by Beks
I’m in a tax write-off frenzy right now. My strong procrastination skills have resulted in a 6 month old neatly folded pile of clothing ready for donation to Goodwill. Leave it to me to give myself a measly 48 hour window to take care of everything.
Also included in the 48 hour countdown is our energy efficient spending. According to the Wall Street Journal, and the ever so helpful staff at Lowes, this is the last year of the 30% tax rebate for energy efficient insulation, water heaters, windows and doors. Bad news: Our house has zero insulation and we’ve been working on fixing that problem for two years. Despite all this work, we still need an additional $600 worth of insulation. Thanks to the removal of the tax credit, we’re forced to bite the bullet and buy the remaining insulation now. At least it’s on sale. Good news: I guess our water heater picked a good year to go kaput.
My husband is ripping apart our walls as we speak. Our thermometer is reading a crisp 56 degrees…in the living room. I’ve always fantasized about having a living room temperature above 65 during cold spells. I guess my wildest dreams are finally coming true.
It’s amazing what a 48 hour deadline will do.
Obviously, I’m not a tax person. Consult with a professional before investing or donating.
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
Oh my! Driving some bags over to Goodwill is one thing or stroking a check for charity or deductible tax payments. But ripping out walls ?!?! Oh well, I guess you do what you’re most comfortable doing. So happy for you that’s what your hubby likes doing!! Happy New Year!
I know how you feel, but on a smaller scale. I have given myself an imposed deadline to have all of my tax information prepared by January 1st, for those things that I actually have control over. I spent several hours yesterday updating files. and I’m not clse to done. I wish you luck!
I think you should more than happy with you’re improved home. As a former building materials specialist, I highly advocate improving insulation and efficiency. Great way to save money while thinking long term.
Making your home energy efficient is a smart thing to do in any case. Tax credit or not. The savings on heating and cooling bills make the insulation a good investment. I’m glad you had the cash to get the insulation before the tax credit expired. You did buy it with cash didn’t you?
MyMoneyMess – Yes. We used cash. But we had to use some money we would normally have paid on debt. At least it’s not on a credit card!
Actually, for those that missed out but still plan improvements, the credit was renewed but at much lower levels. There’s more info here:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/2011-home-improvement-tax-credits
I discovered all of this when the damper fell out of my fireplace, and I learned that a gas insert (useful) to replace the “gas log” (useless) qualified – but it was the week of Christmas and there wasn’t time to get the credit before year-end. So I crammed the damper back in and threw on another sweatshirt (I generally keep my house at 60 in the winter).
Happy New Year to everyone, and procrastination is fun until the deadline but it sounds like you got it done in time. My Money Mess, nice job jumping on the cash question. nice job avoiding the credit card.
Good Luck this year.
Wait, replacing your water heater shouldn’t leave you without an actual heater. Why is it so cold in your house?
Liz – We replaced our water heater a few months back. I’m just glad it chose this year to quit rather than next year.
Our house was built in the 50’s in southern california. Apparently, builders didn’t think insulation was necessary in a ‘tropical’ environment. None of the houses in our development have insulation.