, interpretive dancing, peace-mongering hippie radical who enjoys a tax break that also mitigates one’s filthy carbon footprint, well, read on, amigo.

It would be fun to force giant corporations and Big Daddy Government to get their shit together and oh, I don’t know, honor a climate agreement that actually works, but we can do small things individually and save some cash before the lights go out forever and/or a necromancer resurrects the dinosaurs to stomp us all into oblivion.

The source for the following tips is the rag technically known as Theeee New York Times. Lo and behold, it has very useful info on the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to incentivize taxpayers to invest in clean energy.

The law tackles two major sources of emissions, transportation and buildings, by making it cheaper for Americans to replace fossil-fuel burning cars and appliances, like furnaces and boilers, with cleaner versions, and to make their homes more energy efficient.

Federal tax credits went into effect in 2023, but rebates haven’t launched yet - those are being done on a state-by-state basis. I assume New Jersey, the greatest REGION on the PLANET, will do a better job at it than anybody else, but we shall see.

Okay, this was just an excuse to insert Springsteen into your day. Because the truth is, only four states have moved speedily to get this shit going: New York, California, Hawaii, and California. I CAN ONLY ASSUME NEW JERSEY IS NEXT!

Anyway, here are some cost-cutting tips that may get you hornier than Little Steven Van Zandt in a bandana shop.

Buy a used electric vehicle - As somebody soon to be in the market for a shaggin’ wagon, this one got me interested: “Claim a tax credit of up to $4,000 or 30 percent of the vehicle price, whichever is lower, when you buy a used electric vehicle that costs less than $25,000 and has a battery capacity of least 7 kilowatt hours.” That’s a pretty solid fuckin’ deal. If you’d prefer, you can give the tax credit to the car dealership to get the savings up front. There are income restrictions, so head over to the Department of Energy’s fuel economy site to see if you qualify.

Get a home energy audit - For the homeowners out there, this is a service where a licensed Lorax type of individual evaluates how much energy you’re wasting and how you can improve it, for the benefit of the earth but also your wallet. Uncle Samuel is offering a tax credit of 30 percent of the value, up to $150. Here’s more info from the girls at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Buy efficient appliances - If I were a homeowner and wanted to upgrade my place on a budget, this would be very tantalizing: “A tax credit can cover 30 percent of the cost of certain appliances that meet energy certification requirements, up to $600 per item.” It can cover other upgrades, too. For more, check out the Energy STAR Tax Credit Guide.

These are just a few of the Inflation Reduction Act benefits available, and more tax credits and rebates should roll out over the next year. Thanks to Our Current And Hopefully Future President for this.

There’s no use beating oneself up for not being perfect at energy conservation, environmental protection, or anything else (except archery - you better FUCKING practice this weekend.) But it is soothing to know we do have relatively simple options here and there. And if you made it to the end of this post, you are for sure a hippie, so go enjoy your drum circle, Moonbeam!

OPEN THREAD!